Research and insights

The transition from primary to secondary school, and from school to higher education or work, can have a significant impact on an individual’s academic success, employability, wellbeing and lifetime potential. Evidence shows that transition periods present windows of opportunity to intervene and support vulnerable girls in low-resource settings – however, less is understood about what works.

EDT has been the strategic partner of the Dubai government’s Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) since 2006, providing support relating to the improvement of private schools through inspection. In this insight piece, our Education Director, Tony McAleavy, analyses the extent to which the KHDA inspection system has contributed to the measurable improvement in learning outcomes in Dubai private schools.

Since 2010, school absence rates in England have gradually increased, and were undoubtedly exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite a small decrease in persistent absences from 2022 to 2023, attendance rates have not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels. In this article, we explore the causes of persistent school absences, and identify promising interventions to ensure more pupils in England consistently attend school.

While gender disparities in the teaching workforce persist worldwide, the issue is particularly prominent in crisis- and conflict-affected contexts, with notable shortages of female teachers, especially at secondary level. Closing these gender gaps is an important factor in supporting educational opportunities and increasing attainment for girls in these settings.

During National Careers Week in the UK, Mark De Backer, EDT’s Deputy Director for Young People’s Services, considers whether 2024 could be the year that England shapes its careers system’s future. While there have been promising steps forward in shaping England’s careers provision in recent years, there remain significant opportunities for improvement.

High-quality early years education – in the first five years of life – is a hugely important foundation for lifelong learning and behaviour. An increasing number of governments around the world are recognising its importance and are reorientating their understanding of early years provision to focus on not just childcare, but more on early education. Here, we consider this growing interest and the importance of high-quality training and development for early years educators in optimising their environments and thereby giving children a strong start in life.

The Cambodian government has been successful in raising girls’ enrolment and academic achievement in recent years, with girls’ enrolment reaching 100% in 2021 and girls outperforming boys in reading, writing and mathematics at Grade 5 level. While this is hugely encouraging for girls’ education in the country, these statistics alone do not help us to understand the extent to which gender imbalances are being addressed and improved within the classroom.

What impact does climate change have on education, especially in areas which are vulnerable to climate disasters and extreme weather events? In this report, we explore the impact of climate change on schools and learning in six counties in Kenya (Nairobi, Mombasa, Turkana, Tana River, Kwale and Kilifi).

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.

At the end of 2022, there were 108.4 million forcibly displaced persons. Among these are 35.5 million refugees, over half of whom are children. Effective management of teachers is central to ensuring inclusive, equitable, and quality education for these children and young people, as teaching quality constitutes the most important factor affecting students’ learning. This report, the final in a series of country reports, investigates teacher management in refugee contexts in Uganda. It contributes to a burgeoning body of evidence about teachers in refugee contexts and aims to provide policy guidance to support ministries of education.

Lifelong learning – learning beyond compulsory schooling – can be an important factor in enhancing an individual’s employability and personal development, as well as social inclusion and active citizenship. As part of Lifelong Learning Week, this article examines the connection between lifelong learning and careers guidance.

In the ever-evolving landscape of education, technology has become an integral part of the learning process. Whether in traditional classrooms or virtual environments it can be easy to forget that the brain is always there – doing what it has done for millions of years. If we are going to make instruction design as effective as possible and embrace the full potential of edtech to enhance learning experiences, it is important for us to understand how the brain functions and apply principles from the biology of learning and cognitive psychology to create effective learning materials.