Policy Brief: Trends, Gaps, and Policy Recommendations for Strengthening the Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Research Ecosystem in Senegal to Improve the Quality of Education
Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) refers to the basic reading, writing, arithmetic, and socio-emotional skills that children should acquire during the early years of schooling. Developing these skills is crucial for lifelong learning. However, it remains a significant challenge in sub-Saharan Africa, including in Senegal.
Over the past few years, various initiatives have been undertaken as part of the Sector Program for Quality, Equity and Transparency in Education (PAQUET 2018 – 2030) to improve FLN skills of primary school learners. These include the Project to Improve Elementary Mathematics Learning (PAAME), the Reinforcement of Initial Reading for All (RELIT), and the Harmonised Model of Bilingual Education (MOHEBS), among others.
These initiatives have led to improved learning outcomes in Senegal. According to the 2019 PASEC assessment, 65% of Senegalese children demonstrated sufficient proficiency in mathematics and 75% in reading by the end of primary education. This represents a significant improvement from the 2014 assessment, where only 59% of children were proficient in mathematics and 61% in reading (PASEC, 2021). Despite these improvements, the country still has a high learning poverty rate, with 69% of children not able to read and comprehend age-appropriate texts by the age of 10. Contributing to this problem is the fact that 24% of primary school-aged children do not attend school, making it difficult for them to develop essential reading skills (World Bank, 2022; UNESCO, 2024).
Research plays a vital role in addressing these challenges by providing evidence-based insights to inform policies and interventions. Yet, little is known about the contribution of Senegal-based researchers to the FLN field. This policy brief is a summary of the FLN publications mapping or search that was conducted by Education Sub-Saharan Africa (ESSA) and the Research for Equitable Access and Learning (REAL) Centre to address this evidence gap.
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