Jordan National Youth Assessment
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Jordan National Youth Assessment February 2015 This publication was produced at the request of the United States Agency for International Development by Management Systems International. It was conducted by an independent team of consultants: Team Leader Claudia LoForte, local Youth Advisor Dima Toukan (through Integrated Solutions), Youth Specialist Reem Ersheid, and MESP Technical Specialist Shadia Nassar. The literature review was conducted by Jenine Jaradat and the primary data analysis was conducted by Mohammad Albatayneh. JORDAN NATIONAL YOUTH ASSESSMENT February 2015 USAID/Jordan Monitoring & Evaluation Support Project (MESP) Contracted Under AID-278-C-13-00009 Management Systems International Corporate Offices 200 12th Street, South Arlington, VA 22202 USA DISCLAIMER The author’s views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Agency for International Development or the United States Government. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The youth assessment team would like to acknowledge the 975 Jordanian and Syrian youth, parents and teachers who participated in this study and took the time to share their perspectives, insights and experiences — without which, this assessment would not have been possible. The assessment team would like to acknowledge QuestScope, a Jordanian organization that provided guidance and training for focus group moderators on how to conduct research with children and provided invaluable input in developing tools to elicit responses from this target group. The assessment deeply benefited from the contribution of 13 outstanding Jordanian and Syrian youth assessors, whose participation in all stages of the assessment — including the production of a participatory video on youth in Jordan — enriched the depth of information, validated findings and conclusions, and was instrumental in bringing the true voice of youth to the fore. Their participation was made possible through the efforts of INJAZ, whose contribution and support proved vital to the assessment. Finally, the assessment could not have been conducted without the assistance of the Jordanian Ministry of Education, which helped to identify focus group participants, and provided valuable input on methodology, locations, and approaches to conducting focus groups. Jordan National Youth Assessment CONTENTS Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................................................... 4 Background ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4 Findings ............................................................................................................................................................................ 5 Conclusions .................................................................................................................................................................... 7 Purpose and Background ................................................................................................................................................. 9 Purpose ............................................................................................................................................................................ 9 Background ..................................................................................................................................................................... 9 Methodology and Limitations........................................................................................................................................ 10 Methodology ................................................................................................................................................................ 10 Challenges and Limitations ....................................................................................................................................... 12 Findings ............................................................................................................................................................................... 13 Conclusions ....................................................................................................................................................................... 31 Annexes ............................................................................................................................................................................. 34 ANNEX I. Youth Assessment Statement of Work (Source: USAID) ............................................................ 34 ANNEX II. Design Report ........................................................................................................................................ 49 ANNEX III. Sampling Plan ......................................................................................................................................... 92 ANNEX IV. Description of Subcontractor Roles ............................................................................................... 94 ANNEX V. Focus Group Statistics ......................................................................................................................... 95 ANNEX VI. CBOs and Schools Contacted to Reach Participants............................................................... 101 ANNEX VII. Youth Assessment Literature Review ........................................................................................ 102 ANNEX VIII. Bibliography ...................................................................................................................................... 128 ANNEX IX. Youth Programs Mapping ............................................................................................................... 131 ANNEX X. Topics Suggested for In-Depth Research .................................................................................... 137 ANNEX XI. Youth Assessors Scope of Work ................................................................................................. 139 ANNEX XII. Analysis of Primary Datasets Reviewed ..................................................................................... 144 Jordan National Youth Assessment ACRONYMS CBO Community-Based Organization CDCS Country Development Cooperation Strategy CSO Civil Society Organization DOS Department of Statistics EMIS Education Management Information System GER Gross Enrollment Rate GOJ Government of Jordan JOD Jordanian Dinar MOE Ministry of Education MENA Middle East North Africa NER Net Enrollment Rate NGO Nongovernmental Organization UNFPA United Nations Population Fund UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Jordan National Youth Assessment EXECUTIVE SUMMARY BACKGROUND For youth in Jordan, much like the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region in general, the transition to adulthood is stalled due to a multitude of issues that are inherent to the country’s social, political and cultural structures and ingrained perceptions that limit their ability to complete an education, get a job and have a meaningful role in civic life. Because of the centrality of youth to effective and sustainable development, the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) mission in Jordan (USAID/Jordan) seeks to develop a deeper understanding of this population segment in Jordan. Hence, this assessment was requested to be conducted by the USAID/Jordan Monitoring & Evaluation Support Project. The results of the assessment are intended to support the design of programs that follow USAID’s “Youth in Development Policy” with an “intentional, ongoing process of assisting youth in their transition from childhood into adulthood”1 as USAID/Jordan develops its youth strategy and programming to address the Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) 2013-2017. The assessment targeted Jordanian and Syrian youth in communities with a high prevalence of school dropouts and poverty. To identify a typology of communities with at risk youth the assessment looked at the following criteria in order of importance: dropout rate of 0.4 percent and above as identified by the Ministry of Education (MOE); high concentration of Syrian refugees as identified by the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR); regions with high poverty rates; and communities selected through critical case sampling during consultations with USAID. The assessment reached over 800 youth through focus groups in age cohorts of 10-14, 15-18 and 19-24, segregated by age, sex and nationality (Jordanian/Syrian). The assessment also conducted focus groups with 175 parents and teachers in the same locations as the youth participants. Because USAID’s Youth Policy recognizes the vital role of youth themselves participating in the program design process, the assessment engaged 13 youth assessors to observe focus groups, validate focus group findings and conclusions, and produce a video in which they conducted interviews with other youth to tell the story they wanted to be told of youth in Jordan. The video can be viewed on USAID’s YouTube channel at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHo4lU2okWE. This participatory methodology enriched and validated the results of the assessment, having given youth, the main stakeholders in the study, sufficient space to inform all its stages and to provide insights on their own