Findings
The Big Mama Project (BMP) pilot evaluation demonstrated high implementation fidelity, with all 105 teachers and 12 policymakers participating in a 5‑day SEL training, successfully delivering Healing Classrooms and 75 Friendship Clubs, though the training duration was deemed insufficient and scheduling conflicts with school curricula posed challenges. The intervention showed strong evidence of promise, with intervention schools achieving increased pupil attendance (~120 pupils vs. ~83 in controls), significant literacy gains (EGRA: oral/reading comprehension, word decoding), modest numeracy improvements (EGMA), and enhanced psychosocial well-being, as evidenced by a shift from low/marginal to optimal Quality of Life ratings (20% to 31%) and a transition from negative to positive storytelling diary narratives, unlike persistent negative stories in control schools. Stakeholders, including teachers, pupils, parents, and inspectors, reported improved classroom management, emotional resilience, and social cohesion, driven by ubuntu pedagogy and Healing Classrooms. The programme is ready for a larger trial, with stable components, feasible randomisation, and effective data tools (EGRA/EGMA, QoL surveys, diaries), though minor refinements like enhanced cohort tracking and curriculum-aligned assessments are needed. The storytelling approach and QoL survey were feasible but require better structure for longitudinal tracking, and the small sample size limits generalisability.
Conclusions
- BMP was feasible to deliver, and all intervention schools implemented the project as intended with minor adaptations. Some of these adaptations included the provision of registers, creating more meeting time for Friendship Clubs, and use of local languages to transmit SEL messages.
- Quantitative data suggests BMP could improve school attendance and test scores for displaced learners. However, these results are inconclusive due to the small sample size used in the study.
- The perceived outcomes reported by pupils, teachers, parents and policymakers indicate improved integration of displaced learners in the school environment. They all expressed their wish for the intervention to be extended to other schools in Cameroon.
- The key components of the BMP are well-defined, such as the teacher training programme, healing classroom, Ubuntu philosophy, and parental engagement. BMP can be scaled out for an impact evaluation with minor adjustments.
- Although the study affirms the feasibility of the QoL survey and the storytelling approach to evaluation in the context of Cameroon, the results should be interpreted with caution due to the small sample size. Moreover, the storytelling approach requires systematic tracking to monitor progress effectively.
The Project
The Big Mama Project (BMP), implemented by the NGO TEACHERS and evaluated by the Cameroon Initiative for Research and Development (CIReD), is a Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) intervention aimed at improving learning outcomes and psychosocial well-being for internally displaced pupils (IDPs) in Cameroon. Centre, Littoral, and West Regions. The project was implemented during the 2023/2024 academic year in 15 primary schools in the Centre, Littoral and West Regions hosting IDPs affected by the armed conflict in the English-speaking North West and South West Regions. The evaluation assessed implementation fidelity, evidence of promise, and readiness for a trial, using a mixed-methods approach with randomised intervention (6 schools) and control (6 schools) groups.Key ComponentsTeacher Training: 105 teachers and 12 policymakers participated in a 5‑day SEL workshop on trauma healing, ubuntu pedagogy, and creating “Healing Classrooms.”School-Based Activities: Included Healing Classrooms (integrating SEL into classroom routines), Friendship Clubs (pupil-led peer support), and ubuntu pedagogy (emphasising African values of community and dignity).Parental Engagement: One-day workshops equipped caregivers to support emotional resilience at home.Evaluation Tools: Used attendance tracking, Early Grade Reading and Mathematics Assessments (EGRA/EGMA), Quality of Life (QoL) surveys, storytelling diaries, Stallings classroom observations, focus group discussions (FGDs), and key informant interviews (KIIs).The ‘Big Mama’ Project seeks to improve the social and emotional needs of Internally Displaced Persons in 15 primary schools in 3 regions of Cameroon (Centre, Littoral and West). The project is adapted from the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL) framework to include concepts of crisis and African culture. It consists of 5 main components:
- Teacher Professional Development (Training of Teachers and Pedagogic Inspectors) to enhance their knowledge, skills, competences, and attitudes towards the use of SEL techniques in teaching to mitigate the social and emotional problems of IDPs.
- Healing Classrooms (Teachers) to identify pupils with SEL needs and using SEL skills to address these needs. This is a whole class approach.
- Friendship Clubs (Peers): School clubs created by teachers to encourage social interaction and reduce stigmatization amongst pupils.
- The Ubuntu pedagogy (the spirit of love, peace and sharing): An African approach which encompasses the Collective Finger Theory which states “a thumb, though strong, cannot kill an aphid on its own; but requires the collective cooperation of the other fingers (Ngubane & Makua, 2021). This promotes the spirit of Solidarity, Compassion, Survival, Respect and Dignity. This is a humanizing approach to teaching and engaging students in the learning process.
- Family Training to support and promote SEL within cultural and religious values and beliefs which improves parental engagement on the child’s education and the school community leading to positive effects. When families provide an environment that promotes SEL, children learn that there is a connection between their emotions, and their wellbeing.