MOROCCO

Learning; Adolescent Education and Skills; systems strengthening, innovation – The Personal

Project in Morocco

Problem: In Morocco, every year an estimated 300,000 adolescents and youth drop out of secondary

school. Three out of ten (1.7 million) youth are not in employment, education or training. Of these, three out

of four are girls.

Solution: With 9 million adolescents and youth, aged 10 to 24, there is clear recognition of the need to

address these challenges through education, and empower youth to engage fully in the economy, society

and public life, as well as to campion their own interests. To this end, Morocco is focusing on strengthening

young people’s skills in schools and providing them with support for their personal and professional

development, including life skills education, career guidance, and support for their transition from school to

work. An example of this approach is the Personal Project programme which aims to prepare children to

understand different professional options better and equip them with the skills needed to pursue their future.

Advancing life skills and citizen education

in Morocco

The Personal Project consists of 10 activities

beginning for students at the end of primary in

Grades 5 and 6. These activities take students

through a journey of learning and professional

development by reflecting on the different

opportunities and available education and

vocational paths available. This reflection links

schools with surrounding communities and

fosters active participation of children and

parents.

Each student’s journey continues in secondary

school through the adoption of a student

portfolio by which students develop vocational

project linked to local labour market needs.

Work is underway to introduce a promising

career guidance programme to help ensure a

swift transition from school to work.

An innovative approach for integrating

life skills

The Personal Project began in 2014. Its

underlying methodology is project-based

learning and includes a blend of dedicated

sessions in schools as well as related extra-

curricular activities. As part of the programme,

teachers received training manuals and

students learning resources.

An example of an exercise as part of the

Personal Project is that children are introduced

to the work of firefighters. They discuss in

groups the nature of the profession. They

engage in activities that foster a set of personal

skills that resonate with the skills needed in this

profession. They receive information about the

pathway and training requirements that are

required to become a firefighter. They learn

about job specifications, salaries, and career

development by exploring and discussing

together the opportunities to become firefighters

in their area.

The teacher organizes a visit to a fire station.

Children will have previously prepared

questions for the firefighters they will meet.

During the visit, the students reflect on their

assumptions about this career through their

interactions with the firefighters.

Preliminary results and lessons learnt

The Personal Project programme has shown

tangible results for children, teachers, and

school communities. The programme changed

parents’ and students’ attitudes toward what the

school could do for children to help them pursue

their dreams. This approach has also

strengthened linkages between formal

education and vocational training systems as it:

• connected school-based and extra-curricular

activities,

• reinforced existing school governance

structures (school committees); and

• enabled students to plan better for their

future careers and adopt relevant vocational

pathways.

For participating children, results show

acquisition of critical life skills, the ability to make

more informed career decisions. The

programme has also increased participation,

decreased dropout, particularly among

disadvantaged children and improved learning

outcomes. Furthermore, the programme

introduced teachers to active learning

methodologies and provided concrete examples

to make subjects more relevant to their students.

An evaluation of 150 students in the rural area of Touama showed a positive impact.

63% Were able to define

future professional

development and

adopt new

vocational pathways

61% Were able to discover jobs

and the qualifications

needed in relation to their

academic and vocational

pathways

Next steps

After the successful piloting of the model, the

Personal Project is now being updated and

expanded to start a year earlier in Grade 5. A

larger-scale pilot was launched in 2018,

covering 300 schools across Morocco, reaching

a total of 36,000 children. The evaluation of the

results will inform future scale up aiming to

reach all schools in Morocco in 2019.

The Personal Project, a life skills and career guidance programme, improved learning,

including acquisition of critical skills such as communication, collaboration, problem

solving, and decision-making. It promotes active engagement among students and makes

school subjects more relevant to students’ lives and plans, and, as a result, reduced

dropout. It is a successful example of how innovative approaches to teaching and learning

contribute to the goal that “Every Child Learns”.

For more info, please contact:

Khalid Chenguiti, Education Specialist, UNICEF Morocco kchenguiti@unicef.org

Vina Barahman, Education Specialist, UNICEF MENA vbarahman@unicef.org

September 2019

Cost effectiveness:

For US $345,000, the Personal Project benefitted 18,323 students (7,625 girls) over four years.