Capacity building for young Ivorian researchers

A new PhD program is supporting young researchers in Côte d’Ivoire to advance their knowledge on early childhood development. Learn more about research interests of the six fellows and their united goal of enhancing lives of children and youth.

Scientific research is essential to advance knowledge related to early childhood development (ECD) and the quality of education. That is why TRECC partnered with the International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development (ISSBD) to initiate a doctoral fellowship program worth CHF 500,000 for talented young researchers from universities of Côte d’Ivoire. The first phase of this program will host six PhD students with research projects addressing issues as diverse as well as relevant to improving the quality of education and ECD in Côte d’Ivoire.

Mentoring, workshops and other benefits
These young researchers will benefit from financial support, international mentoring, and intensive research training workshops. The objective of the program is to equip them with expertise in the design, implementation, evaluation and dissemination of research results and interventions aimed at improving early childhood development and the quality of education in Côte d’Ivoire. Find out more about their research interests and how will their theses contribute to better lives of youth.

The TRECC-ISSBD Fellows (from left to right): TOPKA Venance, DJALEGA Franck Adjé, ANOUA Apie Léa Fabienne

TOPKA Venance
Passionate about languages, particularly Ivorian languages, Venance is conducting a study on “Interface between analysis and didactics in terms of Toura tonality”. Toura is a local language spoken in the region of Tonkpi, in the west of Côte d’Ivoire. Venance is a PhD student in language sciences, option descriptive linguistics, at the University Félix Houphouët-Boigny of Abidjan. Through his research, he would like to contribute to the promotion of quality and sustainable education in Côte d’Ivoire.

DJALEGA Franck Adjé
PhD student in nutrition and food security at Nangui Abrogoua University. Franck is conducting a study on the fortification of “attiéké”, a local Ivorian dish made from cassava, with micronutrients (iron, zinc, vitamin A and B9). This research aims to find a solution to the problems of malnutrition among school-age children in Côte d’Ivoire. The improvement of blood biochemical parameters through appropriate nutritional intake is an essential factor for optimal learning among children.

ANOUA Apie Léa Fabienne
Passionate about the socio-anthropological studies of education, Fabienne is a PhD student at the Félix Houphouët-Boigny University of Abidjan. Her thesis focuses on pre-school education in Côte d’Ivoire and the acquisition of basic skills among pupils in rural cocoa-growing areas. She compares skills of pupils who had access to pre-school and those who didn’t. She aims to measure the impact of pre-school education on school readiness and to inform public policy in order to improve the available supply.

The TRECC-ISSBD Fellows (from left to right): SERI Gbala Edy Constant, KOUAME Anne Marie Josiane, BROU Abenin Mathieu

SERI Gbala Edy Constant
Motivated by the promotion of the psychosocial well-being of individuals, Constant is pursuing his doctoral studies at the Félix Houphouët-Boigny University of Abidjan. His thesis examines the effects of entrepreneurial education on self-esteem and school performance, which should guarantee the development of professional skills of young students in cocoa-growing areas in Côte d’Ivoire.

KOUAME Anne Marie Josiane
A doctoral student in the sociology of education at the Félix Houphouët-Boigny University in Abidjan, Josiane is interested in the resources and facilitating factors for the development of reading and numeracy skills among students in cocoa-growing areas. Her ultimate goal is to contribute to the strengthening of basic education in Côte d’Ivoire.

BROU Abenin Mathieu
PhD student at the Félix Houphouët-Boigny University of Abidjan-Cocody, Mathieu is preparing a unique thesis aimed at examining the joint influence of culture and biological factors on children’s academic performance. The results of this study will serve as a database on the biological and cultural mechanisms of learning and will make it possible to specifically target the factors involved in the development of school skills, particularly in reading and arithmetic.

Stay tuned to follow the progress of their work!