The Luminos Fund, an international nonprofit bringing education opportunities to the world’s most vulnerable children, is looking for a researcher to support its work on learning differences.

Timeline: March 30^th – June 30^th 2023
Location: Liberia/remote

ABOUT THE LUMINOS FUND

The Luminos Fund (www.luminosfund.org) provides transformative education programs to thousands of out-of-school children, helping them to catch up to grade level, reintegrate into government schools, and prepare for lifelong learning. Working in partnership with community-based organizations, Luminos is scaling up its accelerated learning program to ensure all children have equal access to joyful, foundational learning, especially those shut out of education by crisis, poverty, or discrimination. To date, Luminos has helped over 218,000 secure a second chance to learn. A registered 501(c)(3) non-profit, Luminos is working in Ethiopia, Ghana, Lebanon, Liberia, and The Gambia.

Luminos is supported by a range of funding partners, including Cartier Philanthropy, Dubai Cares, Legatum, and UBS Optimus Foundation. Luminos has been recognized for its achievements globally, receiving the 2022 Klaus J. Jacobs Best Practice Prize, the Library of Congress International Literacy Award, the Lipman Family Prize, the WISE Award, and the HundrED Global Innovation Award for the last six years.

BACKGROUND AND SCOPE OF WORK

At The Luminos Fund, we recognize that there are children in our programs who struggle to learn at the same rate as their peers. In partnership with the Oak Foundation, The Luminos Fund is working to identify and support students in our programs with learning difficulties. In pursuit of this effort, we are testing a range of tools and approaches to identify students with learning difficulties, however, our ultimate aim is ensuring that teaching in Luminos classrooms is inclusive for all students – for those with learning difficulties as well as for those without.

As a next step in this journey, we are looking for a Short-Term Researcher, based in Africa and with significant educational research experience in the African context, to work as part of a research team to conduct a review of the Luminos curriculum, pedagogy, and practice through the lens of inclusion. The researcher will help identify existing alignment between the Luminos pedagogy and approaches that support learning for children with learning difficulties (in particular, dyslexia/other reading difficulties and dyscalculia). The researcher will also identify opportunities to further strengthen The Luminos Fund’s approach to supporting learning for all children, including those with learning difficulties. The selected researcher will be required to travel to Liberia for this assignment.

Specifically, we’re looking for a researcher who will:

Contribute to the research team’s research on the Luminos curriculum, pedagogy, and practice in Liberia, including but not limited to:
- A review of existing literature, curriculum materials, and other documents on the Luminos model and approach.
- In-depth classroom observation of Luminos teaching practices in Liberia.
Contribute to an analysis of the Luminos curriculum, pedagogy, and practice, identifying alignment with best practices for supporting learning for children with learning difficulties.

Guiding Research Questions

What is the philosophy behind the Luminos curriculum and pedagogy?
What alignment, if any, exists between the Luminos curriculum and pedagogy and best practices for supporting learning for students with dyslexia, other reading difficulties, and dyscalculia? What gaps exist?
How does the Luminos pedagogy work in practice?

Deliverables

Proposed work plan, including timelines for the desk review, classroom observations, and any other proposed methods.
Draft and final reports.

QUALIFICATIONS

Master's Degree (Ph.D. preferred) in education ideally with some expertise in learning difficulties, special educational needs, dyslexia intervention, developmental psychology, reading development, or a related field.
Familiarity in the field of inclusive education and learning difficulties. Clear familiarity with topics around inclusion, including UDL principles and best practices for supporting students with dyslexia/other reading difficulties and dyscalculia.
Experience conducting educational research in the African context, including tool development, data collection, data management, analysis, and report writing.
Excellent interpersonal skills, with the ability to successfully manage consultation and feedback processes.
Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written.
At least 5 years of experience.
Africa-based candidate (preference given to candidates based in West Africa).

Applications are considered on an ongoing basis.

The Luminos Fund is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran, or disability status.