Overview

PREAM is a three-year international collaboration between Plan International, McGill University, and the University of Letters and Human Sciences of Bamako (ULSHB), funded through the Evidence for Education in Emergencies (E-Cubed) program, a research initiative led by Dubai Cares together with The Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE).

The Participatory Research on Education and Agency in Mali (PREAM) project was a three-year study conducted in Mali through a partnership between McGill University, the Université des Lettres et Sciences Humaines de Bamako (ULSHB), and Plan International.

Through a Research Agreement between Dubai Cares and Plan International Canada, the PREAM project investigated the relationship between the agency of adolescent children, especially girls, and their experience of education in conflict-affected areas of Mali. Through a series of participatory methods, the research found that education and agency are mutually reinforcing. Going to school was identified as central to adolescents’ capacity to take action to achieve their objectives in life. Equally, both boys and girls believe that agency can help them to stay at school and to achieve better grades.

PREAM was made possible through generous funding by Plan International Canada’s long-term partner Dubai Cares, a civil society organization formally associated with the United Nation’s Department of Global Communication (UN DGC), as part of its “E-cubed” research envelope to increase the evidence base on education in emergency settings.

Dubai Cares is a UAE-based global philanthropic organization that works towards providing children and youth in developing countries with access to quality education as well as advocating for global education transformation as a core enabler for sustainable development. Dubai Cares was a member of the Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE) Steering Committee for two consecutive terms, the maximum allowable term.

Regrettably, the long-term impacts of COVID19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, the increase in oil prices and the rise of inflation rates globally, had pushed many of Dubai Cares’ donors to put some of their funding decisions on hold. Consequently, this has led to the withdrawal of funding for PREAM just prior to its conclusion.

In relation to the articles that were published in reference to the Research Agreement between Dubai Cares and Plan Canada, Plan Canda is is not in agreement with these articles as they contain non-factual information and also suggest other reasons for withdrawal of funding by Dubai Cares. Plan and the Principal Investigator from McGill University for the Research Agreement maintain a positive relationship with Dubai Cares.

Dubai Cares has confirmed that following the termination of PREAM, it will compensate to cover all costs incurred up to the termination date in relation to the project. Since then, additional funding has been mobilised to enable this research to be completed, bringing forward the important voices and stories of young people from conflict affected regions of Mali.

Research Design

The project’s qualitative approach uses child-friendly arts-based and participatory methods such as drawing and cellphilming (videos on tablets or cellphones), while a quantitative survey builds on adolescents’ insight into agency and education on a larger scale. Qualitative Data has been collected through workshops in Year 1, alongside a quantitative survey in Year 2. This data will inform the final qualitative workshops in year 3 with adolescents in Segou and Mopti.

Following the outbreak of armed conflict in Mali in 2012, a protracted humanitarian crisis and deteriorating security situation persist. Over two million primary-aged children are out of school, owing to poverty, insecurity, and harmful norms and practices like child labour and child, early and forced marriage (CEFM) (UNICEF, 2019). Insecurity, including in the form of attacks on schools and threats to teachers, has left over 800 schools closed, curtailing the education of approximately 250,000 children (UNICEF, 2019).

The conflict has had a devastating effect on access to education, especially for girls, with primary education enrolment and completion levels dropping. Girls’ enrolment rates decrease with age, from 57% at primary level to 26% at the secondary level (UNESCO UIS, 2017). Mopti and Ségou regions have the lowest net enrollment rate in first cycle of basic education, while Mopti has the highest percentage of out-of-school children in Mali.

Discover the story behind the PREAM project and its funding journey.

Learn how a unique partnership between McGill University, ULSHB, Plan International, and Dubai Cares advanced research on education and agency in conflict-affected Mali, and how global challenges shaped its conclusion.

Access the Final Research Report.