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How COVID-19 set back global education: insights from TIMSS 2023 - World Education Blog
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted all aspects of life, including education. To curb the virus spread, schools worldwide closed in March 2020, impacting over a billion children for an average of 5.5 months, with some regions facing longer interruptions. While necessary for public health, these closures had lasting effects on student learning. Even though schools have since reopened, some as late as 2022, the impact of the closures continues to be felt.
Crisis in the classroom: Tackling the global teacher shortage - World Education Blog
Teachers are the heartbeat of education — sparking curiosity, inspiring minds, and shaping the leaders of tomorrow. Their impact reaches far beyond the classroom, as they not only help build the future of individual students but also contribute to the progress and well-being of society as a whole.
“Some children in the class are in a wheelchair. Well so what?” - World Education Blog
In Moldova in 2007, residential institutions housed over 11,000 orphans and children with special needs. Since then, reforms have seen it move towards a more inclusive education system. Segregated education systems persist in many countries still. A PEER mapping of over 200 education system’s laws and policies carried out in 2020 for the 2020 GEM Report on inclusion and education found that laws in 25% of countries make provisions for educating children with disabilities in separate settings.
We must invest in system leaders to #LeadforLearning - World Education Blog
The fourth recommendation in the 2024/5 GEM Report on leadership in education focuses on the need to develop education officials’ capacity to serve as system leaders. Who are education system leaders? System leaders are education officials, at the central and local levels, who help achieve system-wide education goals by setting directions, ensuring monitoring and supporting, developing and leading school actors.
Seven steps to support girls and women to pursue STEM subjects and careers - World Education Blog
This week, a three-day conference is taking place in Addis Ababa, hosted by UNESCO, the African Union Commission and key continental organizations to identify the root causes of challenges hindering science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education, research, innovation, and entrepreneurship in Africa, and to develop effective strategies to overcome them and unlock the continent's development potential.
Countries must tap climate finance to mobilize resources for education - World Education Blog
In recent years, like other human activities, the education sector has felt the effects of climate change. As the 2024/5 GEM Report reported, many low- and lower-middle-income countries are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of extreme weather events. The number of medium- to large-scale disasters is projected to increase from 400 annually in 2015 to 560, or about 1.5 each day, by 2030.
The prevalence of bullying is increasing more for girls than for boys - World Education Blog
Students’ welfare in school also depends on freedom from abusive, hurtful and intimidating behaviours, something we should remember as we celebrate three key international days this month: the International Day Against Violence and Bullying at School, the World Day for the Prevention of and Healing from Child Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Violence and the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.
Access to Climate Education is a Matter of Justice - World Education Blog
This year alone, millions of people worldwide experienced extreme climate events, groundbreaking temperatures, genocides, and deadly exposure to toxic chemicals and pollution. Why have our education systems not caught up with this crisis? And what does Trump's recent election to the US presidency – given his track record as a climate denialist and constant threats on public education, mean for the world?
They don't need to fix us, they need to catch up: An African's perspective on climate education - World Education Blog
Africa contributes a measly 3% of global carbon emissions, yet no continent is feeling the heat – literally – as much. Rising temperatures are killing our livestock, and coastal areas face the brunt of rising sea levels. It's a harsh reality brought on by a world that has prioritized convenience over sustainability.
El Hopa: Empathy in the Face of Climate Change - World Education Blog
I vividly recall being in the 6th grade, spending weeks meticulously cutting out used cereal boxes to build my very own shack in the simulated city of El Hopa – a land of hopes and dreams. We were embodying the role of villagers from a rural area, faced with increasing agricultural hardship due to unpredictable climates and attracted by the promise of moving to the big city. As I placed my little shack, a labour of love, I felt connected to my new city. And with it came apprehensions and fears for my future. My fears were justified as a simulated “typhoon” ripped through El Hopa, swept away my shack – and along with it – my hopes and dreams for the future.
Gaming for Good: A youth climate activist's perspective - World Education Blog
As a young climate activist, my heart aches when I think about the destruction we're inflicting on our planet. We have one Earth, one chance to make a difference. There's no Planet B to fall back on. However, we can still find hope and innovation in unexpected places. Through gaming, we can create virtual worlds where we can practice sustainable living and bring those lessons back to our own reality.
Social and emotional learning in the Global South: The path forward - World Education Blog
People are excited about the potential of programs focused on children’s social and emotional learning (SEL). At the least, they can make learning a more engaging and enjoyable experience for children. But, do we know how and if SEL programs work, especially across the diverse economic, ethnic and cultural contexts that constitute low- or middle-income countries (LMICs)? The enthusiasm for SEL programs has galloped ahead of the evidence.
How can we empower school leaders to #LeadforLearning: Recommendations from the 2024/5 GEM Report - World Education Blog
Leadership takes many forms and is hard to measure concretely, but it is critical for education success at all levels. There are enabling factors, however, which nurture rather than stifle talented leaders of all styles and backgrounds, in all contexts. The 2024/5 GEM Report covers these in its first three recommendations. They are underpinned by four dimensions of an education leader’s role that are relevant for them to lead effectively, whether they work in a school or a government education office: to set expectations, to focus on learning, to foster collaboration and to develop capacity.
New PEER profiles support policy dialogue on school leadership - World Education Blog
By Anna Cristina D’Addio and Daniel April, with Samaher Al Hadheri, Chandni Jain, Maria-Rafaela Kaldi, Manuela Pombo, Divya Sharma, Dorothy Wang, GEM Report The 2024/5 GEM Report on Leadership in Education launched at the Global Education Meeting in Fortaleza emphasizing the need to #LeadforLearning is largely informed by the research involved in the PEER country […]
2024 Education Finance Watch highlights the need for more adequate, efficient, and equitable education spending - World Education Blog
We know that investing in education pays off in the long run—for individuals over their entire lives and for entire societies. But we also know that when it comes to financing education, the devil is in the details: governments need to invest in education adequately, efficiently and equitably to get the most value from what they spend.
New 2024/5 GEM Report calls for strong leadership to address stagnating education progress - World Education Blog
The new 2024/5 GEM Report, Lead for learning, is being launched today at the Global Education Meeting organized back-to-back with the G20 Education Ministers meeting in Fortaleza, Brazil, with the participation of 44 education ministers. Its message is that investment is needed in education leaders, from the school to the system level, to inject new momentum into the drive towards the Sustainable Development Goal on education (SDG 4).
Education technology helps overcome remoteness and vulnerability in the Pacific - World Education Blog
The Pacific is home to 45.5 million people spread across 30 million square kilometers, making it a unique geographic and cultural region, especially in terms of the application of technology in education. On the one hand, its geographic dispersion means that communication links are extremely important, but challenges due to natural disasters, costly infrastructure and linguistic diversity mean that the use of technology in the region requires great attention in terms of sustainability and relevance.
The growing movement to ban smartphones in schools - World Education Blog
Calls for banning smartphones in classrooms and schools have intensified, particularly in Europe. This movement is driven by concerns about student wellbeing and the impact of technology on learning outcomes. Educators complain that smartphones are a major source of distraction, negatively impacting students’ ability to concentrate on lessons. Incoming notifications, or even the mere proximity of a mobile device, can be a distraction resulting in students losing their attention from the task at hand. A study found that it can take students up to 20 minutes to refocus on what they were learning after engaging in a non-academic activity.
Building Resilient Futures: Strengthening Education Systems through Disaster Risk Reduction and School Safety - World Education Blog
By Yasmine Sherif, Executive Director, Education Cannot Wait On this International Day of Disaster Risk Reduction, we must remember the power of education in protecting communities from disasters. By empowering the next generation for a resilient future, we can make good on the commitments outlined in the Paris Agreement and Sustainable Development Goals. The climate […]
We must invest in local leadership to secure the future of Girls' Education - World Education Blog
As the first female maths teacher in a low-income school in Dhaka, Bangladesh, I witnessed how deeply ingrained cultural and societal barriers continue to block girls' access to quality education. Efforts were made to ensure girls attended school—scholarships were offered, policies mandated enrollment, and sanitary supplies were provided for girls. But I saw firsthand that these well-intentioned efforts didn’t always translate into meaningful change. Girls were still dropping out of my school because of cultural expectations, early marriage, or simply because their education wasn’t prioritized at home. It became clear that while these technical fixes were necessary, they didn’t address the deeper, systemic issues that held girls back.
Any potential that technology has will not be realized unless teachers are prepared to use it - World Education Blog
Teachers are increasingly expected to integrate technology into various aspects of their professional practice. Effective integration means enabling teachers to make their teaching practices more learner-centered; creating engaging and relevant learning environments; and preparing students with technological knowledge and skills.
Youth and students call for technology to be on their terms - World Education Blog
The youth edition of the 2023 GEM Report on technology in education, released last week during Digital Learning Week in Paris, calls for governments to ensure that decisions about technology in education place learners’ best interests at the center. The event brought together young people from Canada, Denmark, France, South Sudan, Saudi Arabia and Zimbabwe to discuss what technology in their terms would look like. Moderated by Restless and with a keynote presentation from Rémy Buisine from BRUT, a French online news platform targeting young people, the event concluded with a call to action from the Executive Director of the Global Student Forum inviting youth and students to support the campaign #TechOnOurTerms.
Sustaining system-wide educational improvement in South Africa - World Education Blog
When it comes to education, unlike rugby, South Africa is often in the news for the wrong reasons. Far from being world champions, the country is one of the worst performers in international assessments of learning like TIMSS and PIRLS. However, South Africa has improved significantly in these assessments since the early 2000s. This year, McKinsey released a report identifying it as one of the “sustained and outsized improvers” in education.
Why boys need more support in building reading motivation, confidence, and engagement - World Education Blog
There is a troubling gap in reading achievement between boys and girls. This disparity is not just an academic issue, it is a barrier to boys’ full participation in society. As we mark International Literacy Day on 8 September, UNESCO and the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) are releasing a brief that highlights the need to support boys in developing the reading skills that are essential for their future.
Japanese international cooperation has supported primary mathematics programmes in Africa for more than two decades - World Education Blog
Japan’s international cooperation programmes in basic education, reflecting its own historical development experience, have emphasized the use of existing systems and resources to help build institutions.
Lessons for teachers from a remedial education programme in Chad - World Education Blog
To reduce grade repetition and dropout, many African countries are providing some type of remedial education, either in-school or through community-based activities. In Chad, three out of every five children starting primary school are expected to drop out before the end. Out of the 40% of students who reached the last grade of primary education, one in two had repeated at least one school year. A 2014 decree banned student retention in early primary grades. Instead, students at the end of grade 2 and grade 4 with scores regularly below average would be provided remedial lessons. These lessons would be provided for 40 hours per year and subject (mathematics and language) to help students progress to the next cycle.
Climate change education matters: what’s the point of denying what is evident? - World Education Blog
According to the 6th National Communication in 2018, efforts in Mexico to promote education and public awareness of climate change are based on the international legal framework and the national education policy. This blog post shows what my school is doing to realize this imperative.
Commit, measure, iterate: Three steps to drive impact on student learning outcomes - World Education Blog
Globally, 250 million children are out of school, and millions more are in school but not learning, costing an estimated USD 10 trillion annually by 2030. In sub-Saharan Africa, 90% of children do not learn to read by age 10. Given the scale of the learning crisis, it is tempting to look for a silver bullet to address it - a proven solution that can be scaled up wherever children are not learning. However, there is no single formula or recipe for education delivery. Various evidence-based approaches, including structured pedagogy for teachers and targeting teaching instruction by learning level, can effectively support learning. However, when trying to deliver learning outcomes, how you implement matters just as much as what you implement. More specifically, education programs that improve learning generally commit to learning as their single focus, measure whether learning is taking place, and continuously iterate to optimize learning outcomes.
Measuring beyond numbers: Navigating the complexities of digital skills measures - World Education Blog
In a world without measurement, everyday tasks would lack precision and reliability. From baking a cake with the right amount of ingredients to managing finances, measurement helps ensure accuracy, maintain consistency, and make informed decisions. We now attempt to quantify happiness, gauge the state of political rights and civil liberties, and assess the overall quality of life and education through indicators. But there's a catch: while these measurements provide invaluable insights, they often overlook context.
A vision to prioritize numeracy: empowering children with numbers for a brighter future - World Education Blog
Imagine a world where every young person, regardless of where they are born, can confidently solve problems, make informed decisions, and envision a future filled with possibilities. This is not just a dream – it is a vision grounded in the power of numeracy skills, the focus of the 2024 Spotlight Report Learning Counts, and a cornerstone of foundational learning. Numeracy is the language of logic, the art of numbers, and the key to unlocking potential. It is about much more than arithmetic and algebra; it is about critical thinking, problem-solving, and navigating life with confidence. Sadly, for at least four in five young children from across Africa, this aim remains just out of reach, locked behind barriers of inadequate education and limited resources.
STEM teachers are in short supply - World Education Blog
Among teaching specialities, the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects face some of the greatest staffing shortfalls. One reason is that not enough people enter the profession. Another problem is that even fewer teachers stay in the subjects. What is driving this? And what are countries doing to address it? This blog takes a look at the issues at play.
Every child and every school needs a unique student ID number - World Education Blog
Guaranteeing that each school and student is uniquely identified within an education management information system is key to the effective and efficient use of information. It allows students to be followed in school registers, examination records and national scholarship databases throughout their education journey for administrative routine follow-up and for analytical insights into their learning trajectories. It also has benefits beyond education – for example, student identification can be linked to civil registry official digital identification, which can then link to other social services.
African girls who start school late or repeat grades are more likely to leave school early - World Education Blog
The 2024 Gender Report, Technology on her terms, released recently, reviews progress on gender parity in education for most SDG 4 targets. Progress aside, it remains the case that parity has not been achieved at the same rates for all levels of education in sub-Saharan Africa. As of 2020, for every 100 enrolled males, there were 96 females enrolled in primary, 91 in lower secondary, 87 in upper secondary and 80 in tertiary education. In addition, in absolute numbers, sub-Saharan Africa is the main world region where there are more girls of primary and secondary school age who are out of school than boys – and the out-of-school population is growing.
Hardware on its own will not improve learning - World Education Blog
Providing devices to students with pre-recorded lessons has not always been successful. It is not enough to just deliver inputs without contextualizing them and providing support. Preloaded content needs to be integrated into teaching and contextualized to be effective.
Are digital textbooks the way of the future? Can publishers keep up? - World Education Blog
Despite significant upfront costs, including infrastructure and training, digitization of textbooks can greatly reduce the production and distribution unit cost. Digital textbooks also have the advantage of increasing student access to content outside school hours. Moreover, those openly licensed as OER encourage contextual adaptations that can improve inclusiveness and relevance. However, this requires a reconfiguration of some of the dominant business models.
Students and youth are advocating for a broad vision of climate change education - World Education Blog
Despite progress in education systems’ response to the climate change challenge, many students and youth find formal education lacking, and call for more action-oriented and psychosocial learning and a stronger focus on justice issues. A survey of over 2,000 young respondents from 53 countries found that 95% were worried about the effects of climate change and environmental degradation, while 36% highlighted the importance of inclusive and accessible education of good quality as a priority for addressing climate change; but only one quarter of young women and just over one third of young men felt that their education had prepared them to address climate change.
Technology is still not used much in the classroom despite the hype - World Education Blog
In the past 20 years, learners, educators and institutions have widely adopted digital technology tools. The number of students in massive open online courses reached at least 220 million in 2021. The language learning application Duolingo had 20 million daily active users in 2023 and Wikipedia had 244 million page views per day in 2021.
Where does girls’ maths anxiety come from? - World Education Blog
Mathematical capability and knowledge are critical to developing STEM skills and working in STEM fields. However, the 2024 Gender Report contained the estimate that one in five people feel anxious about mathematics with anxiety levels higher among girls, even when they perform well. In all participating education systems in the 2019 TIMSS, except Bahrain and Egypt, boys reported being significantly more confident in mathematics than girls. Why?