Virtues for Holistic Child Development in Tanzania

It has been 14 years since The Virtues Project was introduced in Tanzania through a community school program.  Awareness was created at the community level on the importance of pre-school education and these communities would develop their own schools, appoint potential teachers who then received training from the program.  Over 30 schools were established this way across Tanzania and some of them have progressed to primary level. Recently, we have received funds to evaluate the impact of The Virtues Project in Five of these schools. 

What we have learned:

• Students excel in comparison to their local counterparts.
• Pre-primary schools report increased demand because students fare better upon enrollment in primary schools.
• Parents notice improved behavior at home. They report improved language as well.
• Directors and faculty in the two larger schools (in Mugajwale and Iringa) are eager to share The Virtues Project with their colleagues locally.
• Students improve behavior over time without beating or chastising. In one case, a parent contacted the school specifically because no one at school or in the neighborhood was complaining about their child anymore.
• Older students see themselves as leaders and guides to younger students.
• Students who have failed in other venues, learn to cooperate, achieve and excel at The Virtues Project schools.

 Based on those findings, the recommendations are:

• Support expansion of The Virtues Project as a set of strategies and mechanisms for eliminating corporal punishment, including legally sanctioned “justifiable correction.”
• Consider a secondary analysis outcome study to document whether perceived academic outcomes between The Virtues Project schools hold up in comparison to their local counterparts.
• Set up a pilot in government schools to test the Five Strategies of The Virtues Project.
• Support full implementation of The Virtues Project in schools and the training of on-site or regional facilitators.

 In order to strengthen The Virtues Project in Tanzania, the following immediate steps are recommended and require financial support:

• Translate the Educator Virtue Cards and basic introductory materials for The Virtues Project training for schools.
• Validate translated cards and materials by having local facilitators review.
• Conduct a training for teachers in one of the schools to test all translated materials.

Thank you for generosity.  Your continued charitable giving will allow us to strengthen evaluation efforts, and more importantly,  help ensure the safety for more children in Tanzania schools.