Pushing Past Barriers to Post-Primary Education Sharing Reflections on the Methodology of UNICEF’s Regional Education Study

Pushing Past Barriers Research Process and Methods The Georgia Youth Research Team

Stakeholder Analyses & Youth Consultations Youth Consultations 1)To develop draft questionnaires/focus group topics and questions; 2)To ensure strong youth participation and ownership of the research process; 3)To serve as a recruitment mechanism to identify potential Youth Researchers; and 4)To build interest for the study among youth partners within each country. Stakeholder Analyses Implemented to determine youth target groups; potential partnerships and their roles; where stakeholder contributions can be used; and to anticipate and address threats to the study’s success.

National Research Team Recruitment Female and male youth ages 18 to 24 Communication skills, research experience and interest in youth activism and education issues Not required to have experience or training in qualitative methods From a variety of geographic locations and demographic backgrounds Youth Researchers were: secondary and university students; members of majority and minority ethnic communities; working and unemployed youth; from urban and rural areas; activists; NGO-affiliated; and more

Youth Researcher Trainings A Five-day training. Goals To ensure Researchers, Supervisors and others understood their roles and responsibilities and learned and practiced the skills needed to implement the research. Build youth capacity and skills; Researchers reviewed, debated, revised and pilot tested the structured survey questionnaire developed for their setting and developed focus group questions and themes; To build a sense of teamwork and empower the youth.

Data Collection Process A.Participatory nationally representative two-stage cluster surveys B.Focus group discussions organized, led and attended by youth in various parts of each country/around each country.

Youth Advocacy Statement Development A.Served as an additional platform from which youth could voice their opinions and ideas about the state of education quality and how to improve it. B.Youth were encouraged to develop creative follow-up strategies to capitalize on the study's findings and to encourage UNICEF to maintain its support of youth-led initiatives.

Evaluation of the Participatory Methods and Processes Used What Worked & Didn’t Work?

Promising & Innovative Practices as Described by Youth & UNICEF Officers The Kosovo Youth Research Team

What do the Youth Researchers Say? adolescents and youth

 Youth-centered processes from its early inception, to design and implementation  A balanced and diverse team composition  Participatory training methodologies  Empowering & “youth-approved” research implementation processes  Methodologies ensuring diverse national/local youth perspectives  A confidential peer-to-peer approach  A coinciding workshop to develop youth calls to action on education quality Promising & Innovative Practices as Described by Youth & UNICEF Officers adolescents and youth

Lessons Learned as Described by Youth & UNICEF Officers The Tajikistan Youth Research Team

What do the Youth Researchers Say? adolescents and youth

 Creates a platform for youth to voice and document their perspectives  Provides a crucial youth-centered knowledge base for future action  Encourages UNICEF and its partners to use innovative research processes and methodologies  Encourages UNICEF to pre-plan follow-up strategies with and for youth  Challenges the added value of using "Fragility" as a research base  Highlights the challenges involved in conducting youth participatory research Lessons Learned as Described by Youth & UNICEF Officers adolescents and youth

Recommendations as Described by Youth & UNICEF Officers The Chechnya Youth Researcher Team

What do the Youth Researchers Say? adolescents and youth

 Improve and expand on the Youth Researcher/Supervisor recruitment and selection process to ensure greater diversity and commitment from potential team members;  Adjust the timing and locations of the research to maximize participation and minimize hardships on participants;  Improve sampling procedures, expand participation processes and consider focusing on additional and overlapping research themes to capture even more youth perspectives and to address more defined youth concerns; unite for youth Recommendations as Offered by Youth & UNICEF Officers adolescents and youth

 Set clearer logistical and financial management structures and expectations; ensure adequate UNICEF funding and enlist more human resources in order to prevent unnecessary constraints on the research implementation on research teams;  Improve security procedures and ensure well-advanced notification to local and national authorities to maximize Youth Researcher support and safety; and  Plan for and design more immediate follow-up strategies and activities to capitalize on the youth participants' motivation and ideas. Recommendations as Offered by Youth & UNICEF Officers adolescents and youth

Questions & Answers adolescents and youth