Intern – Education

About CRS:

Catholic Relief Services carries out the commitment of the Bishops of the United States to assist the poor and vulnerable overseas. Our Catholic identity is at the heart of our mission and operations. We welcome as a part of our staff and as partners people of all faiths and secular traditions who share our values and our commitment to serving those in need.

As an organization that celebrates and promotes diversity and inclusion, and which is committed to the ongoing work of racial equity and anti-racism, we welcome applicants of all backgrounds.

Background:

CRS’ Agency Strategy 2019-2030 includes goal 4, All Children reach their full health and development potential in safe and nurturing families. A critical component to achieving this goal is ensuring that all children and youth have improved opportunities to learn, for education is both a basic human right as well as a pathway to social justice, economic prosperity, and integral human development. Education is currently CRS’ 3rd largest sector.

Currently, CRS is working with local partners, government agencies, schools, and communities to implement education programming in 48 countries, reaching 4.6 million participants. Perhaps ¼ of these are large-scale, holistic education programs with multiple components aimed at improving learning for all children. The rest are much smaller interventions and/or components of a multi-sectoral development project

CRS has established a conceptual framework to guide its education programming, based on the evidence that for children, irrespective of age or environment, to learn, they must be healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and resilient. In recognition of this, CRS’ education programs work closely with schools, families, and communities to address these 5 core components and to influence and strengthen the education system’s capacity to provid e high-quality learning opportunities for all children and youth. This conceptual framework also acknowledges the importance of promoting lifelong learning and explicitly supporting transitions between development phases and education cycles.

The Education Unit, in HQ, provides technical leadership and support to CRS’ education programs. A draft strategy, developed by the Unit in consultation with staff around the world, identified climate change and education as an emerging area of interest. To date, only a couple of CRS’ education projects have focused on this theme. The purpose of this internship is to contribute to building the foundation to deepen and expand CRS’ work in this area, by gathering and synthesizing evidence and practical knowledge on how best to support education systems (particularly at the pre-primary through lower secondary levels) and stakeholders in such a way so as to ensure learners – as well as their teachers/educators, f amilies, and communities – become climate literate, climate compassionate, and climate-resilient.

This internship therefore seeks a current undergraduate or graduate student seeking to obtain work experience that aligns with his/her studies in climate change, environmental education, and/or education and/or to fulfill requirements for an academic course or degree.

Primary Function:

Desk review of research papers and reports related to the intersection of climate change and education. Areas of study explored are expected to include:

• Climate change and its current/expected outcome on education systems;
• Current attitudes and practices with respect to building education systems’ resilience to climate change, both at national as well as local levels;
• Examples of educational curriculum, models, approaches, and activities to support children/youth learning on climate change and the environment – with special attention to pre-primary, primary, and lower secondary levels. Examples from under-resourced schools and lower-middle income countries are of particular interest;
• What is known and what is not known (gaps in evidence) in terms of how to support children, teachers/staff, and parents/caregivers to become climate literate, climate compassionate, and climate resilient.

Major outcomes expected:

1. Literature review (as described above) and full bibliography;
2. Annotated bibliography for most relevant/practical/ resources;
3. Set of recommendations and best practices for CRS staff working at the pre-primary, primary, and lower secondary levels;
4. Key research/learning gaps identified, if possible.

What are the key learning components? (required)

• Learning about climate change and education, and how it can best be integrated into education programs at different age/learning levels
• Learning about donor priorities and/or strategic thinking in this area
• Learning about CRS’ education work worldwide (in education generally as well as the few initiatives related to climate change/education)

Job Responsibility:

Responsibilities include:

• Establishing a process and format for collecting, reviewing, and synthesizing resources and research;
• Conducting desk review and drafting report;
• Finalizing report based on CRS staff review/feedback;
• Participating in regular Education Unit meetings, to learn more about CRS’ education programs and to ask questions and present on progress;
• Participating in any external events on climate change and education, as feasible;
• Calls with country program education staff, as needed;
• Presentation of main outcomes of research at end of term.

Key Working Relationships:

Internal: PIQA Education Technical Director and Team; country program staff as needed

External: External organizations hosting webinars/events during period of internship, as needed

Agency Behavioral Competencies:

These are rooted in the mission, values and guiding principles of CRS and used by each staff member to fulfill his or her responsibilities and achieve the desired results.

• Integrity
• Accountability and Stewardship
• Relationship Building
• Develops Talent
• Continuous Improvement/ Innovation
• Strategic Mindset

Qualifications:

Undergraduate coursework in education, international development, environmental education, or equivalent; graduate-level coursework, preferred;

Strong research and writing skills;

Experience in curriculum development, teaching/tutoring, working with young children, international education, preferred.

Flexibility, curiosity, ability to work independently and in teams;

Interest in the subject matter.

Physical Requirements/Environment: (Optional)

Disclaimer Clause: This job description is not an exhaustive list of the skill, effort, duties, and responsibilities associated with the position.

CRS’ talent acquisition procedures reflect our commitment to protecting children and vulnerable adults from abuse and exploitation.

EOE

(as of 7/21)

Catholic Relief Services carries out the commitment of the Bishops of the United States to assist the poor and vulnerable overseas. Our Catholic identity is at the heart of our mission and operations. We welcome as a part of our staff and as partners people of all faiths and secular traditions who share our values and our commitment to serving those in need.