Research and insights

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.

Difficulty transitioning from school to higher education or work remains one of the key barriers facing girls in disadvantaged contexts, with far-reaching implications for their futures and wellbeing. In this report, the first in a three-year research project on girls’ transitions into higher education or work, we seek to understand the challenges facing these girls and highlight promising interventions to support their transitions – including in challenging contexts where marginalisation persists.

Following research into climate change and education in Kenya, Education Development Trust (EDT) are undertaking research to better understand the relationship between climate and environmental change and education in Rwanda. This working paper outlines emerging findings from a survey with school leaders across the country.

Children account for 41% of the over 89 million people who are forcibly displaced worldwide, and education is key to their life chances. It is therefore critical to consider the question of who teaches refugees, what challenges these teachers may face, and what support is needed to ensure better teaching and learning outcomes in these communities. Refugee teachers are an absolutely vital resource in their communities but have not received sufficient attention in the past. Here, we reflect on our research and expertise working with teachers of refugees to provide insights into the crucial ways in which they can be effectively supported.

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.

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 Turkana County, Kenya, and consider how to engage learners and schools in building resilience to climate change in the future.

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.

Globally, there are 70.8 million forcibly displaced persons. Among these are 25.9 million refugees, over half of whom are children. Effective teacher management is key to ensuring inclusive, equitable, quality education for these young people, and teachers constitute the most important factor affecting student learning.