Publications

Recognizing that children’s learning outcomes generally remain low, in its recent 2017–2021 Education and Skills Sector Plan (ESSP) the Government of Zambia prioritized improving learning outcomes through strategies that addressed gaps in education system quality, access, equity and efficiency.

What resources and contextual factors are associated with school performance in Zambia? By merging and analyzing existing administrative datasets in Zambia, 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.

 L’amélioration de l’accès de tous les enfants en âge d’être scolarisés à une éducation de qualité est l’une des priorités du Gouvernement de Madagascar. Le Plan sectoriel de l’éducation 2018-2022 définit des objectifs ambitieux dans ce sens, mais d’importants défis restent à relever pour améliorer l’apprentissage et la rétention scolaires. 

Cette note de politique générale - sur les ressources et infrastructures spécifiques qui pourraient améliorer le système éducatif malgache - fait partie d'une série qui présente les principaux résultats de la phase quantitative de la recherche sur la déviance positive menée au Madagascar dans le cadre du projet Data Must Speak (DMS). En fusionnant et en analysant les ensembles de données administratives existants au Madagascar, cette série met en évidence les ressources spécifiques et les facteurs contextuels associés aux bonnes performances scolaires au Madagascar. Plus important encore, elle vise à informer le dialogue politique et la prise de décision au Madagascar et dans d'autres pays intéressés.  

DMS - une initiative mondiale mise en œuvre depuis 2014 - vise à combler les lacunes en matière de preuves pour atténuer la crise de l'apprentissage en utilisant les données existantes. La recherche DMS est cocréée et mise en œuvre conjointement avec les ministères de l'éducation et les principaux partenaires. La recherche DMS s'appuie sur des méthodes mixtes et des approches innovantes (c'est-à-dire l'approche de la déviance positive, les sciences du comportement, la recherche sur la mise en œuvre et la science de la mise à l'échelle) pour générer des connaissances et des enseignements pratiques sur " ce qui fonctionne ", " pourquoi " et " comment " mettre à l'échelle des solutions de base pour les décideurs politiques nationaux et la communauté internationale plus large des parties prenantes de l'éducation.  

La recherche DMS est actuellement mise en œuvre dans 14 pays : Brésil, Burkina Faso, Tchad, Côte d'Ivoire, Éthiopie, Ghana, République démocratique populaire lao, Madagascar, Mali, Népal, Niger, République-Unie de Tanzanie, Togo et Zambie. 

The Kosovo Education Strategy (2022–2026) recognizes the need to scale up digital learning solutions to support individualized learning for children. Shkollat.org, Kosovo’s version of the Learning Passport, combines the largest repository of curriculum-aligned video learning content in Kosovo with communication tools to engage students inside or outside the classroom. This research presents findings from the implementation of Shkollat.org in Kosovo, providing policy takeaways for the scale-up of digital learning solutions for education policymakers in the Western Balkans and beyond. Research findings are organized around six pillars of digital learning embedded within the Kosovo Education Strategy (2022–2026): digital learning platforms, content, teacher upskilling and support, connectivity, devices, and institutional support. 

L’amélioration de l’accès de tous les enfants en âge d’être scolarisés à une éducation de qualité est l’une des priorités du Gouvernement de Madagascar. Le Plan sectoriel de l’éducation 2018-2022 définit des objectifs ambitieux dans ce sens, mais d’importants défis restent à relever pour améliorer l’apprentissage et la rétention scolaires.   

Quelles ressources et quels facteurs contextuels sont associés à de bonnes performances scolaires au Madagascar ? En fusionnant et en analysant les ensembles de données administratives existants au Madagascar, ce rapport permet d'identifier les écoles déviantes positives - celles qui obtiennent de meilleurs résultats que les autres écoles bien qu'elles partagent des contextes et des ressources similaires.    

Data Must Speak - une initiative mondiale mise en œuvre depuis 2014 - vise à combler les lacunes en matière de preuves pour atténuer la crise de l'apprentissage en utilisant les données existantes. La recherche DMS sur la déviance positive est cocréée et mise en œuvre conjointement avec les ministères de l'Éducation et des partenaires clés. La recherche DMS s'appuie sur des méthodes mixtes et des approches innovantes (c'est-à-dire l'approche de la déviance positive, les sciences du comportement, la recherche sur la mise en œuvre et la science de la mise à l'échelle) pour générer des connaissances et des enseignements pratiques sur " ce qui fonctionne ", " pourquoi " et " comment " mettre à l'échelle des solutions de base pour les décideurs politiques nationaux et la communauté internationale plus large des parties prenantes de l'éducation.     

La recherche DMS est actuellement mise en œuvre dans 14 pays : Brésil, Burkina Faso, Tchad, Côte d'Ivoire, Éthiopie, Ghana, République démocratique populaire lao, Madagascar, Mali, Népal, Niger, République-Unie de Tanzanie, Togo et Zambie.  

Nine out of every 10 refugees arriving in host countries from Ukraine are women and children. Only 1 in 3 of Ukrainian refugee children are enrolled in early childhood education and care services. This emphasizes the need for expanding and strengthening early childhood education systems to ensure sufficient access for all children, and the integration of Ukranian refugee children in the host-community. These briefs offer recommendations for policymakers on ways to expand services, and how to facilitate the integration of refugee children and their families. Strategies include limiting the barriers that may hinder refugee children's access to ECEC settings, capitalizing existing physical and human resources to address gaps in service delivery, in addition to the inclusion of refugees in national and sub-national plans, data systems and financing, adapting policies and programmes to ensure considerations are made for refugee children.

Nine out of every 10 refugees arriving in host countries from Ukraine are women and children. Only 1 in 3 of Ukrainian refugee children are enrolled in early childhood education and care services. This emphasizes the need for expanding and strengthening early childhood education systems to ensure sufficient access for all children, and the integration of Ukranian refugee children in the host-community. These briefs offer recommendations for policymakers on ways to expand services, and how to facilitate the integration of refugee children and their families. Strategies include limiting the barriers that may hinder refugee children's access to ECEC settings, capitalizing existing physical and human resources to address gaps in service delivery, in addition to the inclusion of refugees in national and sub-national plans, data systems and financing, adapting policies and programmes to ensure considerations are made for refugee children.

Parents or caregivers of children with disabilities play a crucial role in supporting their child’s learning. This includes navigating the education system and supporting their child’s participation in an inclusive school. They often face unique challenges and obstacles as they navigate the education system and support their child's participation in an inclusive school. Unfortunately, these challenges have been amplified in recent times due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its resulting restrictions, such as remote learning and reduced access to support services.

The guide for caregivers aims to (1) help them understand their rights and national inclusive education laws; (2) identify challenges and barriers they are facing in supporting their child’s learning needs and (3) find solutions that can help them to overcome these challenges. It is part of a set of resources to support the marginalized caregivers of children with disabilities with inclusive education.

This shortened and easy to read version of "Caregiver's Guide to Inclusive Education" has been developed by "Building Bridges" with the aim of providing simplified guidance for caregivers. While this version includes all the tools and activities from the original guide, it has been designed to be easier to read and follow. The guide offers practical advice on how caregivers can support their child's learning at home, foster positive relationships with their child's teacher and school, and access specialist service.

Une distribution équitable des enseignants est un critère primordial pour que chaque enfant puisse développer au mieux son potentiel d’apprentissage, quels que soient son école ou lieu de résidence.

À Madagascar, le système éducatif fait aujourd’hui face à un double défi : les enseignants qualifiés sont en nombre insuffisant, et les conditions d’apprentissage varient grandement en fonction des zones géographiques.

Ce rapport décrit le paysage enseignant à Madagascar, et propose des pistes de réflexion pour améliorer le maillage enseignant dans le pays, afin de favoriser l’accès de tous les enfants à une éducation de qualité.

Social protection is a universal human right and a precondition for a world free from poverty. It is also a vital foundation to help the world’s most vulnerable children fulfil their potential and increase their access to food, nutrition, education, and healthcare. 

But worldwide, 1.77 billion children aged 0–18 lack access to a child or family cash benefit, a fundamental pillar of a social protection system. Children are twice as likely to live in extreme poverty as adults. Approximately 800 million children are subsisting below a poverty line of US$3.20 a day, and 1 billion children are experiencing multidimensional poverty. The impact on their lives, communities, societies, and economies can be devastating. 

The second International Labour Organization (ILO) – United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) joint report on social protection for children reflects the shared commitment to strengthening social protection systems and expanding them to reach every child at risk. It explains why universal social protection should become a reality. It also documents the rapid positive changes in countries from Montenegro to Tunisia and the steps needed to accelerate progress.

How can countries engage teachers, parents, and learners in the successful of scale-up digital learning solutions? 

EDUINO, North Macedonia's platform for digital learning, fostered a community of practice and successfully crowdsourced a large amount of educational content from teachers and educators around the country within weeks of the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. This research presents factors that enabled the rapid development and scale-up of EDUINO at a systems, school, and classroom level.

Research findings in the brief are organized around four key implementation strategies:

1. Developing and crowdsourcing curriculum-aligned learning content

2. Fostering user engagement through a community of practice

3. Furthering teacher capacity for digital learning, and

4. Reaching students with disabilities and other learning barriers.