Intervention (Hidden)
School-based Program
The school-based program consists of a set of educational sessions conducted by NGO-employed facilitators. Educational sessions typically occur on a school class basis, within school hours. This study evaluates a program for 6th grade boys and girls (standardly aged 11-12 years). The curriculum used in the sessions is based on Aflatoun International’s social financial education program (“Alatoun”), and it is adjusted and contextualized by Aflatoun and the implementing organization in India, Meljol. The program's objective is to “socially and economically empower children” by increasing their confidence, aspirations, and financial competencies. The program consists of three main parts: “Myself, My World,” “My Resources, My Plans,” and “My Community.” In particular, the first part is about understanding ourselves and the people around us from various perspectives, including gender, and confirming that all people have the right to be treated equally. In the first and second parts, participants will learn about goal setting for their future and planning for financial and other resources. In the third part, participants will set up role models and learn how to take action on community issues.
The program includes 15 sessions, which is the amount that can realistically be implemented using school facilities over the course of one school year (approx. eight months), and is conducted approximately every other week; the scheduled time per session is 45 minutes.
The curriculum will be provided through session guides outlining each session's conduct, the accompanying activities, and tips for facilitators. The use of active learning methodology is one of the program's main focuses. First, a five-day training of trainers (ToT) is conducted, followed by training and supervision of the facilitators.
Community Engagement Intervention
Apart from the school-based program, we will conduct seminars for the parents and caregivers of the participating students. The main purpose of this intervention is to promote children's learning by gaining adults’ understanding of the program content and encouraging the behaviors recommended in the program to be exemplified at home rather than making a similar impact on the adult participants. Seminars will be held twice during the course of the school-based program, on a school-by-school basis, but the location will be outside of the school.