Publications

‘Known from Birth: Generating and using evidence to strengthen birth registration systems in low- and middle-income countries’ is the evidence component of Strengthening Birth Registration Systems to Protect Every Child from Child Labour, a UNICEF project supported by the Government of Norway. The project focuses on implementing comprehensive programmes in Cote d’Ivoire, Mozambique and Nigeria to accelerate birth registration (BR) for all children – especially children from the most vulnerable communities – starting from birth.

This brief is an evidence gap map created as part of the Known from Birth project, which is producing a series of products developed collaboratively by UNICEF Innocenti and South Africa Centre for Evidence (SACE). These products examine birth registration and its critical importance for child protection. The project is supported by the Government of Norway and focuses on implementing comprehensive programmes in Cote d’Ivoire, Mozambique and Nigeria to accelerate birth registration for all children – especially children from the most vulnerable communities – starting from birth.

In 2021, Mexico introduced Pasaporte al Aprendizaje, a localized version of the Learning Passport digital learning platform, to mitigate learning loss after widespread school closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Between October 2021 and February 2023, almost 100,000 students utilized it for upper-secondary courses.

The research explores the key design and implementation steps undertaken for the successful deployment and use of the Pasaporte al Aprendizaje. In addition, analysis of data from the digital learning platform shows that students assessment scores improved as they progressed through courses, in subjects such as mathematics, Spanish, chemistry and physics. The overall goal of this research is to inform improvements in the Pasaporte al Aprendizaje and provide key lessons learned for other countries implementing national digital learning programmes.

To address the challenges facing its education system, Côte d’Ivoire needs to go beyond a traditional sector analysis and analyse existing data in greater depth to find innovative solutions. To do so, Côte d’Ivoire has requested UNICEF’s support, as part of the global Data Must Speak initiative, to identify positive deviant practices and behaviours.

What resources and contextual factors are associated with good school performances in Côte d’Ivoire? By merging and analyzing existing administrative datasets in Côte d’Ivoire, this report helps to identify positive deviant schools – those that outperform other schools despite sharing similar contexts and resources.

Data Must Speak – a global initiative implemented since 2014 – aims to address the evidence gaps to mitigate the learning crisis using existing data. The DMS Positive Deviance research is co-created and co-implemented with Ministries of Education and key partners. DMS research relies on mixed methods and innovative approaches (i.e., positive deviance approach, behavioural sciences, implementation research and scaling science) to generate knowledge and practical lessons about ‘what works’, ‘why’ and ‘how’ to scale grassroots solutions for national policymakers and the broader international community of education stakeholders.

DMS research is currently implemented in 14 countries: Brazil, Burkina Faso, Chad, Cote d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Madagascar, Mali, Nepal, Niger, the United Republic of Tanzania, Togo and Zambia.

To address the challenges facing its education system, Côte d’Ivoire needs to go beyond a traditional sector analysis and analyse existing data in greater depth to find innovative solutions. To do so, Côte d’Ivoire has requested UNICEF’s support, as part of the global Data Must Speak initiative, to identify positive deviant practices and behaviours.

This policy brief – about the effects of female head teachers and female teachers on boys’ and girls’ education – is part of a series that presents key research findings of the quantitative stage of the Data Must Speak (DMS) Positive Deviance research in Côte d’Ivoire. By merging and analyzing existing administrative datasets in Côte d’Ivoire, this series highlights specific resources and contextual factors associated with good school performances in Côte d’Ivoire. More importantly, it aims to inform policy dialogue and decision-making in Côte d’Ivoire and other interested countries.

Data Must Speak – a global initiative implemented since 2014 – aims to address the evidence gaps to mitigate the learning crisis using existing data. The DMS Positive Deviance research is co-created and co-implemented with Ministries of Education and key partners. DMS research relies on mixed methods and innovative approaches (i.e., positive deviance approach, behavioural sciences, implementation research and scaling science) to generate knowledge and practical lessons about ‘what works’, ‘why’ and ‘how’ to scale grassroots solutions for national policymakers and the broader international community of education stakeholders.

DMS research is currently implemented in 14 countries: Brazil, Burkina Faso, Chad, Cote d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Madagascar, Mali, Nepal, Niger, the United Republic of Tanzania, Togo and Zambia.

To address the challenges facing its education system, Côte d’Ivoire needs to go beyond a traditional sector analysis and analyse existing data in greater depth to find innovative solutions. To do so, Côte d’Ivoire has requested UNICEF’s support, as part of the global Data Must Speak initiative, to identify positive deviant practices and behaviours.

This policy brief – about the importance of school inputs to improving learning – is part of a series that presents key research findings of the quantitative stage of the Data Must Speak (DMS) Positive Deviance research in Côte d’Ivoire. By merging and analyzing existing administrative datasets in Côte d’Ivoire, this series highlights specific resources and contextual factors associated with good school performances in Côte d’Ivoire. More importantly, it aims to inform policy dialogue and decision-making in Côte d’Ivoire and other interested countries.

Data Must Speak – a global initiative implemented since 2014 – aims to address the evidence gaps to mitigate the learning crisis using existing data. The DMS Positive Deviance research is co-created and co-implemented with Ministries of Education and key partners. DMS research relies on mixed methods and innovative approaches (i.e., positive deviance approach, behavioural sciences, implementation research and scaling science) to generate knowledge and practical lessons about ‘what works’, ‘why’ and ‘how’ to scale grassroots solutions for national policymakers and the broader international community of education stakeholders.

DMS research is currently implemented in 14 countries: Brazil, Burkina Faso, Chad, Cote d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Madagascar, Mali, Nepal, Niger, the United Republic of Tanzania, Togo and Zambia.

To address the challenges facing its education system, Côte d’Ivoire needs to go beyond a traditional sector analysis and analyse existing data in greater depth to find innovative solutions. To do so, Côte d’Ivoire has requested UNICEF’s support, as part of the global Data Must Speak initiative, to identify positive deviant practices and behaviours.

This policy brief – about the trends in the CEPE pass rates – is part of a series that presents key research findings of the quantitative stage of the Data Must Speak (DMS) Positive Deviance research in Côte d’Ivoire. By merging and analyzing existing administrative datasets in Côte d’Ivoire, this series highlights specific resources and contextual factors associated with good school performances in Côte d’Ivoire. More importantly, it aims to inform policy dialogue and decision-making in Côte d’Ivoire and other interested countries.

Data Must Speak – a global initiative implemented since 2014 – aims to address the evidence gaps to mitigate the learning crisis using existing data. The DMS Positive Deviance research is co-created and co-implemented with Ministries of Education and key partners. DMS research relies on mixed methods and innovative approaches (i.e., positive deviance approach, behavioural sciences, implementation research and scaling science) to generate knowledge and practical lessons about ‘what works’, ‘why’ and ‘how’ to scale grassroots solutions for national policymakers and the broader international community of education stakeholders.

DMS research is currently implemented in 14 countries: Brazil, Burkina Faso, Chad, Cote d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Madagascar, Mali, Nepal, Niger, the United Republic of Tanzania, Togo and Zambia.

Social contracts around the world are fraying, reflecting a profound disconnect between institutions and the people they are meant to serve, and a corresponding sense of distrust and disillusionment as growing swathes of society feel that they are being left behind.

Social Contracts: Towards more child and future-centred framings explores the value of social contract policy framings that have emerged in recent years. It examines why children need to feature more prominently in social contracts and how these framings might take on a more child- and future-centric form.

The experience children and young people who migrated from their homes in Afghanistan – especially those who have been forced to return – can be described as a spiral of harm and neglect. For many, poverty and a desire to help their families drives them from their homes. Far too often, the journey exposes them to harm and economic exploitation. Many are forced to return, where re-entry into Afghanistan communities brings discontentment.

These are among the findings of As They Move: Child and Youth Experiences of Migration, Displacement and Return in Afghanistan. The evidence-based research report is uses surveys and interviews of more than 1,500 children and young people in Afghanistan. The study was conducted by UNICEF Afghanistan Country Office, in partnership with UNICEF Innocenti – Global Office of Research and Foresight with the support of UNICEF Netherland.

Improving access to quality education for all school-age children is one of the priorities of the Government of Madagascar. The 2018-2022 Education Sector Plan sets ambitious goals in this direction, but significant challenges remain to improve learning and retention.

What resources and contextual factors are associated with good school performances in Madagascar? By merging and analyzing existing administrative datasets in Madagascar, this report helps to identify positive deviant schools – those that outperform other schools despite sharing similar contexts and resources. 

Data Must Speak – a global initiative implemented since 2014 – aims to address the evidence gaps to mitigate the learning crisis using existing data. The DMS Positive Deviance research is co-created and co-implemented with Ministries of Education and key partners. DMS research relies on mixed methods and innovative approaches (i.e., positive deviance approach, behavioural sciences, implementation research and scaling science) to generate knowledge and practical lessons about ‘what works’, ‘why’ and ‘how’ to scale grassroots solutions for national policymakers and the broader international community of education stakeholders. 

DMS research is currently implemented in 14 countries: Brazil, Burkina Faso, Chad, Cote d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Madagascar, Mali, Nepal, Niger, the United Republic of Tanzania, Togo and Zambia.