Iqrali (in Arabic: Read to Me)
Jordan
January 15th 2024
Queen Rania Foundation for Education and Development
Moh’d Al-Sa’d Al-Batayneh St. PO. BOX 140141 Amman, Jordan 11814
Children in Jordan arrive at school ready to learn to read (i.e. have emergent literacy skills) with a focus on shared book reading between parents and their children.
Dima Masri
Research and Design Specialist
www.qrf.org/
The Queen Rania Foundation is a non-profit organisation founded by Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah in 2013 with the belief in the power of education and that every child in Jordan and the Arab world deserves a quality education. Today, half of all children in Jordan cannot read and understand a simple text at the age of ten. The World Bank and UNESCO have classified this as “learning poverty.” QRF’s core programs are designed to ensure that every child reads fluently in Arabic and with comprehension. One of QRF’s strategic programs is the National Behaviour Change Program that targets parents of children aged 5 and under and promotes shared book reading as the main behaviour. This program has 3 core components 1) Social Behaviour Change Communications (SBCC/ messaging) 2) Interventions supporting book reading like the book gifting program and 3) A platform that hosts resources to help parents read effectively with their children among other supporting aspects. The Queen Rania Foundation takes a rigorous, evidence-informed approach to programs. To ensure the National Behaviour Change Program is evidence-informed, QRF conducted two studies: the first is a nationally representative survey of parents to understand their barriers and motivators to engaging in activities such as reading with their children aged 0-5; the second is qualitative research to determine the messaging styles that resonate with parents in Jordan.
Iqrali (in Arabic: Read to Me)
Jordan
Unknown
Vision: Children in Jordan arrive at school ready to learn to read, building on the emergent literacy skills they have developed at home with their parents from birth to age 5. Outcome: A meaningful increase in the number of parents who read to their children as part of a typical day by 2030. Outputs: – A measurable shift in awareness and attitudes about and towards reading to young children, in the general population and among parents of children from birth to 5 in Jordan. – Measurable increases in access to and engagement with reading resources and activities that support reading among parents of children from birth to 5 in Jordan (the book gifting program falls under this output). – Parents of children from birth to age 5 are supported in turning intention into action through targeted, measurable interventions that generate evidence on effective support. – Partnerships with private sector, public sector and other ECD actors enable the sharing of evidence, practice and amplify efforts and contribute to holistic ECD.
Unknown
The ultimate objective of the program is to reach national scale. However, we would pilot the interventions depending on the demographics and characteristics of the early adopters (research currently underway to narrow down the first phase of the target audience to the parents who are most likely to pick up the behaviour quickly). Other options could relate to geographic areas e.g. piloting in one governorate of Jordan or several governorates across the Kingdom.
Non-profit.
None.
Consistent.
The number of books: We are exploring gifting formally through the national vaccination program, which targets children from birth up until 18 months. We expect the total number of books received for the full duration to be between 4-8 books but whether it will be one book per appointment or a different scheme is TBD. Contents will include the age-appropriate book(s) with priority given to quality locally written books relevant to children’s life (where possible). Along with the books, pamphlets and signing up to a chatbot program to support parents is under exploration e.g. information about a platform with resources about reading to their children could be distributed (TBD).
Yes.
Health clinic; QRF’s Social media platform with over 350,000 parents in Jordan and region; Consortium partners’ existing programs and channels of communication with parents
Healthcare workers. We are considering other channels like product placements e.g. on diapers, distributions through supermarkets and other touchpoints with parents-particularly of children in older age groups.
Unknown
The program targets parents of children aged birth to 5 in Jordan. However, it is targeted rather than universal as we are working on identifying the ‘movable middle’ or ‘early adopters’ of shared book reading for the first phase of the program.
The book gifting is under development and piloting will take a sample of the total population. However, at scale i.e. nationally there is a total of 1,278,000 (based on estimated annual number of births, excluding under five mortality).
Prenatal; Birth – 6 months; 6 – 12 months; 12 – 24 months; 2-4 years
No.
Arabic, potentially with some wordless books.
Testing of the projects and interventions is planned for the book gifting in addition to the other components of the entire program (SBCC, the varying interventions, platform). Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) is an integral part of the behaviour change program and its activities. MEL was tackled explicitly within the program’s strategy and a pathway has been mapped.
