Imagine exists to demonstrate that children with learner-centered, tech-enabled solutions in their hands can become literate and numerate, driving their own instruction. More than 264 million children and youth worldwide do not have access to school. And hundreds of millions more children go to school but never learn to read or do math. Imagine believes that they can work with schools and communities to address these seemingly intractable problems. Imagine is partnering with organizations across the globe to pilot promising child-directed, tech-enabled learning solutions.
Why We Invested
Sub-Saharan Africa remains the worst performing region in education outcomes with 40% of children not meeting basic literacy and numeracy outcomes. Meanwhile, given the global teacher shortage, more than 6.3 million teachers alone are needed in sub-Saharan Africa to achieve universal primary education by 2030. Autonomous learning refers to a student engaging in learning at her own pace where the student takes primary responsibility for her learning andthe pace of that learning. Imagine Worldwide is taking a bold and big bet to investigate whether children, with research-based curriculum and pedagogy, on tablets in their hands, can become literate and numerate autonomous learners.
In all my years of working in education and in the social sector, I have never witnessed an opportunity to create change of this magnitude. This solution is transformational and scalable and we owe it to the world to make sure we understand what is possible and how to continue to improve. Until recently, we did not have a way to reach every child with high-quality learning opportunities. We are at a pivotal moment. We must give each and every child the opportunity that we would want for our own children—the opportunity to learn.
Susan Colby, CEO and Co-founder, Imagine Worldwide