From Classroom to Career: Supporting Lifelong Learning

Around the world, access to quality basic education remains a challenge. Right now, 70 percent of 10-year-olds in low- and middle-income countries are unable to read a simple text. Two hundred forty-four million children and youth 6–18 are out of school, including half of the 240 million who live with disabilities.

Boys everywhere are more likely to be enrolled in primary school than are girls, and only 25 percent of youth in low- and lower-middle-income countries are on track to attain the full range of skills needed to thrive in school, work, and life.

As access to education has improved, we are now focused on enhancing the quality of instruction and retaining students in school. In line with USAID’s 2024–2029 Strategy on International Basic Education, if we strengthen family and community engagement, build inclusive and safe learning environments, and support relevant, evidence-based teaching methods and learning materials, we can contribute to a positive cycle in which students:

Arrive ready to learn

For children to get the most out of their education, they need certain skills before even entering the classroom. We promote cognitive, linguistic, social-emotional, and physical development in the first 1,000 days of a child’s life by connecting caregivers with early childhood development resources and services while sensitizing communities to the importance of early childhood stimulation.

Our approach to learning for young children is inclusive, child-centered, and developmentally appropriate, emphasizing the importance of play-based learning in childcare settings, classrooms, and homes. We support early childhood development centers and government partners to provide safe learning environments that take into account the whole child’s needs. We partner with parent-teacher associations and school management committees to promote engagement with and support for learning. We developed a positive parenting curriculum to foster conversations about best parenting practices and encourage school enrollment, especially for girls and children with disabilities.

Build literacy, numeracy, social-emotional, and life skills

Once children are in school, high-quality learning materials and effective pedagogy are crucial to gain foundational skills. We work with ministries of education to develop teaching and learning materials in a variety of languages and formats—including educational technology— and strengthen distribution mechanisms to ensure they reach schools.

We also support continuous teacher professional development on topics including universal design for learning, social-emotional learning, literacy and numeracy pedagogy, and multilingual education. We build the capacity of trainers, mentors, and supervisors to provide this ongoing training and coaching to teachers and school directors.

Continue learning

It takes continued attention to maintain learning and provide remediation for students who are catching up. We support formal accelerated complementary basic education instruction and non-formal pathways for continued learning. Through community-based structures, we consistently engage and support caregivers to maintain enrollment and practice learning with their children at home while taking the literacy needs of caregivers into consideration.

For girls and other groups at higher risk of leaving school, we look for and address risk factors within the household, school, and community. In addition, we work with schools and communities to manage child safeguarding structures so learning environments remain safe.

When crises like the COVID-19 pandemic and climate shocks arrive, we’ve helped systems adapt to support learning and set up alternative learning pathways for learners who are outside the formal education system. We assess student learning regularly to determine the efficacy of these measures.

Prepare for the workforce and find employment

As students near the end of their schooling, opportunities for career development are crucial. Depending on the student, this could be connecting them to job and vocational training programs, postsecondary education, or internship, mentorship, and entrepreneurship opportunities in local businesses and trades.

This includes opportunities for building in-demand 21st century skills during schooling so they have the critical thinking, problem solving, interpersonal, and digital skills to adapt and thrive personally and professionally. We analyze where there is economic opportunity and build networks of employers and education and training providers to ensure skill development leads to employment.

We support adult basic education for those who need to build foundational skills. This helps adults have healthier and more secure lives and contributes to the cycle of education and economic empowerment throughout families and communities. For adults and youth who are already working, we support upskilling for continued career advancement, including through alternative pathways and digital tools for learning anytime, anywhere.

Once learners have developed foundational skills and transitioned to employment, they can better advocate for themselves, contribute to society, and have children who learn in high-quality, safe, inclusive schools. This is how individuals break negative cycles and start their families on a positive journey.