Mali Essential Reading Materials Study: Global Book Alliance in Action

The mission is to guarantee that children everywhere have the books and learning materials they need to learn to read and read to learn. In Mali, GBAIA implemented the Mali Micro-initiative to strengthen the capacity of Malian publishers in the children's book industry through training and coaching. GBAIA trained Malian publishers, authors, editors, illustrators, and graphic designers in Bamako to address gaps at several stages of the local book supply chain. After the training, publishing houses developed 25 titles in the Bamanankan language, of which 21 were selected to be printed. Five thousand copies of each title are being printed for distribution to 200 schools in Bamako. The Essential Reading Materials Study aimed to determine stakeholder perceptions of 18 titles out of 25 developed. Feedback was collected through focus group discussions (FGDs) with teachers and students. The FGDs were conducted with draft books before they were finalized, printed, and distributed to schools. Publishers used the feedback to edit their books before printing them and distributing them to schools. The study found that children and teachers provided overwhelmingly positive feedback on the books. The books covered four overarching themes: school and work, interpersonal relationships, diversity and inclusion, and history and customs. Children liked stories about hardworking characters who succeeded, and they enjoyed books about characters helping each other and living in harmony together. Students valued lessons about respecting people with different identities. Children and teachers loved the illustrations, which reflected the content of the story and helped highlight key plots. They also liked the font and size of the text of all the books they reviewed. Overall, children and teachers agreed that most books were appropriate for the children's age and grade level. However, one book contained words that were too difficult to understand for second-grade students, and four books were too long for second-year students. For half the books, students agreed that they enjoyed the story and would not change it, while for the remaining half, they had specific suggestions on how to improve the story and pictures. Children were eager to read again half the books for two reasons: they wanted to revisit the stories and characters that inspired them, and they wanted to learn new vocabulary and better understand the story. The study concluded that children and teachers had largely positive feedback on the reading materials that they reviewed. However, the main limitation of this study is desirability bias, as teachers and children may have felt compelled to provide answers that they thought would please the study staff. Overall, it seems that the book chain actors – publishers, authors, illustrators, and graphic designers – integrated their training and coaching on decodable and levelled readers and developed age- and grade-appropriate materials for their target audience. The study's findings suggest that future materials should likely remain in the same vein, with a focus on diverse and relevant stories, as well as engaging illustrations. The study's results will help GBAIA and USAID strengthen future publisher trainings and improve the quality of reading materials for primary school children in Mali.