Global Education Development

Link: Annotated Bibliography on Teacher Professional Development in Crisis

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 31 Jul 2013 12:13:00 +0000

From the team at INEE. A useful annotated bibliography on literature related to Teacher Professional Development in Crisis.

Check it out here.

p.s. Whilst I'll admit posts are very thin on the ground these days as I focus on other projects, be sure to follow on Twitter for a heads up on new posts! Get following! @GEDBlog

Learning Arabic - guest post on Productive Muslim

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 29 May 2013 06:33:00 +0000

Regular readers will have noticed that posts have been sporadic (at best) lately. Apologies for this. It seems however that posts every few months or so are likely to become the norm. Given my schedule outside of blogging this seems the most sustainable way to continue with the blog...

Today's post provides a link to a guest article I recently wrote for Productive Muslim. The article comprehensively covers the topic of learning Arabic. You can read the article here.

p.s. If you haven't already done so, you can follow the blog on Twitter: @GEDBlog

Tips for language learning

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 15:24:00 +0000

Something a little interactive today...

It would be great to hear your tips on the best ways to learn a new language. Share them in the comments box below.

Looking forward to seeing what we get!

Report: Building effective teacher salary systems in fragile and conflict-affected states

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 15:37:00 +0000

Excerpt from the report entitled Building effective teacher salary systems in fragile and conflict-affected states:

'Why are good teacher salary systems important?

As mentioned in Chapter 1, teacher pay is directly linked with expanding access to schooling and if teachers are paid late, paid an insufficient amount or not paid at all, this will directly impact on their motivation, morale and presence in the classroom. This will make teaching an unattractive profession, reduce the time teachers spend in the classroom and thus impact negatively on children’s learning. This chapter briefly outlines two key issues common to teacher salary systems in developing countries.

2.1 The large size of the teaching force in the civil service

A nation’s teaching force typically makes up the largest portion of its civil servant cohort, and is
often even larger than its military (UNESCO, 2011). Teacher salaries in Africa make up a significant portion of a nation’s education budget and invariably represent the largest percentage of recurrent expenditure under education. A UNESCO Institute of Statistics (2011) survey of 34 countries in SubSaharan Africa showed that spending on teaching personnel alone – which included teacher and administrative salaries as well as investment in professional development – accounted for more than 50 per cent of total public spending on education. When only recurrent expenditure is considered, teacher salaries comprise an even larger portion of the budget: 69, 56 and 55 per cent of recurrent expenditure devoted to salaries at the primary, lower secondary and upper secondary levels respectively (UIS, 2011).

2.2 The link between teacher salaries, pupil-teacher ratios and quality

Lack of support for teacher salaries can lead to great difficulties in the retention of quality teachers resulting in a direct negative impact on educational quality (Sommers, 2005). Education systems that do not have the financial resources to recruit additional teachers typically accommodate expanding student enrolment rates by increasing the number of students in the classroom (UIS, 2011). After school fees were abolished in Uganda in 1996, for example, the average primary pupil-teacher ratio (PTR) grew from 35:1 in 1995 to 59:1 in 1998, although it has since fallen to 49:1 in 2009 (De Kemp, 2008 and UIS Data Centre, 2011). Smaller PTRs generally have a positive effect on the classroom environment and on the quality of learning, particularly in the early grades, as smaller PTRs lead to increased levels of time-on-task as well as individualised attention paid to students (Boissière, 2004).

Likewise, larger PTRs can have a negative impact on education quality. An education system’s inability to provide support for teacher salaries and recruit additional teachers to meet the needs of increasing student enrolments can thus have a negative impact on the overall quality of the learning environment and in many cases on the quality of student learning.'

Check out the full report here.

Report: Every Child Needs a Teacher: Closing the Trained Teacher Gap

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 14:18:00 +0000

October 5th is World Teachers' Day, so it seems fitting to provide an excerpt from the report from the Global Campaign for Education entitled Every Child Needs a Teacher: Closing the Trained Teacher Gap.

The report on teacher training and poor conditions faced by teachers:

'Some countries count those who have completed primary school and a one-month training course as trained, while others require a three-year education degree. Even with these flexible and often low standards, a third of countries report that no more than half of their pre-primary school teachers are trained; at primary level, reported rates are slightly higher, but thirty one countries report that fewer than three quarters of teachers are trained (to any accepted national standard) and a number report falling levels of training. In Mali, where half of primary school teachers are trained, only a quarter have had training lasting six months or longer. Nearly half of countries reporting training levels at lower secondary level state that fewer than three quarters of teachers are trained. Niger had just 1,059 trained lower secondary school teachers in 2010 – compared to 1.4 million children of lower secondary school age.

[...]

The overwhelming lesson is that high quality education requires sufficient recruitment of teachers who are trained, supported, paid and managed as professionals. The recruitment of low-skill, untrained teachers in recent decades has proved disastrous for education quality - and much current training provision needs improvement. Teachers are paid paltry amounts, for example just $125 a month in Niger; many have to travel long distances to collect pay that is often days, weeks or even months late. A motivated, highly skilled teacher workforce produces the best education; yet too often teachers are treated as low-grade service delivery employees, expected to deliver classes and administer tests according to a script, and rewarded or punished on the basis of test scores. The deprofessionalisation of teachers denies students the possibility of great teaching.'

I couldn't agree more with this statement: 'A motivated, highly skilled teacher workforce produces the best education; yet too often teachers are treated as low-grade service delivery employees' .

What is your experience as a teacher? Have you felt supported, or undervalued by your school? Is too much pressure placed upon teachers? What can help teachers perform their best, and therefore help bring out the best in students?

Worth reading the report in full - you can find it here.

Grade inflation - time to give in?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 11:53:00 +0000

An interesting debate and not something exclusive to the USA. Every year when GCSE or A-Level results come out in the UK talk of grade inflation fills the news.

Chris Blattman suggests here that we shouldn't resist 'the new equilibrium'. Having marked students' work myself, I kind of agree with this. As Chris Blattman suggests, surely it's all relative? So, for example if there are only five piles of graded work ranging from A+ to B-, in theory is this not the same as the graded work in five piles ranging from A to E? And I hesitate to add: the B- therefore being equivalent to the E...or have I been subjected to too much of a private school mentality?! Or do certain grades have connotations and therefore an A- will always be viewed (subconsciously) as better than a B despite the fact their quality is the same (given that they would both be in the second pile of graded work).

I'd be really interested to hear your thoughts on this and Chris Blattman's suggestion that we should go with the flow.

Education Cannot Wait

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 14:51:00 +0000

The official launch of the UN Secretary-General's Education First Campaign took place a few days ago. It's really positive to see that quality education in conflict and/or disaster-affected communities is high on the agenda. In the coming days I'll try to post on some of the key points of the Education First vision document. In the meantime below is the related Education Cannot Wait infographic. For more on the Education Cannot Wait - Call to Action, check this out.

p.s. Thanks to all of the recent new followers on Twitter (despite my lack of recent blogging)! I love to interact with you all, so for those of you who aren't following yet, you can find me at: @GEDBlog

International Literacy Day: literacy facts & figures from UNESCO

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 08 Sep 2012 10:54:00 +0000

'Living in a conflict-affected area increases the likelihood of not becoming literate or of not gaining access to education'.

This International Literacy Day, find out more facts on the importance of literacy and factors affecting it in this infographic from UNESCO.

Neglect of education in slow-onset emergencies

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 11:24:00 +0000

'In Somalia in 2011, school enrolment rates plummeted due to the food crisis and large-scale displacement. The Education Cluster estimates that more than 1.8 million children aged 5–17 are out of school in South and Central Somalia alone – the worst-affected region, due to persistent and ongoing conflict and drought. The current education coverage and response supports only 20% of the school-age population in this zone. The availability of education for internally displaced persons (IDPs) and local host communities has not been sufficient to meet the need.

Challenges to effectively delivering education in Somalia include:
• the lack of an appropriate curriculum
• inadequate learning spaces
• a lack of trained teachers from affected communities
• insufficient teacher remuneration and incentives for teaching
• the underlying challenge of the absence of a governance structure.

Scarce teaching and learning materials are not enough to cover even the current low enrolment rates, made worse by the continued lack of funding for education in emergencies.

In the Dollo Ado camp in Ethiopia and the Dadaab camp in Kenya, resident populations increased significantly during the 2011 crises – from already high levels. More than a quarter of a million Somali refugees arrived at the two camps in 2011 alone. The camps now host more than 600,000 Somali refugees, approximately 60% of whom are children.

Providing education in the camps is particularly challenging given the chronic lack of services for the host populations in marginalised, drought-affected areas, where many refugees have settled. Many refugee children have had little or no previous access to formal education in Somalia, making it even more difficult to integrate them into the limited formal schooling in host communities. In Dollo Ado, only an estimated 15–20% of children are currently accessing education services.'

As well as East Africa, the report also discusses West Africa. Read the full report here.

The unintended consequences of free education?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 18:00:00 +0000

Taken from Chris Blattman's blog:

From Guy Grossman and Evan Lieberman, this Ugandan New Vision article:

The day Government started paying tuition for all school going children, was the day parents ‘declared’ a holiday from taking care about their children’s education. What a shame.

Almost all school management committee became dull. Government stood at a distance and barked, but did not care to bite. Years down the road, the rot seems to be perforating its way through free education’s foundation in the country.

A decade down the road, Government is gradually realising that the parents stealthily put so much weight on its back, and this is gradually eating down the country’s quality of education.

And Evan’s two cents:

I’ve heard much the same thing from various head teachers in Kenya, absolutely lamenting the detrimental effects of free primary education (FPE)! The simple argument is that when parents don’t have to pay, they feel no stake in the school, no obligation to participate in management, and they simply delegate education to government. And because poor people in poor areas are not paying any kind of direct income tax, given low or non-existent incomes, they are not engaged in any type of fiscal contract. It’s pretty painful to think that in trying to provide universal primary education (and beyond) in these East African countries that the plan itself might actually be causing harm to the quality of learning.

The introduction of free education in Africa (or social security in Latin America) presents a short-lived opportunity to see the effect of government provision of education and other forms of welfare–relevant to US and European policy debates in this era of small government resurgence.

The laments of head teachers alone don’t convince me, but I would not be surprised if it were true. I pity that there are not (to my knowledge) studies taking advantage of the changes for a more rigorous answer.

Or are there? Reader suggestions welcome.

One of the most important things we can teach youth

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 09:51:00 +0000

Thanks to a comment on a LinkedIn discussion based on this blogpost, I was pointed in the direction of the work of Kiran Bir Sethi. It got me thinking about what it is that we should be teaching youth particularly in marginalised communities or refugee situations. They are surrounded by negativity of one form or another: stigma, being told they're not good enough, poverty, unrealised dreams.

What then should we be teaching them? As Kiran suggests, the concept of: I can. Now we've all heard about positive thinking, but somehow we've all assumed this is something applicable to adult life, that kids somehow sail through easily without the doubts and negative thoughts creeping in. Kiran's ideas show how important 'I can' is in youth life and the impact it can have on their lives as well as - and arguably more importantly - that of the society at large, and the community in which they live.

Here is a link to a TED talk in which Kiran explains the concept much more powerfully than I do. Well worth a watch, if only to see how the word 'infection' can be used in a positive context.

Mr Mandela on the power of education

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 21:43:00 +0000

I saw this and just had to share:

Courtesy of: http://www.motivationblog.org/nelson-mandela-quote-poster/#.UDKrvamPXup

Pakistan - missing out on literacy targets

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 10:42:00 +0000

'[Education expert, Professor Fateh Malik] lauded the efforts of senators towards the implementation of the Article 25-A, for the betterment of future generations. "It was only Zulfikar Bhutto who brought revolutionary reforms in the education sector by making education free and compulsory for all the children," Malik said. "Private institutes were nationalized by Bhutto and salaries of teachers of private institutes were made equal to the salaries of government teachers," he said. Education was the backbone of any country and Article 25-A would provide free education to those children who were deprived of education due to poverty and had to resort to child labor, he said. According to the UNESCO report [...] the country had 18.64 million illiterate people in the year 1951, 22.08 million in 1961, 33.59 million in 1972, 42.69 million in 1981, 50.38 million in 1998 and 55.24 million in the year 2010.'

The stats at the end of the above quote are particularly concerning - how is it that the illiteracy rate is increasing? I haven't been able to locate the report, so I'm unsure how these figures were collated, however, they do raise questions. Questions which I am prone to asking anyway e.g. do targets such as Education for All (which are due to expire in 2015) really achieve results?

On that sobering note, Happy Independence Day, Pakistan (the country is 65 years old today). Here's hoping the next 65 years of your existence is full of educational development.
Read the full news article from Pakistan Today here.

Three things the world of celebrity has taught me about NGOs and education

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 11:27:00 +0000

1. Anyone can set up an NGO, in fact most celebrities seem to have one. It has almost become the 'in' thing to do. The INSERT CELEBRITY NAME Foundation seems popular... However, it takes much more than that for an NGO to be successful. And, it seems the type of celebrity you are is likely to determine its success given that the NGO the celebrity sets up is often linked to what they are famous for. So surely a 'Kim Kardashian Foundation' is likely to pale in comparison to the 'Nelson Mandela Foundation'. Well, you'd hope so.

2. That leads to the second thing I've learned: Education is not really up there on the list of celebrity foundation mandates. Why? Because very few celebrities - well, at least that I know of - are famous for being educators or similar.

The final point then:

3. In a world where 'celebrity rules', education - in not being linked to the world of celebrity - doesn't seem to get much publicity on the grand scale. The likes of Angelina Jolie are long-time ambassadors for refugees for example, or David Beckham for children's issues (because of his work with UNICEF), however I can't seem to think of someone who advocates for education in and of itself. Time we changed that? And if yes, who do you think would work well as the 'face' of education reform either internationally or in your country?

Urban Refugees: an education

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 10:57:00 +0000

Did you guess the correct answer to this post?

The approximate 7 million people I was referring to are urban refugees. Whilst the UN's Refugee Agency UNHCR estimates a total number of 10.5 million refugees worldwide, you might be surprised to learn that roughly two-thirds of these are in fact urban refugees.

Urban Refugees
What then is an urban refugee? An urban refugee is someone who like a refugee has fled their country due to reasons outlined in the UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees - see here for an exact definition. How an urban refugee differs however is where the urban refugee lives - the clue is in the name. Rather than staying in a refugee camp, urban refugees instead live amongst the local community in the cities of the host country and attempt to - in some cases successfully - integrate and forge a new life in this way.

I've talked about education in refugee camp situations in previous posts, however how much do we actually know about the educational situation of urban refugees? Are they better off than those in refugee camps?

As might be expected, keeping tabs on the numbers of urban refugees can be problematic, which in turn makes providing them with humanitarian assistance equally problematic. A refugee camp allows for categorisation and sorting of numbers, masses of people in various locations obviously does not.
Syria
The current crisis in Syria provides a relevant example, with Syrians fleeing the country into Jordan (said to be 40,000) and Turkey. Many of these refugees are urban refugees. In terms of language, little differs between Jordan and Syria (apart from regional differences in Arabic). In Turkey this is not the case. Whilst Syria is a middle income country, given the nature of a refugee situation, it needs to be remembered that jobs remain elusive in the host country.

In terms of education, Jordan provides an interesting example. It currently plays host to Palestinian refugees as well as those from Syria. UNRWA (the UN agency for Palestinian refugees) provides education in camps for Palestinian refugees, however many of the refugees have access to government schools as well. If students are back in schooling however then the education is likely not to be catered to refugee needs. Curricula remain much the same, and refugees must integrate themselves into local school life.

One of the problems it seems is the lack of focus on education even in camp situations - these tend to be better documented in comparison with urban situations, thus highlighting the general little focus upon education in these circumstances. Although UNHCR's mandate now stretches to those outside of camps, it seems focus on education overall remains low. Regular readers of the blog know this is something I mention frequently. Of course if basic provisions cannot be met, then education cannot be given priority, however given that the Syrian situation shows no sign of improving in the near future, it seems Syrian youth would benefit from returning to a sense of 'normality'.

So what can be done?
From a distance the action we can take seems limited, however it is important to keep Syria at the forefront of our minds, not only as individuals but as the international community as a whole. The situation has been going on for far too long with the world seemingly standing by to watch it unfold.

In light of the Syrian example, where does the responsibility lie? Who should ensure refugees - in particular those fleeing to urban centres - have the assistance they require, including education? Is it a risky business to start providing education? Does this simply prolong a refugee situation? How should the assistance provided to those in urban centres differ to that provided to encamped refugees?

Share your thoughts with other readers in the box below.

Have a guess...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 16:35:00 +0000

Something a little different today. Take a guess about what I am talking about: there are approximately 7 million of them worldwide, yet they remain relatively under-represented by the international community...

The answer is coming up in the next post - keep your eyes peeled for the correct answer, and find out more about who I am talking about, and how this is related to education in the global context.

Think you know who I am talking about? Share your guesses with other readers!

P.S. Did you know you can follow the blog on Twitter? @GEDBlog

Interested in Alternative Education?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 29 Jul 2012 09:56:00 +0000

In light of a previous post on changing education paradigms, the Education Revolution - Alternative Education Resource Organisation website proves an interesting resource on Alternative Education. It is a global network of innovators and resources such as links to information on homeschooling, Montessori schooling, and even job listings for those in the States. There are also a variety of articles on various aspects of Alternative Education.

Check out the website here.

Recapturing the Narrative of International Development

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 22 Jul 2012 11:02:00 +0000

A recent paper from Sakiko Fukada-Parr, entitled Recapturing the Narrative of International Development.

'Though it is difficult to assess whether the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have contributed to poverty trends across the world, their impact on the discourse on international development has been powerful and unexpected. By articulating the complex challenges of development in eight goals with concrete 2015 targets, the MDGs have had unprecedented success in drawing attention to poverty as an urgent global priority. But the narrow emphasis has also led to detracting attention from other important priorities-the complex strategic choices in economic policy-and has simplified development policy debates.

The MDGs have created a new narrative of international development centred on global poverty as a compelling moral concern. This narrative convincingly appeals to rich country “publics and parliaments” and to new global philanthropists. But the simplification of development to eight goals has reduced the development agenda to meeting basic needs, stripped of the Millennium Declaration’s vision for development with social justice and human rights. The narrative leaves out any mention of equity, empowerment of people and building sustainable productive capacity for economic growth. It has no room for understanding poverty as related to the underlying power relations within and between countries and the asymmetries in the global economy. It leaves out much of the broader policy agendas, including the systemic issues of the global economy that have long been priorities for developing countries in international economic negotiations, and impacts of liberalization and privatization on the poor that have been priorities for the critics of globalization. Goals galvanize concern and action but quantification can oversimplify complex challenges with unintended consequences for the way these challenges are defined.

While there is widespread consensus on their importance in drawing attention to poverty as an urgent global priority, the MDG framework has generated some sharp criticisms. These include:

• composition of the targets-what was included and not included, the levels at which they were set or not set, the methodology for measuring implementation progress;

• reliability of the MDGs as a development framework given their narrow scope and oversimplification, and bias against African and other countries because of failure to take into account initial conditions, and the arbitrary and incoherent methodologies used to set the targets;

• non-participatory process by which they were formulated by bureaucrats without adequate intergovernmental negotiations nor open consultation with non-governmental organizations (NGOs); and

• inappropriate application of the goals as national planning targets.'

Important reading in light of goals such as the MDGs resulting in a disproportional global focus upon primary education. Fukada-Parr covers ten critical issues that need to be addressed in redesigning development goals - these include: adapting targets to national contexts; clarifying the purpose; and acknowledging inequality within countries.

You can read the full paper here.

It seems this is actually predicated on the assumption that global development targets are a good thing though. I'm not sure I'm entirely convinced. Thoughts? Are there better alternatives?

Was the current system of education designed for a different age?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 15 Jul 2012 18:19:00 +0000

One of the important questions Sir Ken Robinson answers in this must-watch video on Changing Education Paradigms.

Sir Ken Robinson suggests that children have been 'anaesthetised' to get through schooling, and instead we should be waking them up to discover what is inside of themselves. If this is the case then, the question is: at what stage do children learn what is inside themselves under the current education norms?

He also mentions that we need to go in the exact opposite direction of standardisation - I do agree, however struggle with how this plays out in practice. Is this why more and more people are turning towards homeschooling? Are schools currently stifling the critical - or divergent, as Sir Ken Robinson calls it - thinking abilities of children? It would be great to hear your thoughts.

Quick note: The video constantly refers to education, however I think that Sir Ken Robinson is talking about schooling. For more on the difference between schooling and education, take a look at this previous post.

Madaar - volunteers needed!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 20:02:00 +0000

Madaar - Open Islamic Curriculum is a project I am involved with, and we're currently looking for volunteers. If you have some time to spare - no matter how much - then get in touch, or please forward on to someone who might be interested.

Check out why you should help us here. For more about the project, take a look here.

Progress for Children: putting secondary education in the spotlight

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 11:23:00 +0000

Taken from the UNICEF report Progress for Children - A report card on adolescents, the map below highlights the net enrolment/attendance ratio of adolescents worldwide (net enrolment accounting for students of the official secondary school age, rather than students of all ages). My areas of interest - Pakistan and East Africa - evidently have a lot of progress to make.

'In many countries there is a drop-off in enrolment between primary and lower secondary education, and between lower and upper secondary education. Particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, drop-off is high between the primary and lower secondary levels. Globally, the lower secondary gross enrolment rate was 80 per cent in 2009, whereas the upper secondary gross enrolment rate was 56 per cent.

[...]

The gap in lower secondary school completion rates between sub-Saharan Africa and the rest of the world appears to be widening. In fact, sub-Saharan Africa has the worst secondary education indicators of any region: Its level of enrolment of secondary-school-aged children is the lowest, as are its rates of secondary school completion, and it has fewer girls enrolled than boys.

Low secondary school enrolment stems in part from low primary school completion. In sub-Saharan Africa, only 47 per cent of 15–19-year-old girls and 52 per cent of 15–19-year-old boys have completed primary school (see Figure 3.3 for percentages in selected countries).

The effective transition rate measures the probability that a student in the last grade of primary school will enrol in the first grade of secondary school. Many industrialized countries and many countries in CEE/CIS, the Middle East and North Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean have primary-to-secondary school transition rates of nearly 90 per cent or above. In the least developed countries, three fourths of children who complete primary school make the transition to secondary school.

Behind the regional averages, however, are wide variations in primary-to-secondary school transition rates. In sub-Saharan Africa, rates range from as low as 36 per cent in the United Republic of Tanzania to as high as 98 per cent in Botswana. The transition rate does not reflect whether primary completion in the country is high or low, nor does it reflect such quality indicators as age in grade.'

Good to see a focus on adolescents, at a time of disproportionate attention given to primary education. The report explores adolescence in relation to various areas including education and work; sexual behaviour, maternal health, and HIV; and violence. You can read the full report here.

Education vs. Schooling - the same but different?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 09:51:00 +0000

Apologies for the lack of blogging over the past week: I've been away from decent internet access, and I admit enjoying a bit of a blogging break as well.

I recently went to a seminar on the Capabilities Approach and the potential for it in helping to eradicate inequality in schools. One thing that I noticed was many people at the event were using the terms education and schooling as interchangeable terms. I think this needs to be questioned.

We might assume that learning and therefore education is 'happening' in schools, however how does schooling differ from education in general? Of course schooling is confined by age, education on the other hand is not. The main difference as I see it though is that on the whole schooling is something driven by the state, and therefore the content needs to come under close scrutiny. What is the purpose of the schooling agenda? State-building? Helping children to become good or better citizens?

Rather than giving schooling and education a definition myself, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. Is there one universal definition for both terms, or is it really dependent upon context? Does 'real' independent - here meaning non-state defined - learning only take place once we are adults? Do we question enough the content of the curricula in schools, or do we just assume that the state knows what our children should be learning?

Get discussing below!

An Overview: UNHCR Global Trends 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 08:52:00 +0000

Today is World Refugee Day 2012 and it is also Refugee Week (18-24 June) in the UK. In light of this, and to continue to raise awareness of the importance of quality education in refugee situations, below are some key points from UNHCR's recently released Global Trends Report 2011.

In 2011, 700, 000 more people than in 2010 were receiving assistance from UNHCR (either as refugees or Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)).
The total of those forcibly displaced worldwide was 42.5 million.
7.1 million people were in protracted refugee situations (defined as 'one in which 25,000 or more refugees of the same nationality have been in exile for five years or longer in any given asylum country') by the end of 2011. This amounted to three quarters of the refugee population under UNHCR's protection (yet in some cases, education - particularly above primary level - is considered incompatible with refugee situations).
Pakistan was host to the largest number of refugees worldwide (1.7 million) at the end of 2011.
A concerning fact is that four-fifths of the world's refugees were hosted by developing countries - countries that often cannot achieve their own educational goals, therefore putting into perspective the educational struggles in refugee situations. However, it is perhaps important to note that in some cases refugees can be better off than the host community due to 'hand-outs' they get.
Importantly in terms of education, 46% of the world's refugees were under 18 at the end of 2011.
The top five major source countries of refugees were Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, and DRC.
Voluntary repatriation remains the durable solution which has benefited the most refugees. The question needs to be asked if all of these repatriations have truly been voluntary however, or whether these refugees have had little choice e.g. because of camp closures. Also, in terms of education, the focus on repatriation can result in the reproduction of poor educational practice due to the focus upon using the home country curriculum.

Unless I've missed it, I couldn't see much mention of education in the report. To read the report in full, you can get it here.

P.S. If you're on Twitter, you can follow the blog @GEDBlog

Has the time come for freely available academic journals?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 16 Jun 2012 12:17:00 +0000

In light of posts on Open Courses, I thought this article on academic journals being gated - and the need to change this - warranted posting. I originally read the piece over at the Aidnography blog.

I'm sure we must have all been there: you need access to a paper, but you've forgotten your Athens password, or your institution doesn't subscribe to that particular journal. Apart from this 'first world problem', the more important issue is that in theory, academic research is carried out in order to influence practice. However, you don't need me to tell you that the reality in the development and humanitarian sector can be completely different. Academic research tends to - with I'm sure a few exceptions - remain just that: in the realm of academia. If research is to do what it is meant to then, and actually change the way we do things in the field, is it time we moved towards openly available journals? At a time of various Open Source learning opportunities online, is the concept of gated papers, and therefore knowledge hoarding a little dated and contradictory in light of advocacy for free education?

Would be great to hear your thoughts - get posting in the comments box below.

P.S. Did you know you can follow the blog over on Twitter?

Reiterating the negative impact of emergencies on education

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 11:54:00 +0000

From the report entitled Building a Culture of Resilience:

'The impact of the natural disasters and political and economic turmoil on children and the education sector is immense. In the Horn of Africa, the mortality rate for Somali children is one of the highest in the world and school attendance is the lowest globally. Nearly 9 million children are out of school in [Eastern and Southern Africa Region] ESAR, many of them due to emergencies such as conflict, socio‐political crises, and recurring natural disasters. These emergencies regularly disrupt schooling for millions more. In countries like Madagascar, where large‐scale disasters like cyclones occur regularly, education is disrupted sometimes for months, increasing drop‐out rates and negatively impacting on attendance rates generally. In Rwanda and Malawi, frequent flooding and disease outbreaks interrupt schooling. Malawi also experiences heavy annual seasonal wind storms which often damage school roofs, forcing classes to share learning spaces or meet outside in unbearable conditions during the rainy season. Comoros experienced a fuel crisis in August 2008 and a teachers’ strike in 2010, closing schools and postponing year‐end examinations. In addition to the natural disasters and man‐made emergencies in ESAR, the education sector in nearly all of the countries faces severe lack of resources and funding and is heavily reliant on external support. Teacher shortages, large class sizes, lack of up‐to‐date and relevant learning aids, and inadequate classrooms, to name only a few factors, combine to make progress in the education sector challenging. Despite these obstacles, there are noteworthy achievements to report from the ESAR education sector. Rwanda, one of the five countries that participated in this evaluation, has attained one of the highest primary school enrolment rates in Africa, with nearly 96 per cent of boys and 97 per cent of girls attending primary school.'

The above passage alone highlights the strong link between Disaster Risk Reduction and educational outcomes.

The full report includes Disaster Risk Reduction Capacity Gaps, and 16 'Lessons Learned'. Worth a look - check out the full report here.