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In this report -- the second to emerge from a three-year research project on girls' transitions through school and onwards into higher education and work (2022-2025) -- we explore the aspirations and preparedness of girls in the West Pokot, Homa Bay, and Narok counties of Kenya. We will be following the same cohort of girls in the next wave of fieldwork (phase three of the research project). This research is based on two main questions: (1) What experiences and aspirations do girls have regarding their transitions through education systems and into work?; and (2) What kind of in-school and system-level support are girls receiving, to help with their transitions? Our research shows that girls overwhelmingly do want to transition from primary to secondary school, but not necessarily for reasons of studying at a higher level; they are mostly motivated by the ambition to go a new school and the chance to learn new subjects with pupils from other schools. This underscores the need to educate children, caregivers and communities in the benefits that education can bring later in life. Most girls at primary school report that they are ready for transition but are not well-equipped in the core competencies of exercising autonomy over their schoolwork and setting personal goals. Caregivers are the main source of information and support for girls who are preparing to transition from primary and secondary school, while very few receive information and guidance from teachers, siblings, and peers. Secondary school is an important pathway for preparing young people to transition into work, but less than half of the schools surveyed provide mentorship on employment. Schools that do offer this kind of support focus on activities such as life skills, resume writing, and job opportunities -- but not the digital literacy or transferable skills that are increasingly in demand in the workplace. Our research shows that financial constraint is the biggest barrier in transition from primary to secondary school and onwards to higher education; girls with caregivers working in the informal employment sector are four times more likely to face this challenge than those whose caregivers work in the formal sector. Our report explores all these issues in depth and makes several key recommendations on how to tackle them and best support girls with their transitions. This research forms part of EDT's wider public research agenda in education, careers, and employability -- aimed at informing policy and practice around the world.

The Cambodian government has been successful in raising girls' enrolment and academic achievement in recent years, with girls' enrolment reaching 100% in 2021 and girls outperforming boys in reading, writing and mathematics at Grade 5 level. While this is hugely encouraging for girls' education in the country, these statistics alone do not help us to understand the extent to which gender imbalances are being addressed and improved within the classroom. Therefore, together with their research partner, the Cambodia Development Resource Institute (CDRI), Education Development Trust (EDT) has undertaken research to explore this issue. Specifically, EDT wished to interrogate the question of whether schools and classrooms in Cambodia are simply gender-sensitive and aware of gender discrimination, or whether they are moving to actively root out and address gender imbalances--demonstrating aspects of gender-responsiveness. Key findings demonstrated that although progress has been made in moving towards gender-responsive approaches, more work remains to be done to move beyond practices that simply ensure parity but instead address underlying biases and safeguarding issues. School leaders, middle-tier officials, and ministry personnel also need to support school- and classroom-level level efforts to understand and implement gender-responsive pedagogy. This in turn highlights a clear need for improved teacher training and standardised, clearly defined policy and programming language.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on education systems worldwide, leading to significant learning loss, exacerbating existing educational inequalities and disproportionately affecting disadvantaged students. Governments around the world have begun to invest in large-scale tutoring initiatives as a key component of their pandemic recovery efforts. It is essential to summarise the existing evidence on the effectiveness of different tutoring approaches and identify the factors that contribute to successful implementation. This working paper aims to provide a comprehensive synthesis of meta-analyses on the effectiveness of tutoring programmes involving one-to-one and small-group tuition. By examining the existing literature and identifying key findings, this paper will offer valuable insights for policymakers, educators, and researchers seeking to design and implement effective tutoring programmes.

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 Rwanda, with a total of 273 responses from school leaders across all 30 districts in Rwanda. Key findings include: (1) 75% of school leaders reported their schools and/or local communities had been negatively impacted by climate change at least once in recent years, with the most frequent weather events including drought, strong winds and landslides; (2) 52% of school leaders reported school buildings have experienced damage as a result of extreme weather events, with 74% of those leaders reporting having to divert funds from teaching and learning towards repairs; (3) 21% of school leaders reported climate events to have had a significant impact on students' attendance, with a further 58% reporting a small negative impact; and (4) 22% of school leaders reported a significant negative impact on students' concentration, with a further 53% reporting a small negative impact.

What are the barriers to employment for young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) or who have experience of care? What works best to support them? In partnership with the Employment Related Services Association (ERSA), our latest report draws conclusions from a survey of practitioners and young people to understand the barriers they face, what services are offered, and what is considered to work best in helping NEET young people--and especially care leavers--to progress into work. More than one in ten young people in the UK between the ages of 16 and 24 are classified as not in employment, education or training (NEET), and the rate of young people being NEET has not fallen below 10% over the last twenty years. We know that being NEET can have immediate negative consequences for a young person, such as decreasing levels of self-esteem, increasing the likelihood of engaging in risky behaviours such as substance misuse and criminal activities, and increasing their chances of living in poverty. While there has been much research into the factors that lead to becoming NEET, how these can be mitigated, and the impacts of being NEET, there is not the same body of evidence to inform the support provided to young people to move into and stay in education, employment and training (EET). This study looks at what the existing research has to say and surveys young people and the practitioners who work with them on four key questions: (1) What are the key barriers to EET for young people and care leavers who are NEET?; (2) What is currently offered to young people and care leavers in terms of entry to EET support?; (3) What is currently offered in terms of in-work support for young people and care leavers?; and (4) What types of provision are most effective at dealing with the barriers young people face to EET? Drawing out lessons for practitioners and policymakers, this study contributes to our understanding of what young people see as the issues, the support they need and what service providers are offering to some of the most vulnerable people in society. [This report was produced with the Employment Related Services Association (ERSA).]

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. Transition from school to higher education and work is a fundamentally important phase that determines individuals' future trajectories and livelihoods. This is particularly a pivotal period for girls in resource-constrained settings, where poverty and gender inequality intersect. This report moves beyond recent quantitative studies on gender-related barriers to school participation and learning to explore the wider evidence base on girls' education to identify: (1) the key skills necessary for transition; and (2) the interventions needed to make effective transitions happen. Looking at transition from the lens of a complete schooling cycle, the report also provides lessons for policymakers, particularly highlighting the need for effective transition to be supported across education systems in an integrated way, rather than through isolated individual programmes. Key findings: (1) the barriers to girls' transition are complex, multifaceted, and often reinforce each other. Multi-sectoral interventions that target overlapping vulnerabilities have been shown to have a positive impact in supporting girls' transitions; (2) in contexts where disadvantaged girls drop out of school or are unable to develop foundational skills, literacy and numeracy catch-up programs should be integrated into vocational and life skills training, to offer girls a second chance to develop the core skills; (3) to ensure girls are effectively prepared to transition into work, vocational training and on-the-job training or internships could be combined. This would provide opportunities for learning transferable skills alongside applying skills acquired by training in work contexts; and (4) integration of ICT in training programmes holds promise for building girls' skills and confidence in navigating an increasingly digital world.

In education systems around the world, planners and policymakers are calling for more attention to whole-system improvement. To best address teaching and learning outcomes, teachers and head teachers need whole-system support to build professionalism and improve their practice. The middle tier of education systems, composed of professionals working between the school and central levels, may offer a unique opportunity to facilitate collaboration, broker knowledge, scale innovations, and provide instructional direction to school-level practitioners. This research was conducted as a collaborative partnership between IIEP-UNESCO and Education Development Trust. It explores how middle-tier instructional leaders can form a nexus for improving the quality of education at scale. Through case studies in five jurisdictions--Delhi (India), Jordan, Rwanda, Shanghai (China), and Wales--it explores the professional practices and perceived impacts of instructional leaders and the enabling factors present in the systems where they work. It focuses on promising practices globally, and is designed to draw out insights and lessons for both policy-makers and practitioners. [For the previous report, "Change Agents: Emerging Evidence on Instructional Leadership at the Middle Tier," see ED610844.]

Teacher professional development is complex, and despite evidence from randomised controlled trials about key factors influencing this process, there is little research about how abilities prior to initial teacher training (ITT) influence early classroom practice. In England, many schools face teacher recruitment and retention challenges and finding ways to select candidates likely to find the challenges of teaching more aligned to their existing skills could have an important impact. The authors report the final analysis in a four-year study looking at the ability of the Future Teaching Scholars programme assessment centre to predict later practice. Building on previous reports, they present final conclusions about the approach's predictive validity and the standards of teaching achieved by participants at the end of their first term of teaching and conclude with lessons for policymakers.

Communities in Kenya's rural areas, especially pastoralists in Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs), are amongst those most affected by climate change. ASAL areas are characterised by economic marginalisation with high poverty levels, significant gender disparities and vulnerability to climate disasters caused by extreme weather events. Communities in these areas mainly rely on age-old, climate sensitive livelihood practices, such as livestock keeping. The increasing frequency and severity of extreme weather shocks puts the people in these communities at significant and growing risk. This study explores the impact of climate change on education in Turkana County, Kenya, as an example of one of the country's ASAL areas. It explores the impact of climate on schools and learning, and considers how to engage learners and schools in building resilience to climate change in the future. Learners, out-of-school youth (OOSY), headteachers, teachers, community members and representatives of agencies involved in combating climate change participated in interviews and focus group discussions to explore these topics. Recommendations for mitigating and adaptive actions to be taken in response to the climate events are provided for government, regional, and school-level authorities.

Education Development Trust collaborated with the Ministry of Education Jordan, INJAZ and Education for Employment (EFE) to co-develop and pilot a whole-school careers education and guidance intervention in Jordan, called Future Ready. The pilot took place over 12 weeks (February to June 2022) with grade 9 students in Amman and Zarqa. The model integrated the following components of effective careers education and guidance: (1) careers guidance and counselling (one-to-one, or with peer groups); (2) a whole-school approach to careers education (enriching careers learning with subject curriculums); (3) experiential learning (co- and extra-curricular activities); and (4) information (labour market information and education pathways options). Surveys and interviews were conducted throughout with participants on process and programme impact, with key findings reported in relation to student development of career management skills and working towards social, economic and educational impact. The pilot was found to have a positive impact on students across all metrics, from increasing motivation for learning to starting to shift gender limiting stereotypes about appropriate jobs.

Through a series of interviews and focus group discussions, we asked learners, out-of-school youth, community members, teachers and headteachers about the impacts of climate change on their lives. We found that the direct and indirect impacts of climate change on education are wide-ranging and complex, causing perceived learning loss and disruption to schooling. Indirect impacts ranged from reduced school attendance in the face of conflict due to water shortages, to crop failures resulting in hungry children struggling to concentrate at school. Intersectionality was found to play a substantial role in risk, with children with disabilities disproportionately negative directly and indirectly impacted. We also sought to identify key areas for intervention. Participants' suggestions included improving school feeding programmes and community education options to mitigate the impacts of climate change on school attendance and students' ability to learn. Other adaptive actions included setting up contingency funds to ensure schools are repaired quickly in the event of damage due to climate events, and improvement of school infrastructure to minimise the likelihood of damage. Remote learning options are also considered as an important potential adaptive action to ensure learning can continue when schools are forced to close. The report also identifies the different ways in which education for climate change can be improved, from reforming the climate change curriculum to provide a rounded picture of the causes of climate change (alongside locally relevant information), to using schools as hubs for change and learning within communities.

This case study aims to contribute to the burgeoning evidence base on teachers working in refugee settings and to provide the Government of Kenya, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other key partners with research-informed policy guidance to inform the ongoing effective management of teachers to ensure quality education for all learners. Using a collaborative, multi-phased, mixed methods approach, the research examines how teachers are managed in policy and practice in refugee hosting areas in Kenya. This report explores the management practices of teachers in public schools in the surrounding host communities as well as in camp schools. It is also important to understand teacher management practice in the wider context of the Kenyan government's goal of inclusion -- to bring camp schools into the national system and under government management. The study identifies promising commitments, practices and gaps in order to reveal potential areas for further development and successful implementation of policies to support effective teacher management in refugee settings. [For "Teacher Management in Refugee Settings: Public Schools in Jordan," see ED621829. For "Teacher Management in Refugee Settings: Ethiopia," see ED607267.]

This study examines the impact of COVID-19 and associated restrictions on the non-state school sector in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Drawing on a survey of Global Schools Forum (GSF) member organisations across 17 countries, and surveys and in-depth remote interviews with schools in India, Nigeria and Kenya, the authors explore how schools were impacted by the pandemic and the ways in which they coped with the disruption. Areas for policy intervention and areas for potential peer learning and scaling up of best practices are highlighted. [This report was co-produced by Global Schools Forum.]

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in September 2020, the Rwanda Basic Education Board (REB) -- in its efforts to improve the country's school leaders -- formed a learning partnership with the Education Commission, Education Development Trust, and the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) to undertake rapid research on school and system leadership during school closures and as they started to reopen for the first time. This research used an innovative 'learning partnership' approach with Rwandan education stakeholders engaged as a critical 'co-creation' partner in each phase of the process -- from designing the research questions to interpreting the findings. This approach ensured the issues investigated were priorities for local stakeholders and promoted ongoing, dynamic dialogue around emerging findings to influence decision-making which could be acted on to create impact. Key findings from the learning partnership highlighted three main strategies used by leaders to provide continuity of learning and support during school closures and reopening: (1) engaging with caregivers, communities, and other sectors; (2) collaborating with teachers and other school leaders; and (3) tracking, sharing information, and providing targeted support. [This report was produced in partnership with the Education Commission, the Rwanda Basic Education Board (REB), and the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE). For the accompanying brief, "Bridging the Evidence to Policy Gap: A Learning Partnership Approach to Research," see ED615148.]

COVID-19 has caused considerable disruption to education around the world. Disadvantaged and marginalised learners are being particularly hard-hit. Naturally, earlier in the pandemic, the focus of much attention was on how to safely reopen schools, often featuring a preoccupation with hygiene and social distancing considerations. A shift is now noticeable and welcome. With schools in many jurisdictions reopening partially or fully, there is now a growing interest in the immensely important area of recovering the learning lost while pupils have been away from face-to-face education. This document summarises the key findings from two larger reports conducted as part of the first phase of this research collaboration. These two reports are a review of policy and grey literature and a rapid evidence assessment (REA). [The report is written with assistance from Susy Ndaruhutse, Ella Page and Rosie Leonard-Kane. For "Learning Loss, Learning Gains and Wellbeing: A Review of Policy and Grey Literature," see ED615067. For "Learning Loss, Learning Gains and Wellbeing: A Rapid Evidence Assessment," see ED615066.]

COVID-19 has caused considerable disruption to education around the world. Disadvantaged and marginalised learners are being particularly hard hit. Naturally, throughout the pandemic, the focus of much attention has been on how to open schools safely with a preoccupation with the hygiene and social distancing considerations. A shift is noticeable and welcome. With schools in many jurisdictions reopening partially or fully there is a growing interest in the immensely important area of recovering the lost learning that has occurred while learners have been away from face-to-face education. This report documents an analysis of policy and grey literature. It is one output from the first phase of our collaboration and links are made to two other outputs: (1) A rapid evidence assessment (REA) of the academic literature; and (2) An overarching summary paper drawing out key messages and introducing the next phase of the collaboration. [This report is written with assistance from Anna Riggall, Ella Page, Elnaz Kashefpakdel and Sonia Guerriero. For the companion report, "Learning Loss, Learning Gains and Wellbeing: A Rapid Evidence Assessment," see ED615066.]

As schools begin reopening around the world, education systems are faced with the challenge of mitigating learning lost during the pandemic, designing and implementing remedial or accelerated learning programmes, remote learning and next year's curriculum. Effective teachers are a crucial part of supporting learning recovery. School closure during COVID-19 has left many teachers uncertain about their role, worried about their working conditions and their health, safety and wellbeing, unable to use technology effectively, and unprepared for classroom challenges when schools reopen. Teachers will need to respond to students' academic losses (and gains), but also to their socio-emotional wellbeing. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and Education Development Trust have undertaken this study to provide information to help teachers, schools and governments understand how to support teachers to best support students as they return to school. This research is designed to allow to focus on the available existing evidence, and focuses on the most marginalised students and include research from previous crisis and disaster contexts to examine broadly what is know about actions to mitigate and recover learning loss, not just related to the current global pandemic but in a broader sense. The key research questions for this Rapid Evidence Assessment (REA) are grouped into two sections. Firstly, questions about learning loss, gain and impact on student wellbeing. The second group of questions focus on the experience of teachers and the literature around the skills and support required for teachers to recover learning and wellbeing themselves and in students as they return to school. The REA is a companion to a review of policy and grey literature which focuses more on commentary and guidance literature. These papers are the first stage in a wider research project which will look at how teachers support learning recovery post COVID-19. [For "Learning Loss, Learning Gains and Wellbeing: A Review of Policy and Grey Literature," see ED615067.]

Efficient use of resources depends upon many factors, but one key variable is the extent to which we design and implement activities which require funding in a way that is informed by relevant evidence. The application of insights about 'what works', derived from robust research, combined with evidence about context and real-time system data have, when taken together, the potential to add substantial value to 'building back better' after COVID-19. Evidence is the fuel that drives smart, adaptive, impactful policy. At its best, the combination of knowing what the most effective investments are and having great system intelligence that tells us how things are translating into action and change, will enable policy and decision-making to be strategic, open to fine tuning and deeply contextualised. Education Development Trust identifies five key components needed for an effective evidence-driven approach to education reform. (1) Ensure your data systems provide disaggregated data and insight about student outcomes and learning and resource distribution; (2) Use the available evidence about what works and engage in the drive to build more of the right kind of evidence that is relevant to specific circumstances; (3) Align global insight about what works with local contextual evidence and need; (4) Mediate evidence-based insights for policy professionals and frontline staff; and (5) Create collaborative spaces where professionals at all levels can engage with evidence and reflect on practice--these can be linked to specific improvement agendas (for example, girls' education). All of these interrelated components already exist in different forms and different places. All are essential for ensuring that approaches to education reform are both effective and evidence-driven.

The health emergency has stress-tested the education systems. What has been learned from the experience? And how can that be applied to lessons while seeking to ensure that 'building back better' is an evidence-informed undertaking? In this report, the authors identify ten lessons from the crisis of 2020-2021 that should be used to inform planning for the reconstruction of education in the long term: (1) The crisis has reinforced the need for adaptive, agile policymaking; (2) Meeting the equity challenge depends on data, detail and deliberate action; (3) The best external support for teachers comes from other teachers; (4) School leadership matters; (5) Without effective assessment for learning, it is impossible to meet the needs of individual students; (6) Great teaching and learning are not enough: schools need to address the wellbeing of students and teachers; (7) Access to technology is necessary but not sufficient: many teachers urgently need training in digital pedagogy; (8) Technology solutions must be accessible -- and include a no-tech safety net; (9) Parental and community resources must be harnessed to support learning; and (10) Effective support for girls must be prioritised in plans for reopening and learning recovery. The authors arrived at these ten lessons through a thorough global review of a range of sources including policy documents and research findings and through a series of interviews with senior leaders in some of the organisations and programmes featured. [This report was written with Susy Ndaruhutse and Ruth Naylor.]

The COVID-19 pandemic has been intensely disruptive to education all around the world. With children in many countries continuing to face prolonged absences from the classroom, innovative solutions are needed to maintain education continuity, especially for the most vulnerable students. Such crises require solutions that go beyond the resources of the 'traditional' education workforce, with local communities and inputs from other sectors playing a potentially important role in ensuring continuity of learning. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Education Development Trust has sought to be highly responsive to the changing needs of educators, system leaders and partners around the world. In doing so, Education Development Trust has developed an evidence base from which new thinking has been developed, called 'Learning Renewed', which reimagines what more effective, equitable and resilient education systems might look like, and how they might better withstand future shocks. This report, the second in the Learning Renewed series, explores the solutions adopted by a team in Kenya, where the roles of community health volunteers (CHVs) have been redesigned to support continuity of learning for the vulnerable girls, and identifies key lessons which may prove valuable both during and beyond the current crisis. To do so, Education Development Trust commissioned a research study to explore, in detail, CHV activities during school closure. Data was collected remotely through surveys, diaries written by CHVs and interviews with stakeholders. The research covered CHVs operating in both rural Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASAL) and urban areas. The research highlighted both many positive outcomes for girls and significant challenges. [Foreword is written by Tony McAleavy. For "Learning Renewed: A Safe Way to Reopen Schools in the Global South. Paper 1 of the Learning Renewed Series," see ED614318.]

In Fall 2020, at the height of the pandemic, the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE), the Education Commission, and Education Development Trust came together with the aim of generating new evidence on effective leadership during COVID-19. A learning partnership was developed with the Rwanda Basic Education Board (REB), which was already focused on improving the country's school leaders, to undertake rapid research on school and system leadership during COVID-19. The aim of the project was threefold: to shed light on the role that effective school and system leaders played during school closures and reopening in mitigating inequalities for the most vulnerable; to ascertain what essential leadership skills, competencies and behaviors leaders demonstrated to promote equity in delivery during and after the crisis; and to contribute to the emerging body of evidence of case studies in school leadership in the Global South. As the first in a series of case studies, Rwanda was chosen because of its commitment to improving school leadership and management, and its work embedding collaborative structures to implement change. The learning partnership approach consists of three stages: Co-designing, data gathering and reflection, and influencing decision-making. A critical element of the learning partnership approach was immediate feedback and discussion of findings as they emerged at each stage of the research (survey, interviews, case study schools) to influence policy and decision-making so they could be acted on in real time and create live impact. The findings suggest three overarching ways in which leaders were able to provide learning continuity and other support during closures and reopening, especially for the most marginalized. These are: (1) engagement with caregivers, communities and other sectors; (2) school leader and teacher collaboration; and (3) tracking, sharing information, and providing targeted support for vulnerable learners. From the findings, a set of skills, competencies, and behaviors can be inferred that could be useful for policies aiming to support leadership now and in the future. [This report was produced in partnership with the Education Commission, the Rwanda Basic Education Board (REB), and the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE). For the accompanying report, "Rwanda Learning Partnership: Insights on School and System Leadership during COVID-19," see ED615112.]

Recruiting and retaining excellent teachers remains a pressing policy issue in education systems worldwide. According to UNESCO estimates, 68.8 million teachers will need to be recruited globally to meet Sustainable Development Goal 4. However, simply recruiting more teachers will not be enough to meet this challenge: we need to recruit high-quality teachers who provide high-quality lessons to improve learner outcomes -- and who will remain in the teaching profession. The high number of teachers who leave teaching early in their careers means that there is a crisis in teacher retention, and high staff turnover constitutes a major drain on the resources available to develop a strong education system. As part of our commitment to research and development, we have invested in the review of our Future Teaching Scholars Assessment Centres. Our new Data Insights report examines the Assessment Centres' validity and reliability, and correlations between candidates' performance in different aspects of the initial assessment and later classroom performance. As part of the recruitment and selection process for the Department of Education's Future Teaching Scholars (FTS) programme, which seeks to recruit high-quality maths and physics teachers in England, Education Development Trust designed and implemented an education assessment centre. This is a common tool in recruitment in the UK, but there is a lack of studies on their use, validity and reliability in education. The assessment centre involves a competency-based interview, a reflective activity and a group problem-solving exercise. In addition, it uses classroom roleplays, assessed by two practitioners -- one of whom is a serving subject-specific teacher from an outstanding Teaching School -- which seeks to measure a candidate's innate 'mental set' prior to teaching. The evidence from this evaluation provides important information that could help schools, middle-tier organisations and governments to select teachers more effectively. In particular, the evidence pointed to the importance of including a classroom simulation activity (where the candidate teaches part of a lesson to assessors) rather than just relying on what teachers say about themselves in interview. In addition, being able to show empathy in this type of simulation and in group problem-solving appeared to predict higher retention rates. Importantly, this is the first academic study of an education assessment centre and includes an evaluation of the assessment centre's predictive validity (the ability of the assessment centre score to predict later teaching ability). Key content covered in the Data Insights Report: (1) The teacher recruitment context; (2) The structure of the Future Teaching Scholars assessment centre; (3) The validity and reliability of the assessment centre; (4) Evidence related to later classroom performance and retention; and (5) A road map for more effective teacher recruitment and selection.

As part of its project on instructional leaders at the middle tier, International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) and Education Development Trust (EDT) conducted case studies in five jurisdictions, exploring the professional practices and perceived impacts of instructional leaders and the enabling factors present in the systems in which they work. Those studies and their takeaways are summarized in this series of short country notes. This country note uncovers how the middle-tier structure in Shanghai evolved into a mature system contributing to the outstanding results in international learning assessments. [For the other country notes, see: Delhi (ED629464), Jordan (ED629466), Rwanda (ED629467), and Wales (ED629469).]

As part of its project on instructional leaders at the middle tier, International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) and Education Development Trust (EDT) conducted case studies in five jurisdictions, exploring the professional practices and perceived impacts of instructional leaders and the enabling factors present in the systems in which they work. Those studies and their takeaways are summarized in this series of short country notes. This country note aims to uncover how the middle-tier structure in Wales helps to lead a whole learning system reform to enhance collaborative professionalism among teachers. [For the other country notes, see: Delhi (ED629464), Jordan (ED629466), Rwanda (ED629467), and Shanghai (ED629468).]

As part of its project on instructional leaders at the middle tier, International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) and Education Development Trust (EDT) conducted case studies in five jurisdictions, exploring the professional practices and perceived impacts of instructional leaders and the enabling factors present in the systems in which they work. Those studies and their takeaways are summarized in this series of short country notes. This country note shows how existing middle-tier supervisor roles in Jordan were strengthened to include a greater emphasis on teacher support, coaching, and formative evaluation. [For the other country notes, see: Delhi (ED629464), Rwanda (ED629467), Shanghai (ED629468), and Wales (ED629469).]

As part of its project on instructional leaders at the middle tier, International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) and Education Development Trust (EDT) conducted case studies in five jurisdictions, exploring the professional practices and perceived impacts of instructional leaders and the enabling factors present in the systems in which they work. Those studies and their takeaways are summarized in this series of short country notes. This country note shows how new 'leader of learning' middle tier roles have been created in Rwanda to harness the skills and motivation of the highest-performing serving head teachers in the country, to support the professional development of their peers. [For the other country notes, see: Delhi (ED629464), Jordan (ED629466), Shanghai (ED629468), and Wales (ED629469).]

As part of its project on instructional leaders at the middle tier, International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) and Education Development Trust (EDT) conducted case studies in five jurisdictions, exploring the professional practices and perceived impacts of instructional leaders and the enabling factors present in the systems in which they work. Those studies and their takeaways are summarized in this series of short country notes. This country note uncovers how the middle tier structure in Delhi provides a whole system of peer support, collaboration, and feedback to improve teachers' professional development and motivation. [For the other country notes, see: Jordan (ED629466), Rwanda (ED629467), Shanghai (ED629468), and Wales (ED629469).]

To improve teaching and learning outcomes, teachers and head teachers need whole-system support to build professionalism and enhance their practice. Roles at the middle tier of education systems, or those professionals working between the school and central level, offer unique capacities to facilitate collaboration, broker knowledge, scale innovations, and provide instructional direction to school-level practitioners. This research explores how middle-tier instructional leaders can become a nexus for change to improve the quality of education. It focuses on highlighting promising practices globally and is designed to draw out insights and lessons for both policy-makers and practitioners. Case studies were conducted in five jurisdictions -- Delhi (India), Jordan, Rwanda, Shanghai (China), and Wales -- where new roles have been created or existing roles re-oriented towards coaching and support. The studies explored the professional practices and perceived impacts of instructional leaders, and the enabling factors present in the systems in which they work. This brief is part one of a three-part series focusing on what the middle tier is and why it is important for improving learning. Brief 2 presents the professional practices and perceived impacts of instructional leaders, while Brief 3 presents the factors enabling them to become change agents. [For brief 2, see ED629429. For brief 3, see ED629428.]

To improve teaching and learning outcomes, teachers and head teachers need whole-system support to build professionalism and enhance their practice. Roles at the middle tier of education systems, or those professionals working between the school and central level, offer unique capacities to facilitate collaboration, broker knowledge, scale innovations, and provide instructional direction to school-level practitioners. This research explores how middle-tier instructional leaders can become a nexus for change to improve the quality of education. It focuses on highlighting promising practices globally and is designed to draw out insights and lessons for both policy-makers and practitioners. Case studies were conducted in five jurisdictions -- Delhi (India), Jordan, Rwanda, Shanghai (China), and Wales -- where new roles have been created or existing roles re-oriented towards coaching and support. The studies explored the professional practices and perceived impacts of instructional leaders, and the enabling factors present in the systems in which they work. This brief is part two of a three-part series focusing on the professional practices of instructional leaders at the middle tier and how they bring about change in teaching and learning. The other briefs introduce the middle tier and how to make middle-tier roles effective. [For brief 1, see ED629430. For brief 3, see ED629428.]

To improve teaching and learning outcomes, teachers and head teachers need whole-system support to build professionalism and enhance their practice. Roles at the middle tier of education systems, or those professionals working between the school and central level, offer unique capacities to facilitate collaboration, broker knowledge, scale innovations, and provide instructional direction to school-level practitioners. This research explores how middle-tier instructional leaders can become a nexus for change to improve the quality of education. It focuses on highlighting promising practices globally and is designed to draw out insights and lessons for both policy-makers and practitioners. Case studies were conducted in five jurisdictions -- Delhi (India), Jordan, Rwanda, Shanghai (China), and Wales -- where new roles have been created or existing roles re-oriented towards coaching and support. The studies explored the professional practices and perceived impacts of instructional leaders, and the enabling factors present in the systems in which they work. This brief is part three of a three-part series focusing on enabling factors and system considerations for turning instructional leaders into change agents for teaching and learning improvement. The other briefs focus on what is the middle tier and the professional practices of instructional leaders that contribute to improving learning. [For brief 1, see ED629430. For brief 2, see ED629429.]

In recent years, Kenya has made significant commitments to ensuring that vulnerable and marginalised populations increasingly access quality education, including those in refugee camps and surrounding communities in the counties of Turkana and Garissa. Effective teacher management is a key policy lever in ensuring inclusive, equitable and high-quality education systems. Research has shown that the quality of the teaching workforce is the most important factor affecting student learning among those that are open to policy influence. This brief aims to provide research-informed guidance for the effective management of primary-level teachers in refugee settings to the Kenyan Ministry of Education (MoE), Teacher Service Commission (TSC), Refugee Affairs Secretariat (RAS, now the Department for Refugee Services), UNHCR and other key stakeholders at multiple levels.

Teachers are the key to success in any education system. In refugee settings, the role of teachers is particularly significant, as they can provide crucial continuity and socio-emotional support. They are sometimes the only educational resource available to students. Yet little is known about who are the teachers working in refugee-hosting communities. How are they recruited, trained and supported? IIEP-UNESCO and Education Development Trust are working together to provide research-informed policy recommendations for better management of teachers working with refugee children. This case study aims to contribute to the burgeoning evidence base on teachers working in crisis and displacement contexts and to provide the Government of Uganda, UNHCR and other key partners with research-informed policy guidance to inform the ongoing effective management of teachers to ensure quality education for all learners. Using a collaborative, multi-phased, mixed-methods approach, the research examines how teachers are managed in policy and practice in refugee settings in Uganda. The case study identifies promising policies and practices, as well as gaps in policy and practice, to reveal potential areas for further development and successful implementation of policies to support effective teacher management in refugee settings.

This report is based on a rapid survey of recently published materials, guidance documents and media commentary. It summarises what is known and understood about the impacts of the prolonged school closures that followed the spread of COVID-19 and the context of school reopening and plans for learning recovery. In March 2020, schools around the world began closing their doors and governments, jurisdictions, educators and a range of connected stakeholders moved rapidly to support educational continuity through remote models of provision. Education Development Trust has been following these developments from the beginning, mapping the response, the challenges that have arisen and the concerns expressed by many educators across the globe. The first chapter of this report updates what is known about student and teacher wellbeing, the time spent on learning for pupils during the period of school closure and the experience of lockdown for teachers. In the second chapter, the status of school reopening planning around the world is considered, alongside the measures being taken to ensure that students and teachers can return to school safely. Emerging plans to tackle learning loss and to structure and support recovery are discussed. Finally, the report assesses the conditions for long-term educational recovery with a focus on funding and financial support for governments in low-income contexts, where fragile and unequal learning environments had already persisted prior to COVID-19 school closures. Throughout the report, the key findings are illustrated with country examples of both challenges and promising solutions. The report concludes with a list of recommendations for policymakers.

Around the world, young people face considerable challenges. Even before the disruption of the Covid-19 crisis, policymakers were seeking to respond to rapid technological advances, climate change and -- in some countries -- an ageing population and workforce. While children and young people worldwide generally have high aspirations and ambitions for their futures, evidence shows that they often face problematic and protracted transitions into work. In this context, new pathways from school to employment are needed. In this paper, we review extensive evidence to provide guidance on how children and young people can be best prepared to succeed in their school-to-work transitions, both now and in the future.

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. In crisis and displacement situations, the role of teachers is particularly significant: they are sometimes the only resource available to students. This report investigates teacher management in refugee contexts in Ethiopia, and is the first in a series of country reports. It contributes to a burgeoning body of evidence about teachers in refugee contexts and aims to provide policy guidance to support ministries of education. [Funding for this work was provided by UNICEF Ethiopia. For "Teacher Management in Refugee Settings: Public Schools in Jordan," see ED621829. For "Teacher Management in Refugee Settings: Kenya," see ED626470.]

As education systems around the world begin to emerge from COVID-19-related lockdown, governments are facing the difficult decision of when and how to reopen schools, balancing the risks of widespread learning loss -- and the impact this will have on a generation of learners -- with the risks of virus transmission, which are more significant in low-income settings. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Education Development Trust has sought to be highly responsive to the changing needs of educators, system leaders and partners around the world. In doing so, Education Development Trust has developed an evidence base from which new thinking has been developed, called 'Learning Renewed', which reimagines what more effective, equitable and resilient education systems might look like, and how they might better withstand future shocks. This programme of work will be continuing in the coming months, but this report is the first major think piece in this series. In it, a vision for 'flexible reopening' of schools is outlined, supplemented by community-based learning. A 'middle way' is proposed between full closure and full reopening, featuring smaller, tutorial-style classes attending school on a part-time basis, supplemented by community-based learning. The flexible opening model is not without challenges, but it offers the real potential to ensure higher quality education provision for some of the world's most vulnerable children. [For "Maintaining Learning Continuity during School Closure: Community Health Volunteer Support for Marginalised Girls in Kenya. Paper 2 of the Learning Renewed Series," see ED614319.]

This new edition of Successful School Leadership brings in the latest evidence and material to what has remained a popular publication. While the fundamentals of what drives successful school leadership remain the same, new evidence further supports the arguments put forward by Christopher Day and Pam Sammons back in 2016. The growing interest in system leadership that we have witnessed over the last five years also features in this edition, as does a reflection on the expanding body of international literature focused on school leadership in low-income contexts. The evidence examined by this review indicates that effective school leadership is important but, in isolation, is not a sufficient condition for successful school improvement. It shows that leadership has important effects on school organisation, culture and on teachers. Effects on student outcomes are largely indirect operating through direct effects on the organisation, culture and teaching and learning environment. The review draws particular attention to three concepts of leadership: transformational, pedagogical/instructional and distributed. While there is evidence that pedagogical/instructional leadership is important for promoting better academic outcomes for students, it is concluded that the three concepts of leadership are not mutually exclusive. It finds that most leadership effects operate indirectly to promote student outcomes by supporting and enhancing conditions for teaching and learning through direct impacts on teachers and their work, and that successful student outcomes are defined more broadly than academic performance alone (including attendance, behaviour, engagement and motivation, etc.). Moreover, single leadership strategies unrelated to educational purposes and national and local contexts are less likely to lead to success than combinations and accumulations of values-led and context-sensitive strategies which best illustrate the dynamic and complex nature of schools in the 21st century. Whether CEOs of multi-academy trusts, groups of schools, or principals of individual schools, school leaders have a key role to play in setting direction and creating and sustaining a positive school culture. This includes establishing a proactive, collaborative school mindset, supporting and enhancing staff, as well as student motivation, engagement and well-being, and the collective commitment needed to foster improvement and promote and sustain success for schools and classrooms which serve a range of advantaged and disadvantaged communities. [For the 2016 edition, see ED565740.]

A major concern for policymakers around the world is how to design an entire system of education that provides high quality teaching and learning outcomes. This paper aims to make a significant contribution to this debate by looking closely at the middle part of education systems -- the regional, district, and sub-district level -- as a critical part of the 'machine' for quality teaching and learning at scale. This working paper is part of a joint venture between the UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP), Education Development Trust, and the Education Commission in researching and strengthening roles at the middle tier of education systems. This review sees the potential of these middle tier leaders as a cadre of change agents who work directly with schools and teachers, and who are dedicated to instructional change and professional learning. [This report was co-produced by the Education Commission.]

This report focuses on systems thinking and its place in education transformation. It reflects on key published literature and on specific outputs from the Education Development Trust's own programme of research. The report offers an overview of the evolution of systems thinking and the relevance for policymakers and practitioners as they tackle the 'learning crisis'. Drawing on the evidence obtained from published literature and on specific outputs from the Education Development Trust's own programme of research, the report identifies and details six important accelerators that are seem as core capabilities for policymakers to develop for rapid school improvement at scale, and which address common binding constraints in education systems. They are: (1) Vision and leadership; (2) Coalitions for change; (3) Delivery architecture including school collaboration; (4) Data for collective accountability and improvement; (5) Teacher and school leadership effectiveness; and (6) Evidence-informed policy and learning. Some reforms are comprehensive and may use all six accelerators; others may be more focused and only use one or two. A framework is offered to support systems thinking for education reform at scale. For policymakers and practitioners, the challenge with any framework is its implementation and the wider set of tensions that a framework alone cannot fully address. Outlined here are five of those tensions: (1) The need to fix the learning crisis while not forgetting about those who are not able to access education; (2) Looking at education as a system while at the same time recognising that education is part of a bigger system with interdependencies; (3) The desire to be evidence-informed yet the reality of operating in a political, economic, social and cultural context that at times has conflicting priorities; (4) The theory of education system reform versus the reality of the capacity of the system to implement that reform; and (5) The need to balance the focus on the system with a wider understanding of personal agency and community responsibility for education. The main advantage of systems thinking is that it expands the ranges of choices available for solving problems by broadening thinking and helping the articulation of problems in new and creative ways.

This report examines four not-for-profit school chains, run by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in low-income contexts. These are Fe y Alegría, the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (better known by its acronym BRAC), Gyan Shala and Zambia Open Community Schools. Three of these organisations offer education at no cost (Fe y Alegría, BRAC and Zambia Open Community Schools), while the other charges very low fees (Gyan Shala). All four examples are large-scale operations running multiple schools, sometimes in multiple countries. All reach large numbers of pupils. The aim of this report is to provide insight for policymakers and others preoccupied with fulfilling: (a) the continuing and still urgent need to achieve Education for All; and (b) the pressing quest for improved quality and learning opportunities for those in school. The evidence is clear: huge numbers of children and young people still do not have access to education. Increasingly, it is apparent that even when they are in school, many students are not learning and are not leaving with even the most fundamental skills of reading, writing and basic calculation. Certain groups remain particularly vulnerable -- those in rural and challenging geographical locations, girls, children with disabilities, and children from ethnic minority groups. Each of the four school groups focused on offers its own interesting story. Collectively they provide an important and optimistic perspective on the apparently intractable challenges of achieving universal access and enhancing quality in education in developing countries. This review summarises the contribution these school chains have made to education improvements and suggests some of the key reasons behind their achievements.

Effective careers advice is impossible without good quality labour market information. Careers professionals and advisers, the people whose job it is to offer and support careers advice in the community or in schools, are key to success. Vital to their work is access and familiarity with a robust and sophisticated body of intelligence about the labour market. Through the publication of this review we seek to provide clarity and practical insight for two key audience groups -- policymakers and practitioners involved in careers services. We draw lessons from the evidence to enable policymakers to create excellent careers services, supported by excellent LMI; and we assist the providers and users of LMI with insight into what constitutes good practice in its creation and use. We have identified evidence for the following key findings in the literature: (1) There is a need for a clear and inclusive view about what is meant by LMI; (2) Technology can improve access to LMI but can also create problems in terms of quality; (3) The LMI available to service users is not always sufficiently comprehensive; (4) For the end-user, the quality of LMI is more important than quantity; (5) Careers professionals need to be appropriately skilled in the use and mediation of LMI and keep their knowledge up to date; and (6) The use of LMI should be linked to insights derived from the developing 'theory' of careers decision-making. The findings of this review suggest that central, regional and local government action can play an important facilitative and integrating role, creating the conditions for a strong careers service based on good LMI. This report explores steps that could be taken to achieve this.

In recent years, Jordan has made considerable progress in education and has demonstrated a strong commitment to improving the quality of provision for all learners within its borders, including refugees. Effective teacher management, aimed at building teachers' status, skills, motivation, wellbeing and retention, is a key policy lever that can help Jordan to achieve its aim of developing and sustaining a high-quality, inclusive and equitable education system for all learners, including refugees and vulnerable Jordanians. This policy brief aims to provide research-informed policy guidance for the effective management of elementary-level teachers in public schools catering to Syrian refugees in Jordan. The guidance is intended to support the Ministry of Education (MoE) and other key stakeholders at multiple levels of governance in developing and implementing teacher management policies, with the overall goal of improving teacher management in refugee settings. [For a related report, "Teacher Management in Refugee Settings: Public Schools in Jordan," see ED621829.]

This report captures what might be learnt from a selection of the world's most interesting examples of technology-assisted in-service professional development in lower-income countries and from wider reflections about the potential of technology to enhance the professional learning of teachers. This report explores the literature surrounding technology for professional learning, identifying six promising case studies: (1) UNESCO projects in Pakistan and Nigeria -- using mobile phones to deliver pedagogical content to early-grade and primary school teachers; (2) English in Action, Bangladesh using mobile phones and SD cards to deliver content to teachers; (3) Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa (TESSA) -- OER [Open Educational Resources] to support interactive teaching practice; (4) Teacher Education through School-based Support in India (TESS-India) -- OER to support the adoption of more engaging pedagogies; (5) Teachers for Teachers, Kenya -- using mobile technology to strengthen teacher development in Kakuma Refugee Camp; and (6) National Tablets Programme, Kenya -- improving the coaching provided to teachers. Through these case studies we have made a series of reflections on the impact technology can have on teacher professional development, particularly in low- and low-middle income contexts: (1) Promising technology is not enough, we must not forget the human factor; (2) Mobile technologies have high potential to improve the reach, scalability and flexibility of teacher professional development; (3) OER constitute a promising format for professional development resources; (4) High-impact, sustainable technology-enabled solutions depend on local partnership and a sense of local ownership; and (5) The design and delivery of effective technology-enabled professional learning depends on high-quality impact data and careful piloting solutions. Our report explores each of these case studies and reflections in greater detail, drawing lessons for policymakers, practitioners and other organisations who seek to provide technology-related professional development opportunities for teachers.

Vietnam's government schools have attracted a great deal of international attention since the publication of the 2012 PISA student tests: Vietnamese students performed particularly well in science, ranking eighth globally out of 65 participating jurisdictions; Vietnam maintained this position in 2015. The Education Development Trust partnered with the Vietnam Institute of Educational Sciences to find out how and why Vietnam has been so successful. Adopting a mixed-methodology approach for an insightful qualitative view of the Vietnam phenomenon, the authors conducted a policy analysis, a survey of parents, reviewed available secondary data, and conducted qualitative fieldwork in contrasting four provinces in Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Binh Dinh and Ha Giang). The aim of the research was to explore the country's approach to educational improvement. The investigation identified five key features of the Vietnamese school system that contributed to its success, each of which is explored in detail in this report: (1) Purposeful policy: the government of Vietnam has consistently stated, over many years, that education is a national priority; (2) High levels of accountability: the Vietnamese system can be characterised by high levels of accountability at all levels; (3) The quality of teaching and teachers: teaching in Vietnam is a highly respected profession; (4) School leadership that focuses on the classroom: principals in Vietnam have clearly defined roles as leaders of teaching and learning; and (5) Partnership between schools and parents: the Vietnamese government encourages high levels of partnership between schools and parents.

This review examines a range of lesson observation frameworks designed for and used in the observation of teaching in mathematics. This includes frameworks specifically designed for international comparisons of teaching practices and teacher effectiveness, as well as those used for teaching development. Five chapters focus on: (1) Introduction (different frameworks for classroom observations; breadth of focus; reliability; validity; and observation frameworks); (2) Tools for the Observation of Effective Teaching (The International System for Teacher Observation and Feedback; the Quality of Teaching Framework; and The Mathematics Education Traditions of Europe Project); (3) The Use of Frameworks for Research in the UK (comparing the three frameworks; (4) Alternative Frameworks (the Knowledge Quartet; Mathematical Quality of Instruction; and Watson's Framework); and (5) Observing to Improve Teaching (observing effective mathematics teaching and observing to develop teaching).

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that 65.6 million people are forcibly displaced, having either crossed national borders or become internally displaced within their own countries. Of this estimate, over 22.5 million are refugees. Over half of the world's refugees are children. With an average length of displacement of approximately 20 years, the majority of these children will spend their entire childhoods away from home. Refugee children have limited access to basic social services like healthcare and education. Given the length of their displacement, generations of refugee children throughout the world could miss out on education altogether. Numerous studies show that the teacher is the most important in-school factor affecting the quality of education, particularly in refugee contexts, where the teacher is sometimes the only resource available to students. In refugee contexts where infrastructure and resources are limited, the role of the teacher is particularly important to the quality of education. However few studies to date have examined the role of teachers in refugee contexts. With more literature focusing on refugee children and youth, little is known about who the teachers of refugees are and how they are recruited, trained, retained, compensated and managed in their contexts. Importantly, there is little research on national teachers who are teaching refugee children; rather, much of the available literature focuses on refugee teachers -- that is, teachers who are also refugees. In addition, this lack of literature on teachers of refugees hinders our understanding not only of their needs but also of 'how refugees can contribute to education in their host countries and (eventually) to their home countries'. The purpose of this literature review is to survey policies, practices and debates that governments and their partners must navigate to provide education for refugee populations, and the strategies they have used to select and manage teaching forces. The review analyses findings from the main literature on teachers of refugees according to the following themes: (1) recruitment, certification and selection of teachers; (2) teacher preparation and development; (3) teacher remuneration and incentives; and (4) teacher retention. In addition, for each of these themes, this review highlights the salient gaps in the research and suggests an agenda for further research. [Co-written with Leonora MacEwen and Ruth Naylor.]

The starting point for this report was to consider the complex field of English Medium Instruction (EMI) policies in low and middle income countries (LMICs). Its purpose is to provide insight and support to those responsible for setting policy or enacting it in complex language environments around the world. This research study set out to do two things: (1) Look at the global literature and draw on the lessons from existing research; and (2) Focus on illustrating the operational enactment and levels of understanding of EMI polices in schools in two primary school contexts--Ghana and Bihar, India. These very different contexts provide valuable lessons that will help policy makers, educators, teacher trainers and schools to navigate the complexities of multilingual EMI environments. Since the formulation of the Millennium Development Goals, there has been increasing attention paid to the quality of teaching and learning in schools, with the result being that Goal 4 of the Sustainable Development Goals ensures inclusive and equitable "quality" education, and promotes lifelong learning opportunities for all. It is increasingly recognised that medium of instruction is a key aspect of improving the quality of education. Findings from this study suggest that the language-in-education policy (LEP) and its enactment can present a range of challenges to realising improvement in educational quality, and this might be contributing to the rise of low-cost private schools outside the government sector. Findings are divided into four main themes: (1) Pedagogy--the language of instruction can constitute a barrier to good pedagogic practice; (2) Teacher language--competence in language of instruction is vital, as is valuing of a flexible approach to language use to enable learning; (3) Student language--the language of instruction can limit opportunities for communication; and (4) Multilingual strategies to support EMI--opportunities and challenges. The LEPs in both Ghana and India are commendable for their intention to implement UNESCO's 1953 recommendation that 'every effort should be made to provide education in the mother tongue,' while also aiming to ensure universal access to English. This study confirms other research investigating the implementation of the use of local languages in education, finding that this is fraught with difficulties. However, the use of English as medium of instruction also poses significant challenges. Recommendations are provided at the end of the report. [The authors of this report were supported by: Kimberly Safford, Fritz Makafui Tugli, Snehal Shah, Sarah Jane Mukherjee, Subhi Ashour, Mark Mukorera, and Alison Buckler.]

Data has played an important role in England's recent school improvement journey. The evolution of the approach has not been perfect but the National Pupil Database has become a vital tool for health checking the education system, driving accountability, directing education policymaking, and tracking the educational attainment of key vulnerable groups. Within the United Kingdom, education is a 'devolved' responsibility managed at the level of each of the four national jurisdictions: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. This report focuses on experiences in England, which is by far the largest of the four political units. The purpose of this report is to highlight some of the lessons learned and successes of the England national pupil data story. This report is based on the expertise and experience of its authors and draws on some relevant literature to support key points and provide illustrations. This report is intended to offer insights for policymakers in other countries where a national pupil level data system is being developed or refined. By sharing England's story the authors hope that others may be able to avoid some of the mistakes and unexpected consequences that were made in the last three decades of development in England. The report provides analysis of seven key lessons: (1) The school accountability system in England benefits from a data infrastructure of national tests and information about pupil characteristics, supported by technology; (2) English experience demonstrates the risks of an over-simplistic approach to school performance data; (3) In England, there has been an important and lively debate about 'value-added' measures which take into account the starting points of pupils; (4) There is a need for a national accountability system that evolves over time; (5) Accountability measures used in England have played a significant role in the development of school self-evaluation; (6) Schools can benefit from comparing their own students' performance with that of the national database through item level analysis; and (7) There should be an alignment between data-based support for internal school improvement and external school improvement through inspection.

Jordan has a longstanding history of providing the refugees it hosts with protection and essential support, including education. Today, the country is home to the tenth-largest population of Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)-registered refugees in the world, hosting around 750,000 refugees originating from Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Sudan as well as a further half million unregistered Syrians. In addition, Jordan hosts 2.2 million Palestine refugees under the mandate of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), most of whom have Jordanian citizenship. Ongoing conflicts, political unrest, droughts and famines in the region have meant that the influx of refugees into the country continues. Using a collaborative, two-phased, mixed-methods approach, the research examines how teachers are managed in policy and practice, focusing on schools catering to Syrian refugees outside refugee camps in Jordan. The case study identifies promising policies and practices and gaps in policy and practice in order to reveal potential areas for further development and successful implementation of policies to support effective teacher management in refugee settings. [For "Ensuring Effective Teacher Management in Refugee Settings: Public Schools in Jordan. Policy Brief," see ED621828. For "Teacher Management in Refugee Settings: Ethiopia," see ED607267. For "Teacher Management in Refugee Settings: Kenya," see ED626470.]