3EA Measurement Consortium

A Consortium of eight research-practice-policy partnerships was formed in early 2018 to rigorously develop, adapt, and test measures of children’s holistic learning and development (CHILD) and program implementation and quality (PIQ) outcomes in the Middle East, North Africa, and Turkey (MENAT). Consortium members were awarded modest funding, were invited to participate in three measurement-focused workshops, and were provided targeted technical support in research design and psychometric analyses from NYU Global TIES for Children (TIES/NYU). The Education in Emergencies: Evidence for Action (3EA) partnership between TIES/NYU and the International Rescue Committee (IRC) served as both the conveners and members of the MENAT Consortium. Consortium members were tasked with providing a set of open-source materials to be made publicly available through the Measurement Library, including evidence on reliability and/or validity of at least one measure, supporting training materials and a copy of the tool in the language of administration.

American University of Beirut & the Ministry of Public Health in Lebanon

The partnership between the American University of Beirut (AUB) and the National Mental Health Program at the Ministry of Public Health in Lebanon contributed the Early Childhood Behavior Questionnaire Short (ECBQ-S), a measure of temperament in toddlers tested with primary caregivers of infants/toddlers in Lebanon. Drs. Leyla Akoury Dirani, Wael Shamseddeen, and Rabih El Chammay were the lead participants from this partnership in the Consortium. Dr. Dirani is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Clinical Psychology, and Psychopathology and Director of both the Community Outreach Program and the Mental Health Training Institute in the Department of Psychiatry at AUB. Dr. Shamsedden is an Assistant Professor of Child, Adolescent, and Psychiatry, the Training Director of the Child Psychiatry Fellowship, and Medical Director of the Psychiatry Partial Hospitalization Program at AUB. Dr. Chammay is the Head of Programme with the National Mental Health Programme at the Ministry of Public Health in Lebanon.

New York University, Bahçeşehir University, & Hacettepe University

The partnership between New York University (NYU), Bahçeşehir University (BAU), and Hacettepe University contributed the Academic Readiness for Children measure, in both Arabic (ARCH-A) and Turkish (ARCH-T), a measure of school readiness tested with Syrian and Turkish children in Turkey. Drs. Selçuk Şirin, Sibel Baykut, Tülin Güler Yıldız and Clare Clingane, MA were the lead participants of this partnership within the Consortium.  Dr. Selçuk Şirin is a Professor of Applied Psychology at NYU, Ms. Clingain while previously a Research Assistant at NYU is now a Research Coordinator with the International Rescue Committee. Dr. Sibel Baykut is a Rector at BAU. Dr. Tülin Güler Yıldız is a Professor in Department of Early Childhood Education at Hacettepe University.

Norwegian Refugee Council & the Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø

The partnership between the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) and the Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø (UiT) contributed the Student Learning in Emergency Checklist 26 (SLEC-26), a measure of safety, social support, and well-being tested with Palestinian students from the Gaza strip, Jerusalem, Hebron, and other areas of the West Bank. Drs. June T. Forsberg, Jon-Håkon Schultz, and Ms. Camilla Lodi were the lead participants of this partnership within the Consortium. Dr. Forsberg is a Professor of Special Needs Education in the Department of Education at UiT. Dr. Schultz is a Professor of Education in the Department of Teacher Training and Education at UiT. Ms. Lodi is the Psycho-Social Support and Social Emotional Learning Regional Advisor with the Middle East Regional Office of the NRC.

Save the Children

Save the Children contributed the International Social Emotional Learning Assessment (ISELA), a measure of social and emotional learning tested with Syrian students in the Duhok region of Iraq. Dr. Nikhit D’Sa and Ms. Julia Finder Johna were the lead participants within the Consortium. At the time of engagement Dr. D’Sa was the Director of Research, Evaluation, and Learning at Save the Children US, he is now Senior Associate Director of Research, Evaluation, and Learning with the Fostering Resilience Initiative in the Institute for Educational Initiatives at the University of Notre Dame. Ms. Johna is an Education in Emergencies Advisor at Save the Children US.

War Child Holland

War Child Holland contributed the We-Act tool, a measure of frontline worker capacity tested with service providers in Gaza. Dr. Mark Jordans, Ms. April Coetzee, and Mr. Frederik Steen were the lead participants within the Consortium. Dr. Jordans is the Director of Research and Development for War Child Holland. Ms. Coetzee is the Senior Education Advisor and Mr. Steen is a Researcher in the Research and Development Department of War Child Holland.

Queen Mary University of London, Medicins du Monde, and the Institute for Development, Research, Advocacy and Applied Care

Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) in partnership with Medicins du Monde (MdM), and the Institute for Development, Research, Advocacy and Applied Care (IDRACC) contributed a set of tools including the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale for Children (CES-DC-10Sy), the Child PTSD Symptom Scale (CPSS-Sy), the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders (SCARED-18Sy), and the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule for Children (WHODAS-Child-Arabic), measure tested with Syrian children living as refugees in Lebanon.

Drs. Michael Pluess, Fiona McEwen, Elie Karam, John Fayyad, and Ms. Patricia Moghames were the lead participants of this partnership within the Consortium. Dr. McEwen is a Postdoctoral Researcher and Study Coordinator within the Department of Biological and Experimental Psychology and Dr. Pluess is a chartered psychologist and Reader (Associate Professor) in Developmental Psychology in the School of Biological and Chemical Sciences at QMUL. Ms. Moghames was a Research Fieldwork Coordinator with MdM at the time of engagement, and is currently the Deputy Health and Nutrition Coordinator with Accion contra el Hambre. Dr. Karam is a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Psychology at St. George Hospital University Medical Center, Balamand University, Lebanon. Dr. Fayyad was a Chairman in the Department of Psychiatry and Psychology at St. George Hospital University Medical Center, Balamand University, Lebanon and the Vice President of IDRAAC. Dr. Fayyad is sadly no longer with us, but we kindly remember the impact he made on the field and his colleagues.

Global TIES for Children, New York University & the International Rescue Committee

Global TIES for Children at New York University (TIES/NYU) in partnership with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) contributed the Teacher Classroom Observation and the Social-Emotional Response and Information Scenarios (SERAIS), measures tested with Syrian children living as refugees in Lebanon. Drs. Carly Tubbs Dolan and Silvia Diazgranados Ferrans were the lead participants from this partnership within the Consortium. Dr. Tubbs Dolan is the Director of Measurement and Metrics for Education in Emergencies: Evidence for Action (3EA) and Senior Advisor to TIES/NYU. Dr. Ferrans is the Senior Researcher for Education at the IRC.

World Learning, the Lebanese Center for Education Research and Development, & the Lebanese Ministry of Education and Higher Education Pedagogical and Scholastic Guidance Office

World Learning in partnership with the Lebanese Center for Education Research and Development (CERD) and the Lebanese Ministry of Education and Higher Education Pedagogical and Scholastic Guidance Office (DGE-DOPS) will contribute a measure on social and emotional learning tested with a nationally representative sample of children in Lebanon. Due to the scope of this project, the development of this measurement tool surpasses the original Consortium timeline. Ms. Nahla Harb and Drs. Wafa Kotob, Garene Kaloustian, Samar Ahmadieh were the lead participants from this partnership within the Consortium. Ms. Harb is a Psychotherapistand the Centre Hospitalier du Nord and Coordinator of Pedagogical Counseling with DGE-DOP. Dr. Kotob is the QITABI-2 Chief of Party at World Learning. Dr. Kaloustian is a Social Emotional Learning Specialist at World Learning. Dr. Ahmadieh was the Educational Psychology Department Head at CERD and a Professor in the Faculty of Education at the Lebanese University. Dr. Ahmadieh passed unexpectedly in September 2019 and is deeply missed.