NEST Malawi Research Dissemination Calls for Stronger Link Between Education Policy and Classroom Practice

Participants pose for a group photograph during the NEST Malawi research dissemination workshop in Mponela.

Copies of the NEST Malawi research report presented during the dissemination workshop.

The Creative Centre for Community Mobilization (CRECCOM), in partnership with the Center for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution, is today holding a research dissemination workshop at Thope Lodge in Mponela to share findings from the NEST Malawi study, Learning What Matters in Malawi: From Policy to Holistic Skills Development for Secondary School Students.

The study examines how Malawi’s secondary education system and policy frameworks support young people to develop a broad range of academic, socio-emotional and transferable skills. Using a mixed-methods approach, the research engaged schools, policymakers, educators, learners and parents, and found that while Malawi has strong policy ambitions around skills development, a gap remains between policy intentions and classroom practice.

Director of Secondary Education Ruth Samati Kambali speaks during the dissemination of the NEST Malawi research findings.

Opening the workshop, Ms. Ruth Samati Kambali, Director of Secondary Education in the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, commended CRECCOM and its partners for generating evidence that speaks directly to the challenges and opportunities within Malawi’s secondary education system.

She emphasized the importance of ensuring that research findings do not end with dissemination, but contribute to ongoing efforts to strengthen secondary education and better prepare learners for further education, employment and life beyond school.

CRECCOM Executive Director Alinafe Chibwana also acknowledged the successful completion of the study, describing it as an important milestone in CRECCOM’s commitment to evidence generation and education systems transformation.

She stressed that the findings should now move beyond the report and be used to inform dialogue, policy development and practical improvements within the education system.

Director of Secondary Education Ruth Samati Kambali speaks during the dissemination of the NEST Malawi research findings.

The report highlights several system-level challenges, including the continued dominance of examination-oriented learning, limited emphasis on practical and transferable skills, insufficient teacher support for skills-based learning, weak coordination among education stakeholders and limited feedback mechanisms between national and sub-national levels.

It recommends four priority areas: clarifying the purpose of secondary education under Malawi 2063; aligning teaching, learning and assessment with holistic skills development; improving coordination across government and development partners; and strengthening feedback systems and sub-national capacity.

The dissemination workshop has brought together education stakeholders to reflect on the findings, discuss their implications and explore how the evidence can contribute to stronger alignment between policy and practice.

The Malawi study forms part of the Network for Education Systems Transformation (NEST), a global network working across multiple countries to generate locally grounded evidence on how education systems can better equip children and young people with a breadth of skills needed to thrive. CRECCOM is the Malawi member of the network.

Through the dissemination, CRECCOM and its partners hope to strengthen dialogue around education reform and encourage greater use of evidence in shaping policies and practices that respond to the realities experienced by learners, teachers and schools.

See the full report here: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/learning-what-matters-in-malawi/