UDAAN APPROACHSupported by CARE India

The objectives Break social and psychological barriers which made girls believe

that education is unimportant and irrelevant

Provide a competent system equivalent to primary education.

Develop independent and critical thinking abilities.

Develop analytical skills and a spirit of inquiry

Equip girls with relevant information, skills and attitudes that would enable them to deal with the world from a position of strength

Provide a joyful learning environment and enhance their interest in continuing education.

AchievementsSince 1999, 15 Udaan camps held (UP, Orissa,

Bihar, Mewat)

1500 girls graduatedAll cleared state board exam2010 survey of 195 UP Udaan graduates show

only 10 married80% continued educationMany working as teachers

Follow up on graduatesYear Enrolled Contin

uedPassed grade 5 Grade

6Grad e7

Grade 8

Grade 9 Grade 10

Grade 11 Grade 12 BA I BA II BA III

MA

2000 100 96 91 87 81 74 43 40 31 20 9 9 9 7

2001 100 97 95 80 77 66 37 33 24 22 5 5 5

2002 101 101 98 92 91 85 44 43 28 24 11 11

2003 100 100 98 76 66 59 35 29 17 4 3

2004 103 103 101 83 73 68 47 43 21 20

2005 75 75 71 67 61 58 43 30 19

2006

BHC supported batch

2007 100 98 96 93 87 51 48 complet

2008 103 100 99 95 70 58

2009 103 102 100 85 85

2010 100 100 98 88 91

2011 100 99 99 96

2012 104 103 103

UP

Follow up on graduates

Academic Year

Enrolled Continued Passed Grade V in Govt. system and passed out

Mainstreamed

Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS)

Schools under SC/ST department

UP Schools under S&ME Deppt

High Schools under S& ME Dept.

KGBVs

Total

2009-10

95 87 86

57 10 14   5

86

2010-11

110 103 103

13 18   2 70

103

2011-12

110 102 102         101 101

ORISSA

Achievement: Impact on Cognitive learningAbility to think, understand, form concepts & ideas in formal cognitive tasks related to language, maths, EVS: comparison between Udaan educated girls & formal school (6-10 grades)counterparts*

Findings: Environment & practices in Udaan, through its curriculum & transactional strategies, provided a strong scaffolding base which helped to enrich cognitive abilities, even after a gap of 1-5 years, specially in language and EVS.

* Ranganathan, N & Jaimini N, 2005, Towards the psychosocial empowerment of adolescent girls: An impact study of Udaan

Achievement: Impact on Cognitive learning

Language: articulation, expression, vocabulary Udaan girls faired above the formal school/non-lierates (fig of speech,

handwriting, letter writing attempted, articulation, vocabulary, grammar, awareness of local context, divergent thinking)

Class VI Udaan girls matched Class X formal school girls performance

Mathematics: computational skills, ease with measurement units, interconversions, handling digits, place values, fractions, decimals, %, area, volume…• Response pattern of Udaan girls class VI girls comparable to class IX in formal

school group• Udaan girls performance in each grade better

EVS: sensitivity to living & non-living resources, interrelationship between objects, environment phenomenon, conservation, relate effectively to physical & social environment• Success rate of Udaan girls higher in discrimination based tasks, reasoning,

factual information, nutrition etc.

Achievement: Academic performance/Psychosocial

Academic Performance

Questioning behaviour: curious/eager to learn moreLearning styles: self directed, inquiry oriented, less dependent on textbooksArticulate & expressive

Psychosocial

•Confidence, boldness, communication skills•Competence in discharging work, deal with issues beyond traditional domain of women•Enhancement in early age of marriage of girls, resistance to dowry

Achievement: Personal Identity

•Self & Identify: holistic sense• ambitions, aspirations, personal qualities, career ambitions

•Gender Identity: gender equity, androgynous, positive towards social change, personal satisfaction/meaningfulness rather than desired by others•Group work, work in team, democratic participation, decision making

Source:Ranganathan, N & Jaimini N, 2005, Towards the psychosocial empowerment of adolescent girls: An impact study of UdaanEvaluation of Girls’ Primary Education Project, MWCD.

What Worked!

A careful planning and conception coupled with rigorous

implementation without compromising on any basic principles

made it happen

Key Features Residential bridge course for 11 months

Open to girls between 10-14 years, who have dropped out of school or never been to school

Teacher pupil ratio is 1 : 25 ( 6 teachers for 100 girls)

Fear free environment, practice and behave non-stereotypes

Grade wise accelerated curriculum – Language, Mathematics and science.

Social learning curriculum to enable to make informed decisions, solve problems, think critically and creatively, communicate effectively, build healthy relationships, empathise with others, cope with /manage their lives in a healthy & productive manner.

Active community school engagement Follow up of girls after the camp at school and home

Preparatory activities Safety and security measures for the girls are put in place

◦ A warden and the teachers are expected to stay within the campus.

◦ A system of running the camp with respect to boarding, lodging and other logistics is detailed out and put in place.

Community mobilization and sensitization to the need of educating girls.

◦ enrolment drives, discussions with the community, families, leaders

Around 100 girls are enrolled in a residential camp for 11 months.

◦ girls from the most marginalized communities and poor.

The teachers make visits to the villages to understand the context of these girls, their family and community.

A three-day familiarization exercise conducted in which parents, students, teachers, and organizers participate.

Essentials for effective learningTeaching learning processes

to be • Experiential, building on girls experiences and relevant• Learner centered• Open to learner’s views• Planned mix individual, small group and whole class activitiesto have• Motivated, co-operative, collaborative learners• Teaching as per learner’s levelto get Learners•  get a sense of achievement/success• move to self-directed learning• find education useful for their daily lives and future• feel confident about accomplishing “abilities” to handle their future by 

themselves in the situation that they live in

……..appreciate the skills they accomplish or strengthen!

•Belief in girls and teachers that All CAN learn• Learning is meaningful, if contextual•Follow Multilevel approach 

-Sequential and progressive approach•Follow Activity based pedagogy•Build Social skills •Regular assessment

Complete primary education through bridge course and continue education

Build social opinion & consensus on the need to respect & give voices to girls

Girls get a space for themselves and take positive actions/decisions in their lives

With the Objectives to:

Facilitating Learning

Curriculum Eight hours of planned learning on week days

Language – to use it effectively to negotiate for themselves space for home language, reflective, imaginative and communicative aspects of language built in.

Mathematics – looking at the world quantitatively, enabling tool about discovering relationships, understanding logic, application in real life situation.

EVS – Explore and construct knowledge

Social Learning – Content not dealt in other subjects, within a broad framework of relationships

girls learn about self, family, institutions, ecology and economy themes which lend themselves to promoting the broader objectives of rights

and equality Provide an opportunity to develop a questioning mind.

Local medium of Language

Planning the learningAchieve the essential basic competencies at the end of ANY 5 yrs primary schooling, with inputs spread over 11 months time, following an accelerated learning approach.

2 4 hr lg situation,collective attempt to learning 6 teachers,

100 students, 4 groups

Activity oriented pedagogy

No text books,  Curriculum planned as session cards with specified time

Projects built in all subjects(e.g. Camp Dictionary, Election, My 

book or budget)

Teachers plan a variety of activities as per 

session card2 hour sessions with 4 sessions in a day 

General progression in learning, spiraling pattern

Variety of materials e.g. children literature, science kit, news paper, magazines etc

Cycling, sports, students cabinet, Open session, Morning assembly etc optimize on residential situation

Learning with out being heavy

Horizontal linkages  across subjects/co curricular

Focus from illustrations to written concepts grow slowly but steadily

Unit cards

Weekly Planning

Whole Day

Planning

Language

Maths

EVS

Social curricular

items

Self learning

Girl’s Assessment

Review of week’s

experiences

Plan for the coming week

Week plan for 5 days Planning for

Saturday

2 h

rs fo

r each

2 h

rs

Every moment is for learning in direct or subtle ways

Last day is totally unstructured for girls and teachers

Methods of Assessment

In-built in teaching learning process

Daily observations , recorded on weekly basis

Challenging tasks to those who are learning comfortably, helping those who need to be helped

Game like activities are conducted

Non-cognitive aspects also evaluated

‘Learning is a lot more than passing a few tests’

Teacher and Teachers’ Development

A sensitive graduate female candidate from the community

Develop teachers understanding on ◦ background of learners◦ pedagogy and content (theoretical)◦ multiple teaching method with learner centered

approach. Annual 20 days training on curriculum and pedagogy On job support Flexibility to choose teaching methods and materials Regular review and planning meetings Exposure visits to other programs that involves

residential courses

“In Udaan teachers synthesize the roles of mothering, guiding, counseling, teaching, mentoring, and

organizers “

Follow up of the girls after the camp◦school for next level - teachers◦home - parents and community ◦with peers and teachers of Udaan for

sharing, to relive enjoyable experiences - in short-term camps to support admission, motivation and retention;

girls to continue a dialogue amongst each other for peer support; Working with parents, teachers and other members of the community.

Forward linkages/ follow up after the camp

ChallengesIdentification of sensitive & trained local

teacher

Sustainability of teachers

Challenges in mobilizing community