Focus Area

Education and Skill Development

Every child deserves a quality education and the opportunity to reach their potential, whether they live in a stable community or a crisis-affected area.

Creative’s holistic “whole child, whole teacher, whole school” approach works at both the system and the learner levels of education. We facilitate teacher professional development, curriculum improvement, policy development and school management support alongside wraparound services like psychosocial support while working within and through the local education system.

Working in some of the world’s most fragile and hard-to-reach places, our development model embraces and empowers local partners and stakeholders as drivers of change. The Education Division’s experts and partners support local and national efforts to increase student learning achievement—across ages and stages—through a deep understanding of challenges, assets and proven models for improving education systems, increasing foundational skills, and supporting community engagement.

Foundational Learning

Basic literacy, numeracy and social and emotional learning skills are the foundations for future learning, success in school, active citizenship and informed decision-making. Creative works with ministries of education to develop and operationalize policies, curriculum and instructional approaches to ensure all students master basic skills.

Local Capacity Strengthening

Creative partners with ministries of education and communities to strengthen educational systems and empower schools and families. Our efforts include support for curriculum development, teacher professional development, quality assurance systems and dropout prevention models. Our programs pave the way for sustainability by institutionalizing governments’ ability to build the educational foundation for their children and youth’s future.

Education in Conflict

Education plays a vital role in rebuilding conflict and crisis-affected communities and instilling resilience for a peaceful future. Creative quickly assesses the unique needs and capabilities of educational systems in these situations and collaborates with communities, governments and the private sector to develop sustainable strategies that provide access to quality education in safe learning environments.

See our other conflict-sensitive work.

Alternative Education

In complex environments, education opportunities are often needed outside of a formal classroom. Creative works with governments and communities to develop alternative education programs, such as remedial and accelerated learning models, to support out-of-school children and youth in obtaining foundational skills and successfully transitioning into the formal system or livelihood opportunities.

Social and Emotional Learning

Creative fosters an environment where students and teachers can thrive by integrating social and emotional learning into our programming. Our interventions enhance students’ sense of control, belonging, safety, self-worth, relationships and the ability to manage conflicts non-violently. Creative promotes holistic teacher well-being using proven techniques to improve stress management, self-care and self-efficacy.

Inclusive Education

For children with disabilities and learning differences, education can provide an entry point to a society that may otherwise push them to the sidelines. Creative works with ministries of education, disabled persons organizations, local education organizations and communities to promote inclusive education practices. From establishing strong policy frameworks to training teachers to effectively educate children with varied needs to conducting community outreach, Creative approaches inclusive education at all levels, promoting practices that benefit all learners.

Early Childhood Care and Education

Early childhood is a critical development period and offers a unique opportunity to support children’s lifelong learning. Creative works with governments, early childhood education providers and parents to promote playful learning opportunities that help children build the skills they need to succeed in their future academic and personal life. In addition to introducing emergent literacy and numeracy skills through play, these programs engage children in critical thinking and problem solving, foster imagination and creativity, and support children in building strong relationships with adults and other children.

Workforce Development

Partnering with the private sector to understand their workforce requirements, Creative works with technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions, formal and informal training providers, community stakeholders and non-governmental organizations to design workforce development programs. Our interventions deliver market-driven, competency-based training programs, enhance TVET and training providers’ capacities, provide technical, digital, and life skills training and offer career counseling, job placement and ongoing support that enable people to be productive members of the workforce. To support a sustainable and resource-efficient society, Creative helps energy and non-energy industries in their just energy transition plans by training existing and new workforce on green skills for green jobs. Creative partners with TVET institutions and the private sector to co-design STEM-focused curricula addressing the growing demand for STEM-oriented occupations.