Insights

Our fifth Annual Impact Review reveals phenomenal growth in the reach and impact of our programmes to improve education across the world. The report – focusing on the year to September 2023 – shows how we have engaged with more teachers, leaders and education systems internationally than ever before and improved outcomes and experiences for learners.

In response to concerns over youth unemployment, skills mismatches and gender labour market segmentation and in alignment with the Ministry of Education's Education Sector plan (2018-22) and the National Strategy for Human Resources Development (2015-25), the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is experimenting with new approaches to career guidance in partnership with the UK-based Education Development Trust (EDT).

How do teachers and school leaders protect and preserve teacher professional development when disruption hits, as in the Covid-19 pandemic? In case studies from Kenya and Rwanda, where ‘communities of practice’ were already in place to support teacher training and learning, we explore how collaborative learning and elements of technology mitigated some of the challenges facing educators during periods of school closure and remote education.

In recent years, huge strides have been made in girls’ education. In many countries, girls are now just as likely to attend primary school as boys. More girls than ever before are finishing primary school and transitioning to secondary education, and in many countries, female university graduates easily outnumber their male counterparts. So why do we still need to talk about girls’ education? In this article, we explore the systemic challenges which continue to prevent many girls from accessing and completing high-quality education, and the implications of these inequalities for millions of girls and their communities worldwide.

Climate change matters for education – and education matters in the fight against climate change. As this issue rightly continues to generate public and policy attention, it is critical that the connections between climate change and education are not overlooked. The risks posed to learners by the changing climate are very real – especially in low-and-middle-income contexts – but we must also carefully consider how education could mitigate aspects of this huge global challenge.

Our fourth Annual Impact Review reveals phenomenal growth in the reach and impact of our programmes to improve education across the world. The report – focusing on the year to September 2022 – shows how we have engaged with more teachers, leaders and education systems internationally than ever before and improved outcomes and experiences for learners.

The modern labour market can be a challenging, competitive and complex place for young people to navigate. There are approximately 73 million unemployed youth globally (ILO.org). The International Labour Organisation (ILO) estimated the share of youth aged 15-24 not in employment, education or training (NEET) in 2020 to be at 23% globally and at 33% in Southern Africa, 31% in MENA and 11% in European Union member states (ILOSTAT). Successful engagement of young people in the labour market is essential for their own personal livelihoods and wellbeing and for social and economic change.

As the Covid-19 pandemic spread across the globe, schools were confronted by a period of exceptional uncertainty. Headteachers, with often minimal experience or training in crisis leadership, needed to react quickly to minimise disruption to learning. Education Development Trust (EDT) has been collaborating with UNESCO-IIEP as a thought leadership partner to consider how education leadership might be strengthened in crisis settings, as part of IIEP’s work on crisis-sensitive planning.

What is the most important thing we can do to get evidence to drive education reform at the highest levels? This is an age-old question as much as it is a pressing and relevant challenge today. For researchers and champions of evidence use for decision making, it is also a professional conundrum. For Anna Riggall, Director - Research & Consultancy at EDT, the answer is straight forward. She argues evidence production must be demand driven and the process led by the right people.

Alongside the ongoing learning crisis exacerbated by Covid-19, it remains as urgent as ever for education systems to respond to climate change. In many countries, extreme weather, floods and droughts are already causing disruption to schools and research shows that climate vulnerability is detrimental to learning outcomes. At the same time, emerging evidence shows education as a valuable tool for helping people adapt to climatic shocks, calculate risks and embed sustainable practices in their daily lives. So, what do we know about the role of education in the fight against climate change and what further research is needed to effectively address the intersecting crises of learning and climate?

Education is a prominent casualty in crisis situations, but it also plays a critical role in emergency response. Continued access to school provides a place of protection and sense of normalcy for children, while effective approaches to learning and inclusion foster resilience, and support longer-term processes of economic recovery and peace. With refugee numbers hitting headlines again, we reflect on two focus areas developed over more than 20 years’ experience working in fragile and conflict-affected states.

Education Development Trust has a long history of working in Rwanda. Our teams worked with the ministry of education in a post-genocide Rwanda in 2001 to design the education sector strategic plan, the framework of which is still in use today. Our five-year programme, Building Learning Foundations, is about getting the foundations in place to positively effect the rest of Rwanda's education system.