Accelerated Education

Globally, there are about 105 million out of school children in emergencies (OOSCiE); this includes children aged 3 until the expected age of completion of upper secondary. About 52% of all OOSCiE live in eight countries alone: Ethiopia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sudan, DR Congo, Myanmar, Mali, and Nigeria.  These OOSCiE are out of school, either because they never started, or because they dropped out after enrolment. The most marginalized are most at risk, including forcibly displaced children and young people, ex-combatants, girls, and children and youth with disabilities. With each missed school year, there is a greater likelihood that these learners will be unable to return to formal education, resulting in greater risks to their protection. It is estimated that about 24 million learners, from pre-primary to university level, are at risk of not returning to school in 2020 following the education disruption due to COVID-19 (UNESCO, 2020)

So how can we provide education opportunities for the millions of disadvantaged, over-age, out-of-school children and youth? Accelerated Education can be a pivotal strategy that addresses this need. 

 

What is Accelerated Education?

Accelerated Education (AE) is a flexible, age-appropriate program run in an accelerated time frame, which aims to provide access to education for disadvantaged, over-age, out-of-school children and youth. This may include those who missed out on or had their education interrupted by poverty, marginalization, conflict, and crisis. The goal of Accelerated Education Programmes (AEPs) is to provide learners with equivalent, certified competencies for basic education using effective teaching and learning approaches that match their level of cognitive maturity.  

National education policies frequently prevent learners from enrolling in primary school after a certain age. Older students who are able to enroll in formal education systems are much more likely to drop out early, and when there is an influx of over age learners, there is not only the potential problem of further overcrowding classrooms and difficult teaching conditions with multiple age ranges but there are also considerable protection risks in mixing older and younger children in one class. Certified Accelerated Education Programmes are a key strategy to allow these over-age learners to access an age-appropriate education.

AEPs reduce the number of years in a learning cycle and allow learners to complete a certified, equivalent level of education in a shortened time frame. Once the AEP has been completed, it is hoped that learners will reintegrate into the regular formal schooling system, enter into skills-based technical and vocational education, or directly into the workforce with certified literacy and numeracy skills in place. 

The structure of AEPs varies: in their pace of acceleration, the age ranges they target, and the approach to teaching and learning they employ.

For information on INEE’s AE work, please visit the Accelerated Education Working Group (AEWG) webpage.

Learn more about the AEWG and AE in the videos below:

This collection was developed with the support of Martha Hewison, INEE AEWG Coordinator.

2 October 2017 Manual/Handbook/Guide Accelerated Education Working Group (AEWG)

AEWG Key Programme Definitions

With a succinct one-page Accelerated Education Definitions document, the AEWG has clarified the differences between several key terms, including: Accelerated Education, accelerated learning, catch-up programs, remedial programs, and bridging programs.

18 March 2021 Manual/Handbook/Guide Accelerated Education Working Group (AEWG)

Catch-up Programmes: 10 Principles for Helping Learners Catch Up and Return to Learning

Building on the AEWG’s programme definitions and our expertise in AE and other non-formal or alternative education options that accelerate the acquisition of knowledge and skills, the AEWG developed this set of principles and action points for catch-up programmes.

24 January 2022 Manual/Handbook/Guide Accelerated Education Working Group (AEWG)

Condensing a Curriculum for Accelerated Education: An A to Z Guide

The purpose of this guide, Condensing a Curriculum for Accelerated Education: An A to Z Guide, is to help Ministries of Education (MoE), development partners, and implementing organisations develop a comprehensive AE curriculum—a curriculum that prioritises and condenses primary level knowledge and skills—to guide and support teaching and learning in AEPs.

2 October 2017 Manual/Handbook/Guide Accelerated Education Working Group (AEWG)

Accelerated Education Programme Checklist

Aligning your programme with Principles and Action Points The Accelerated Education Programme (AEP) Checklist was created as a tool for programme designers, implementers, evaluators and agencies to use alongside the AEWG Guide to the Accelerated Education Principles.

3 October 2017 Manual/Handbook/Guide
Accelerated Education Working Group (AEWG)
Enabling Education Network (EENET)

Guide to the Accelerated Education Principles

The inter-agency Accelerated Education Working Group (AEWG) reviewed and distilled a set of global good practices and guidelines for AEPs. This guide helps establish what is considered good practice, and is intended to evolve into a standard.

21 September 2020 Infographic Accelerated Education Working Group (AEWG)

10 Principles for Effective Practice Poster

This is a printable poster that includes all 10 Principles. Great for workshops or to hang up in your office as a reminder of the key components of any Accelerated Education programme!

1 December 2023 Training Material Accelerated Education Working Group (AEWG), Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE)

Accelerated Education Introductory Teacher Training Pack

The Accelerated Education Introductory Teacher Training pack (AEITTP) is designed specifically for teachers working in accelerated education programme (AEP) classes and teaching learners generally aged 10-18 who are overage for their grade.

1 October 2020 Training Material Accelerated Education Working Group (AEWG)

Accelerated Education Workshop: Policy and Practice in Accelerated Education

The purpose of this five-day training is to build participants’ knowledge and skills in the fundamentals of Accelerated Education (AE) programming. This training is intended for anyone involved in designing and implementing AE programmes and technical-level staff working on AE or non-formal education policy within a ministry of education.

14 November 2023 Brochure/Pamphlet Accelerated Education Working Group (AEWG), Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE)

INEE AEWG Pathways for Change & Learning Agenda

This document articulates how the INEE Accelerated Education Working Group (AEWG) aims to achieve the change it wants to see in educational opportunities for out-of-school children and youth and contribute to ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all (SDG4).

22 July 2020 Manual/Handbook/Guide Accelerated Education Working Group (AEWG)

COVID-19: Pathways for the Return to Learning

As education systems start to reopen and support students to return, four responses are most relevant in the return to learning: extended instructional time, catch-up programmes, remedial education, and accelerated education programmes. These programmes increase the amount of instructional time, provide additional support, or prioritise learning outcomes to help learners get back on track

31 July 2020 Manual/Handbook/Guide Accelerated Education Working Group (AEWG)

COVID-19 Pathways for the Return to Learning: Guidance on Condensing a Curriculum

The goal of this document is to assist Ministries of Education (MoEs), district offices, curriculum developers, and implementing partners in developing a condensed curriculum for primary school or guiding practitioners to do so. 

31 March 2017 Case Study Accelerated Education Working Group (AEWG)

Accelerated Education Principles Case Studies

In 2016, the AEWG developed 10 Principles for Effective Practice for Accelerated Education and an accompanying Guide to Accelerated Education Principles. Field testing of these two tools was conducted between mid-2016 and March 2017.