This research aimed to help two project countries (Malawi and Lesotho) increase access to learning for students living in high HIV prevalence areas who were at risk of grade repetition or school drop-out, through (i) complementing classroom teaching with self-study learner guides to provide more open, distance and flexible delivery of the curriculum and (ii) strengthening community support for learning. The research objectives were: (1) To increase understanding of how open, distance and flexible learning (ODFL) can be used to address the factors that disrupt schooling by conducting research with school teachers and community members; (2) To design and implement an intervention in primary schools (Grade 6) in Malawi and Junior secondary schools (Grade B) in Lesotho over one school year (January to November 2009); (3)To evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention in reducing student absenteeism, drop-out and grade-repetition using an experimental design; (4) To disseminate the new knowledge gained to enable appropriate, evidence informed policy development to better integrate and more open and flexible curriculum delivery into schools and strengthen community support for vulnerable learners. ODFL initiatives, structures and networks that are already in place to implement HIV/AIDS policies were firstly identified through analyses of secondary data. Case studies were developed in contrasting communities severely affected by HIV and AIDS to identify contextual factors that can lead to exclusion from conventional schooling and dropping out. The case studies are complemented by data collected using a range of approaches such as semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, informal discussions with family members, participatory activities and observation. Based on this formative research, a pilot intervention will then be made through secondary schools to identify and trial a small-scale ODFL intervention package designed to overcome the barriers to conventional schooling identified in the case studies. The intervention will be evaluated qualitatively and also quantitatively using an experimental design. The impact was evaluated in a randomized controlled trial. In each country there were 20 schools in the intervention group and 20 schools in the control group. Data to evaluate the impact of the programme on school attendance, drop-out and grade repetition were collected before and after the intervention. Student achievement was assessed by testing children in Mathematics and English before and after the intervention. The study was conducted in 4 stages: (1) Sampling and randomization of schools; (2) Intervention design (informed by synthesizing existing knowledge, generating new knowledge and inviting critical comment from all stakeholders); (3) Intervention implementation; (4) Intervention evaluation. This study aimed to increase access to education and learning for young people living in high HIV prevalence areas in Malawi and Lesotho, by developing a new, more flexible model of education that uses open, distance and flexible learning (ODFL) to complement and enrich conventional schooling. The findings showed that in Malawi, the programme reduced overall student drop-out by 42% (OR=0.58). This effect was not significantly different among at-risk children targeted by the program and those not targeted in their class suggesting the intervention had spillover effects beyond the intended beneficiaries. There were improvements in mathematics scores for at risk students and a history of grade repetition was a better predictor of future drop-out than orphan-hood. In Lesotho the intervention reduced absenteeism and improved Mathematics and English scores. These findings suggest that the intervention reached the most vulnerable and was effective in increasing access to education and learning.

The data collection includes: (I)Quantitative data from the intervention group schools and the control group schools in each of the two project countries to evaluate the impact of the intervention on school attendance, school drop-out and progression to the next grade;the quantitative data set for the Malawi data contains 438 variables for 3275 individuals(40 schools in 2 districts). The quantitative data set for the Lesotho data contains 56 variables for 5528 individuals(34 schools in 2 locations-high altitude and low altitude). Data ware collected from the intervention and the control schools during the pre-intervention baseline survey in October 2008, monthly monitoring forms and the post-intervention follow-up survey in November 2009. Data were collected using the following instruments: (1)pre-intervention pupil questionnaire to gather data on pupil characteristics; (2)pre-and post intervention tests in Mathematics and English;(3) a school checklist to collate data on attendance and progression from school records and monthly SOFIE monitoring forms) with additional questions included for intervention schools to collect data on process indicators during the mid-term and post intervention school visits); (4) pupil tracking records to maintain up-to-date information on pupil educational status. (II)Qualitative data were collected help explain the findings from the quantitative data by providing information on the implementation process and on how the intervention was received. These data were collected through SSIs with intervention class teachers, youth club leaders, school heads and members of the school management committee; FGDs with community members; workshops with ‘at-risk’ pupils to explore their views on schooling and on the intervention; and follow up interviews with workshop participants. (3) Diaries of Teacher's and Club-leader's(Scanned Documents) . The entities under study were in Malawi: primary school students in grade 6 and in Lesotho: junior secondary school students in class B (second year).