Blog

This blog published by World Bank challenges how teacher training programmes are designed:

“Teachers’ beliefs are rarely incorporated into program design: a study of 45 impact evaluations of teacher-focused interventions found that only eight had data on teacher beliefs. What if we started with asking teachers why they use the methods that they do, what evaluation criteria they use to decide how to teach, whether the ideas in the new program are likely to work (and/or why not), and what might encourage them to consider applying the new method?”

The blog reiterates some of the issues EENET colleagues have raised in various publications. It links also to academic articles and guidance.

Read the  blog: It’s time to consider the teacher’s perspective: Towards a theory of pedagogical change

On 11 October, the world celebrated the International Day of the Girl. This year’s theme was “Girls’ vision for the future”. The UN published a short blog and a solutions briefing paper.

Solution number 3 – education for all girls.

“Today’s generation of girls is disproportionately affected by global crises of climate, conflict, poverty and pushback on hard won gains for human rights and gender equality. Too many girls are still denied their rights, restricting their choices and limiting their futures. Yet, recent analysis shows that girls are not only courageous in the face of crisis, but hopeful for the future. Every day, they are taking action to realize a vision of a world in which all girls are protected, respected and empowered.”

Read the blog.

Download the solutions briefing paper.

The 2024 Education Finance Watch highlights the need for more adequate, efficient, and equitable education spending.

The World Bank has published its latest Education Finance Watch report. It states:

“During the last decade, total education spending by governments, households and donors globally has increased steadily. But this rise has not led to major increases in allocations per child, especially in poorer countries with growing populations. Indeed, globally, total education spending per child has not increased.”

It mentions the impact that debt has on spending:

“In the past 10 years, in developing countries, interest payments on public debt have increased faster than government education spending. Some low and lower middle-income countries allocate nearly the same per capita resources to debt servicing as they do to education.”

Read the blog. 

In this article, R. Shah and F. Menashy et al. argue that:

“the Education in Emergencies community needs to respond to its historical and current entanglements with structures of race, empire, and capitalism.”

This article was published in August in ‘Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education’.

Read the article.

While guidance and tools to support disability-inclusive education in emergencies exist, identifying the right resources at the right time to support implementation can often be challenging. To facilitate the identification of appropriate resources, UNICEF and the Global Education Cluster have developed a compendium to facilitate frontline workers’ access to existing operational resources on disability-inclusive education in emergencies.

View and download the resource.

In this UNICEF blog, Toby Fricker revisits Ukraine after five years:

“Disrupted education has sadly become the norm for children across Ukraine. The COVID-19 pandemic and then the escalation of the war mean children are between one and two years behind in core subjects.”

“During my visit this time, I see what’s left of one school that has been largely destroyed. The walls and roof of much of the building have collapsed, although one of the classrooms on an upper floor remains strangely still intact – windowless now, but still containing desks. It’s a sad reminder of the school life that once existed there.”

Read the blog.

UNICEF has published a blog about new textbooks and learning material in Tajikistan.

“The new materials are student centered, personalized, relatable and development oriented. They aim to accommodate different learning needs and foster academic excellence, and they incorporate cultural and linguistic elements relevant to Tajikistan. The materials are meant to actively engage students in the learning process and support the development of their competencies.”

“The new Tajik language and math materials have been designed to not only impart knowledge but also to develop critical thinking skills and allow for self-directed learning.”

Read the blog.

“Schools are not always the safe space they should be to allow children to learn and thrive.”

Global Partnership for Education’s blog looks at violence in schools:

“Violence in schools is a serious issue across Africa. Nearly a third of children on the continent experience physical or sexual attacks in educational settings. Children, and girls in particular, are at high risk of sexual violence at school, including the most egregious types of sexual violence. And as access to technology increases, so does the risk of online bullying and abuse.”

To end the violence, some initiatives are mentioned:

“In Sierra Leone, for example, a systemic approach to preventing violence coupled with a radical inclusion policy in education is paving the way for safer schools.”

Read the blog.

About 10 million children across four countries in West and Central Africa are currently [mid-October 2024] out of school due to massive regional flooding, which has damaged and destroyed infrastructure and displaced nearly one million people from their homes, said Save the Children.

In their article – West and Central Africa: About 10 million children forced out of schools by worst flooding in recent years – they note the devastation, number of children displaced and schools destroyed.

“Before the flooding, 14,000 schools in Central and West Africa were already closed because of attacks and threats on education. This catastrophic situation makes the already fragile chances of access to education for thousands of children even more dire.”

Read the article.