How an adolescent girl helped her community fight COVID-19 - UNICEF (2022)
Studying at non-formal basic education centers established by UNICEF with funding from Government of Japan and support from Sindh’s authorities empowers gir

Jamaica pilot experience: Accessible Digital Textbooks that transform education - UNICEF (2022)
Accessible Digital Textbooks that transform education.

LACRO Covid-19 Education Response: Update 34 Status of School's Reopening & Learning - UNICEF (UNICEF, 2022)

MICS Survey - UNICEF (2022)

New digital application helps monitor student attendance in Sindh - UNICEF (2022)
The innovative system, funded by the European Union and supported by UNICEF, will help Sindh’s Education & Literacy Department prevent student drop out

On Call: Using Mobile Technologies to Measure Learning in Emergencies - UNICEF (2022)

Protecting children online - UNICEF (2022)
Every child must be protected from violence, exploitation and abuse on the internet

Pulse Check on Digital Learning - UNICEF (2022)

Pulse Check on Digital Learning - UNICEF (UNICEF, 2022)

Safer Chatbots Implementation Guide - UNICEF (2022)

Schools for more than 2 million children in Pakistan remain inaccessible due to devastating floods – UNICEF - UNICEF (2022)

The role of remote modalities in implementing mental health and psychosocial support programs and services in the education sector - UNICEF (2022)

Timor-Leste at a Glance 2023 - UNICEF (2022)

Trends in digital personalized learning in low- and middle-income countries: Executive summary - UNICEF (UNICEF, 2022)

Trends in Digital Personalized Learning: Taking stock of personalized learning solutions in low and middle-income countries - UNICEF (Office of Global Insight and Policy United Nations Children’s Fund, 2022)
Landscape review | Taking stock of personalized learning solutions in low and middle-income countries

UNICEF Sierra Leone - UNICEF (2022)
Learn how we are supporting children across the country to reach their full potential.

Viet Nam SDGCW Survey 2020-2021: Mass Media, Communications and Internet - UNICEF (2022)

Where Are We on Education Recovery? - UNICEF (UNICEF, 2022)

Opening up the frontiers of digital learning with the Learning Passport - UNICEF Lao Country Office (2022)
Keywords: ⛔ No INSPIRE recid found

Who are we and how do we work? - UNICEF USA (UNICEF USA, 2022)
Who are we and how do we work? Advocacy means, literally, to speak up on behalf of someone in need. For UNICEF, it means speaking up on behalf of and with children to support their rights, ensure safe and healthy childhoods in safe and inclusive communities, and build strong futures with opportunity and hope.

SEA-PLM 2019 latest evidence in basic education: Supporting teacher to improve learning in 6 Southeast Asian countries - UNICEF; Southeast Asian Minsters of Education Organization (UNICEF, 2022)

Mobile: Resource Pack to Support Remote Learning - UNICEF; World Bank (2022)

Print: Resource Pack to Support Remote Learning - UNICEF; World Bank (2022)

Radio: Resource Pack to Support Remote Learning - UNICEF; World Bank (2022)

Spotlight Initiative to eliminate violence against women & girls in Timor-Leste - United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA, 2022)
Keywords: ⛔ No INSPIRE recid found

Gateways to Public Digital Learning: A multi-partner initiative to create and strengthen inclusive digital learning platforms and content - United Nations Transforming Education Summit (2022)

Thematic Action Track 4 on ‘Digital learning and transformation’ - United Nations Transforming Education Summit (2022)

Universal Basic Education Commission 2022 Annual Report - Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC, 2022)

Postgraduate Programmes September 2022 Intake - University of Malawi (2022)

Revised Pakistan 2022 Floods Response Plan: 01 Sep 2022 - 31 May 2023 - UNOCHA (2022)
Appeal in English on Pakistan about Agriculture, Climate Change and Environment, Flash Flood, Flood and more; published on 4 Oct 2022 by OCHA

Advancing Equity by Incorporating Intersectionality in Research and Analysis - US Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (2022)
Keywords: ⛔ No DOI found

An Overlooked Indicator of Edtech Quality: The Use of Learning Sciences Research - Van Nostrand, Parker; Noakes, Sierra; Shah, Zohal; Luke Luna, Christina (2022)

COVID-19’s impact on learning losses and learning inequality in Colombia - Vegas, Emiliana (Brookings, 2022)

2022 Data Breach Investigations Report - Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report (2022)
Reduce risks with insights from the 2022 Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR) from Verizon. Read the official report today.

Learning, Marginalization, and Improving the Quality of Education in Low-income Countries - Wagner, Daniel A.; Nathan, M Castillo; Lewis, Suzanne Grant (2022)
Academic publishing of peer-reviewed open access monographs

Trialling open educational resources for technology-supported teacher professional development in rural Zimbabwe - Walker, H.; Hennessy, S.; Pimmer, C. (Research Papers in Education, 2022)
This study reports on the adaptation and outcomes of a teacher professional development (TPD) programme in a rural Zimbabwean secondary school. The programme incorporated Open Educational Resources (OER), specifically OER4school materials, that were provided via tablet computers for teachers and students. A mixed-methods case study was employed to explore teachers’ perceptions, knowledge, experiences of interactive learning and teaching in relation to this TPD, as well as their perceptions and experiences of the role and value of using technology to support student learning. Video data from structured lesson observations were triangulated with teacher post-lesson interviews and thematically coded. The interviews indicated that all teachers demonstrated a change in mindset and a clear understanding of interactive teaching methods. However, the structured observations revealed that only half of the teachers were using these interactive methods. Teachers also emphasised the value of OER and tablet technologies in improving lesson planning and making classroom learning more authentic. The use of technology, as both a TPD medium and as a classroom tool, showed potential to enhance the quality of TPD and teacher quality. Yet more specific teacher development to support the interactive use of technology within the classroom would be beneficial.

Trialling open educational resources for technology-supported teacher professional development in rural Zimbabwe - Walker, Hannah; Hennessy, Sara; Pimmer, Christoph (Research Papers in Education, 2022)

Trialling open educational resources for technology-supported teacher professional development in rural Zimbabwe - Walker, Hannah; Hennessy, Sara; Pimmer, Christoph (Research Papers in Education, 2022)

‘Tich Mi Ar Tich Dem’: Designing a low-cost and scalable teacher professional development in Sierra Leone - Walker, Hannah; Tegha, Ghislaine; Lurvink, Anne-Fleur; McBurnie, Chris (Open Development & Education, 2022)
Reading Time: 4 minutes Over the past two decades, Sierra Leone has faced a series of shocks: a civil war, landslides, Ebola, and the COVID-19 pandemic. These shocks have aggravated the learning crisis that the country’s education system faces—and dramatically increased the pressure on teachers to deliver high-quality support to children. In this context, the Ministry of Basic and […]

Digital 2022: Timor-Leste - We are Social (2022)

Online safety: making the internet safer by tackling harmful content - WEF (World Economic Forum, 2022)
Delivering safe online experiences is essential for global businesses and individuals. Several stakeholders are collaborating to improve online safety.

A Landscape Review of ICT for Disability-inclusive Education - World Bank (World Bank, 2022)
Information and communication technology (ICT) tools can have a catalytic effect in advancing both educational access and learning outcomes for children with disabilities. Despite tremendous potential, a gap exists between technology advancements and their large-scale application in educating children with disabilities in low- and middle-income countries. This landscape review of ICTs for disability inclusive education by the Inclusive Education Initiative seeks to understand the current status and trends in the practice of educational technology (EdTech) and the use of ICT in improving the educational participation and outcomes of children with disabilities. The review explores what factors enable or restrict this improvement within the wider EdTech ecosystem.
Keywords: Access to Education; Access to Learning; Disability Inclusion; Edtech; Education Technology; Inclusive Education

From the Last Mile to the Next Mile – 2022 Vietnam Poverty and Equity Assessment - World Bank (World Bank Group, 2022)

Guide for Learning Recovery and Acceleration: Using the RAPID Framework to Address COVID-19 Learning Losses and Build Forward Better - World Bank (The World Bank, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, FCDO, UNICEF, USAID, UNESCO, 2022)

Knowlege Pack: Procurement - World Bank (2022)

Learning Losses. What to Do About the Heavy Cost of Covid-19 on Children, Youth, and Future Productivity - World Bank (World Bank, 2022)

Microdata Library - World Bank (2022)

Pakistan’s Floods are Deepening its Learning Crisis - World Bank (2022)

The State of Global Learning Poverty: 2022 Update - World Bank (World Bank, 2022)
The State of Global Learning Poverty: 2022 Update

The World Bank in Malawi - World Bank (World Bank, 2022)
The World Bank Group supports Malawi’s efforts to reduce poverty and promote economic growth by working with the government, development partners, and civil society.

The World Bank in Timor-Leste - World Bank (2022)

Timor-Leste Overview - World Bank (The World Bank in Timor-Leste, 2022)
Keywords: ⛔ No INSPIRE recid found

World Bank Data Bank: Urban Population - World Bank (2022)

Two Years After: Saving a Generation - World Bank, UNICEF (World Bank, 2022)

2022 Annual Report - Worldreader (Worldreader, 2022)
In 2022, you got children reading. Explore our 2022 Annual Report and see how your support made an impact.

WebPower package - RDocumentation - Zhang, Zhiyong (2022)

From face-to-face to teaching at a distance: Lessons learned from emergency remote teaching - Corcuera, Lovely; Abel Alvarez, Jr (Asian Journal of Distance Education, 2021)
The Covid-19 disrupts not only the health, economic, and tourism sectors but it paralyzed the education sector as well. Since face-to-face teaching and learning environment is still not possible in the Philippine context, this phenomenon leaves the teachers to use various alternative ways of instructional delivery. The sudden shift of teaching and learning delivery continuously challenges not only the students but also the teachers who are serving as educational front liners at the time of the pandemic crisis. The lack of proper training and experiences of teachers in online teaching and distance education served as educational loopholes in the context of emergency remote education.  Hence, this case study attempts to explore the experiences of K-12 senior high school teachers who have been immersed in emergency remote teaching. In analyzing the data gathered, the descriptive coding process was used. Interestingly, there were three themes reported in this study: getting the right mix of instructional methods, engaging in different open educational resources and information, and highlighting the need for the pedagogy of care and understanding. Although this study does not aim to make any generalities, however, the researchers saw the need to understand and investigate the journey of the K-12 senior high school teachers, which are essential in providing lending ears about their transitioning experiences from the traditional classroom environment to emergency remote education. This study concludes with the implications of the findings that emerged and the direction for further research.
Keywords: Covid-19; K-12 teachers; distance education; emergency remote education; teaching modality; ⛔ No DOI found

Encouraging Community Action Against Teacher Absenteeism: A Mass Media Experiment in Rural Uganda - Wilke, Anna M.; Green, Donald P.; Tan, Benjamin (The Journal of Development Studies, 2021)
Chronic teacher absenteeism is widespread in Uganda, with approximately one-third of public school teachers absent on any given day. Absenteeism and other problems that arise in Uganda’s public education system are often attributed to a lack of public oversight and parental involvement. In an effort to develop a scalable method of encouraging community engagement on this issue, the present study assesses the extent to which entertainment-education videos increase willingness among Ugandans to take action against absenteeism. Working in collaboration with Ugandan screenwriters and local actors, we developed video dramatisations that depicted the problem of absenteeism and how parents mobilised to address it. We assess the persuasive effects of these dramatisations both under lab-like conditions, to gauge immediate effects, and in the field, to gauge effects two months and eight months after a placebo-controlled media campaign attended by over 10,000 Ugandans in 112 villages. Although the persuasive effects are weaker in the field than the lab setting, the former remain substantial even after eight months. The demonstrated ability of entertainment-education to change public views on this issue sets the stage for policy experiments that test whether entertainment-education campaigns have downstream effects on absenteeism and public school performance more generally.
Keywords: Africa; access to education; education quality

PLANE Education Place Level Assessment: Federal Government - DAI; FHI 360; Social Development Direct; Bluetree Group; Sightsavers; Achieving Health Nigeria Initiative; Overseas Development Institute; The Policy Practice; The Education Partnership (TEP) Centre; Accadian Ltd (2021)

Language education in emergencies: A systematic review - Thumvichit, Athip; Varaporn, Savika; Tuvachit, Vorakorn (Journal of Language and Education, 2021)
In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, education systems around the globe suspended on-site classes and transitioned instruction to various remote environments, creating a distinctive context for teaching and learning. This systematic review brings together the available research in language education within the current emergency setting to examine the state of affairs, as well as the situation’s inherent challenges and opportunities for language learners and teachers. A total of 38 studies were collected to reflect the current trend, with 16 of these in-depth reviewed. Research focusing on learners was dominant. Most research was conducted at the tertiary level. The studies highlighted digital tools that are capable of engaging language learners in an interactive learning experience, though they are unable to replace face-to-face instruction. Outside-of-class support such as extra channels of communication, self-access language learning (SALL) materials, and advising in language learning (ALL) were all found to complement remote learning. It is recommended that teachers try to retain their teaching principles and put them into practice regardless of the abrupt transition. Teachers’ wellbeing can be promoted when teachers accept the changes and see them as opportunities.

Teachers’ adoption of an open and interactive e-book for teaching K-12 students Artificial Intelligence: a mixed methods inquiry - Zhang, Xiangling; Tlili, Ahmed; Shubeck, Keith; Hu, Xiangen; Huang, Ronghuai; Zhu, Lixin (Smart Learning Environments, 2021)
With the rapid development of information technology, e-books have become convenient for students to improve their learning performance, especially when learning complicated concepts. However, research showed that acceptance of e-books by teachers is fragmented, due to several factors including the e-book design. Therefore, this study combined the potential positive impacts of openness and interaction on learning to design an open and interactive e-book for teaching K-12 students AI. It then applied a mixed method to investigate the factors that affect teachers’ acceptance of this open and interactive e-book based on the technology acceptance model (TAM) and interviews. The obtained results showed that teachers’ intention to continue using this e-book is significantly influenced by their perceived usefulness and attitude towards this e-book. Additionally, both the interactive and openness features were very helpful for teachers in using this e-book in their teaching plans. However, some of them raised several concerns like the interactive coding platform should be personalized based on students’ age. The findings of this study could help different stakeholders (e.g., instructional designers, teachers, policymakers) in facilitating the design and adoption of open and interactive e-books.

Digital Learning Solutions | Digital Learning For Every Child - Giraldo, Juan Pablo; Tungatarova, Auken; Cooper, Rachel (EdTech Hub, 2021)
UNICEF and EdTech Hub are partnering together to improve learning outcomes through effective uses of EdTech and digital learning. Read this guest post from UNICEF team members which focuses on the first pillar of UNICEF’s Reimagine Education initiative, world-class digital learning solutions.

Preparation, Practice, and Beliefs: A Machine Learning Approach to Understanding Teacher Effectiveness - Filmer, Deon; Nahata, Vatsal; Sabarwal, Shwetlena (Research on Improving Systems of Education (RISE), 2021)
This paper uses machine learning methods to identify key predictors of teacher effectiveness, proxied by student learning gains linked to a teacher over an academic year. Conditional inference forests and the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator are applied to matched student-teacher data for Math and Kiswahili from Grades 2 and 3 in 392 schools across Tanzania. These two machine learning methods produce consistent results and outperform standard ordinary least squares in out-of-sample prediction by 14-24 percent. As in previous research, commonly used teacher covariates like teacher gender, education, experience, and so forth are not good predictors of teacher effectiveness. Instead, teacher practice (what teachers do, measured through classroom observations and student surveys) and teacher beliefs (measured through teacher surveys) emerge as much more important. Overall, teacher covariates are stronger predictors of teacher effectiveness in Math than in Kiswahili. Teacher beliefs that they can help disadvantaged and struggling students learn (for Math) and they have good relationships within schools (for Kiswahili), teacher practice of providing written feedback and reviewing key concepts at the end of class (for Math), and spending extra time with struggling students (for Kiswahili) are highly predictive of teacher effectiveness, as is teacher preparation on how to teach foundational topics (for both Math and Kiswahili). These results demonstrate the need to pay more systematic attention to teacher preparation, practice, and beliefs in teacher research and policy.

State releases rules on learner capitation grants, school funds - Githinji, Irene (People Daily, 2021)
One of the policy goals is to enhance access and disbursement of learner capitation grants and other school funds to all public schools.

Education for non-citizen children in Malaysia during the COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative study - Loganathan, Tharani; Chan, Zhie X.; Hassan, Fikri; Kunpeuk, Watinee; Suphanchaimat, Rapeepong; Yi, Huso; Majid, Hazreen Abdul (PLOS ONE, 2021)
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted schooling for children worldwide. Most vulnerable are non-citizen children without access to public education. This study aims to explore challenges faced in achieving education access for children of refugee and asylum-seekers, migrant workers, stateless and undocumented persons in Malaysia during the pandemic. In-depth interviews of 33 stakeholders were conducted from June 2020 to March 2021. Data were thematically analysed. Our findings suggest that lockdowns disproportionately impacted non-citizen households as employment, food and housing insecurity were compounded by xenophobia, exacerbating pre-existing inequities. School closures disrupted school meals and deprived children of social interaction needed for mental wellbeing. Many non-citizen children were unable to participate in online learning due to the scarcity of digital devices, and poor internet connectivity, parental support, and home learning environments. Teachers were forced to adapt to online learning and adopt alternative arrangements to ensure continuity of learning and prevent school dropouts. The lack of government oversight over learning centres meant that measures taken were not uniform. The COVID-19 pandemic presents an opportunity for the design of more inclusive national educational policies, by recognising and supporting informal learning centres, to ensure that no child is left behind.
Keywords: COVID 19; Children; Education; Human learning; Pandemics; Refugees; Schools; Teachers

Lessons Learned from Education Initiatives Implemented During the First Wave of COVID-19: A Literature Review - Sims, Kate (Institute of Development Studies (IDS), 2021)
It is important to assume that the learning crisis caused by COVID-19 is not over. As highlighted by 2021 school closures in response to the Delta variant, lessons learned from school closures in 2020 are required and applicable. There is therefore a need for reflection and a consolidation of lessons learned to protect education outcomes. Lessons include the need for parental engagement and support, the mobilisation of community actors, and inclusive and accessible remote learning approaches (Kapur, 2020, p. 38). This literature review seeks to better understand what worked and what did not work in education interventions during the first wave of COVID-19, in order to support planning on current and future school closures and/or disruptions to education systems. It focuses on three key areas: 1. Support to teachers to continue teaching during school closures, and the role of teachers in supporting marginalised learners; 2. Approaches to ensure the continuation of learning; and 3. Approaches to reach the most marginalised learners.

Building State Capacity - Di Maro, Vincenzo; Evans, David K.; Khemani, Stuti; Scot, Thiago (2021)
Although research has established the importance of state capacity in economic development, less is known about how to build that capacity and the role of external partners in the process. This paper estimates the impact of a typical development project designed to build state capacity in a low-income country. Specifically, it evaluates a multilateral development bank project in Tanzania, which incentivized investments in local state capacity by offering grants conditional on institutional performance scores. The paper uses a difference-in-differences methodology to estimate the project impact, comparing outcomes between 18 project and 22 non-project local governments over 2016–18. Outcomes were measured through two rounds of primary surveys of nearly 500 local government officials and nearly 3,000 households. Over the course of the project, measured state capacity improved in project areas, but due to comparable gains in non-project areas, the project’s value-added to change in state capacity is estimated to be zero across all the dozens of relevant variables in the surveys. The data suggest that state capacity is evolving in Tanzania through endogenous changes in trust and legitimacy in the country rather than from financial incentives offered by external partners.
Keywords: ⛔ No DOI found

Unlocking Learning: The implementation and effectiveness of digital learning for Syrian refugees in Lebanon - Dreesen, Thomas; Kamei, Akito; Karamperidou, Despina; Fakher, Sara Abou; Marji, Lama; Correa, Javier Santiago Ortiz (2021)

Statistical Yearbook of Cambodia 2021 - Royal Government of Cambodia Ministry of Planning (2021)

M-Lugha: Improving Student’s Access to Literacy and Numeracy by using Local Language Instruction in Northern Kenya - Cordeiro, Paula (Global Ed Leadership, 2021)
Abdinoor Alimahdi is a former telecommunications engineer from Kenya. He is an Award winning EdTech innovator and social entrepreneur. Some of the awards include:  Best 100 startups (StartupIs…

Remote Learning During COVID-19: Lessons from Today, Principles for Tomorrow - Munoz-Najar, Alberto; Gilberto, Alison; Hasan, Amer; Cobo, Cristobal; Azevedo, Joao Pedro; Akmal, Maryam (World Bank, 2021)
School closures during COVID-19 (coronavirus) led to an unprecedented global experiment in the delivery of remote learning. This report seeks to assess what lessons can be drawn from experiences of remote learning during COVID-19 in K-12 education, with a focus on low- and middle-income countries. It focuses on the period from March 2020 to October 2021 and addresses the following key questions: 1. Was remote learning during COVID-19 taken up and if so, was it effective That is, did children learn as much as they did during pre-pandemic, in-person learning 2. What lessons can governments derive from this wide-spread experience 3. How might policymakers use these lessons to reimagine learning as schools begin to reopen This report is part of a larger effort led by the World Bank to provide guidance and technical assistance to optimize country effectiveness in the design and execution of remote learning strategies. It has been developed in conjunction with Remote Learning During the Global School Lockdown: Multi-Country Lessons, a qualitative study conducted between May and November 2020 to understand the perceived effectiveness of remote and remedial learning solutions implemented across 17 countries.

Behavioral nudges to prevent learning losses and dropout risk during the pandemic: experimental evidence from Brazil - Lichand, Guilherme; Christen, Julien; van Egeraat, Eppie (University of Zurich Department of Economics, 2021)
Using a cluster-randomized control trial with 18, 256 high-school students across 87 schools in the State of Goiás, Brazil, this paper documents that behavioral nudges, sent through text messages to students or their caregivers during remote learning in the context of COVID-19, significantly increased test scores in a standardized assessment test conducted with high-school seniors on the following year. Impacts were positive across the entire test score distribution, but nudges increased inequality in test scores. Relying on missing scorecard grades as a proxy for dropout risk across all high-school grades during remote learning, we show that nudges decreased this metric by 20% (although the effect is only imprecisely estimated). In contrast to test scores, nudges decreased inequality in dropout risk. Additional experiments that varied the content of nudges at the student level illustrate the opportunities and challenges of using behavioral insights to motivate students in the context of remote learning.
Keywords: COVID-19; Dropouts; Learning Losses; Nudges; Remote Learning

Impact of Covid-19 on the education of children with disabilities in Malawi: reshaping parental engagement for the future - Singal, Nidhi; Mbukwa-Ngwira, Jenipher; Taneja-Johansson, Shruti; Lynch, Paul; Chatha, Gertrude; Umar, Eric (International Journal of Inclusive Education, 2021)
Covid-19 has led to unparalleled school closures and bought about extraordinary and unique challenges to ensuring continuity of learning for children across countries. This paper focuses on the educational experiences of children with disabilities in Malawi. Using a telephone survey, 99 parents/carers were interviewed about the impact of school closure on them and their child with disabilities. Parents reported as being overwhelmingly dissatisfied with the educational experiences of their child with disabilities, with a significant number reporting that they had no contact with the school or the teachers during closures. Children with disabilities were reported as spending very little time on formal learning activities. Nonetheless, parents were confident that their child with disabilities would return to school once these re-opened, as parents noted the loss of structure for their child’s day and increased loneliness arising from lack of contact with their friends. As schools reopen, the mental health of children with disabilities, alongside their learning, will need to be a priority. Finally, parents highlighted the need for more active involvement in their child’s schooling, so that they are able to support them better when they are at home.
Keywords: Covid-19; Malawi; disability; education; parent; telephone survey

Developing a teacher-focused theory of change for technology-enhanced teaching and learning - EdTech Hub Team (2021)
Internal Brief

Helping families help themselves? Heterogeneous effects of a digital parenting program - Amaral, Sofia; Dinarte Diaz, Lelys; Dominguez, Patricio; Perez-Vincent, Santiago M. (Policy Research Working Papers, 2021)
Parenting practices are crucial for the development of children’s brains and social skills. However, parenting styles may be far from ideal, particularly those of caregivers with high stress levels. Using an individual-level experiment with male and female caregivers of young children in El Salvador, this paper evaluates the impact of a free digital stress management and positive parenting intervention. The results indicate that, for males, the intervention increased stress and anxiety and lowered caregiver-child interactions.

Rayyan - AI Powered Tool for Systematic Literature Reviews (2021)
Rayyan is an intelligent research collaboration platform that saves you time completing literature reviews and systematic reviews. Intuitive, scalable, fast.
Keywords: _Added-ailr-2024

Ed tech, long overhyped, missed its moment amid COVID-19. What now? - Cheney, Catherine (Devex, 2021)
Devex speaks with the experts about how low-cost education technology might ensure more equitable access to remote learning during the pandemic and in any future disruptions to schooling.

Social media tools for educational sustainability in conflict-affected regions - Baytiyeh, Hoda (Education Sciences, 2021)
This conceptual paper demonstrates the potential role of social media in providing students with access to education during emergency situations when schools cannot ensure students’ safety or provide safe learning environments. It is based on conceptual analysis that transforms face-to-face education into a cost-free, online educational environment by relying on social-media learning tools during short-term disruptions caused by violence and conflict. This article proposes a framework that outlines how technology can be used to maintain education in schools during conflicts and emergency situations: cloud computing to access administrative resources and social media tools to maintain teaching/learning resources and student–teacher as well as student–student interactions. The proposed strategy could be greatly beneficial to educational leaders and administrators in regions vulnerable to sectarian conflicts where student safety and the delivery of educational services can become major challenges. This paper contributes to the literature by emphasising the advantages of social media tools for educational delivery in conflict-afflicted regions.
Keywords: disaster risk reduction; educational sustainability; emergency education; sectarian violence; social media tools

Understanding Teacher Digital Competence in the Framework of Social Sustainability: A Systematic Review - De la Calle, Ana Maria; Pacheco-Costa, Alejandra; Gomez-Ruiz, Miguel Ángel; Guzman-Simon, Fernando (MDPI Journals, 2021)
Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, ICT has been urgently introduced in education systems in a generalised manner. In this context, it is essential for teachers to master a spectrum of basic digital competencies and manifest digital leadership in the classroom. In addition, it is necessary to consider the relationship between digital competence development and social sustainability, that is, social and cultural heritage, and to what extent they contribute to improving social cohesion and living conditions in a community. This study presents a systematic review of research on teacher digital competence and social sustainability based on the PRISMA model and a review of 22 studies indexed in SCOPUS. The review reveals that most are intended to measure the digital competence level of teachers, usually in compulsory stages of the educational system and through quantitative studies based on virtual questionnaires comprised of closed-ended questions. However, the studies tend to ignore questions related to social sustainability (access to resources, heritage culture, intergenerational transmission, employability, or gender equality). It is therefore urgent to develop research committed to a sustainable society that is oriented towards social justice.

Kenya Partnership Compact. 2021 | Documents | Global Partnership for Education - Global Partnership for Education (2021)

Out-Of-School Children Study Sierra Leone - Government of Sierra Leone; Irish Aid; UNICEF (2021)

Policy Guidelines on School Approvals - Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (Government of Sierra Leone, 2021)

Gender-responsive education in emergency in Nigeria: Safeguarding Girls' Presents and Futures - Ossai, Edem D, (Brookings Institution, 2021)
This policy brief highlights ways that a gender-responsive perspective can be fully incorporated into planning, policy design, and implementation models for education in emergencies (EiE) in Nigeria, so that governments and education stakeholders can ensure that girls, like boys, can continue learning in times of crisis.

Mapping education data in sub-Saharan Africa: Our experience from the Unlocking Data campaign and Sierra Leone - Unlocking Data (2021)

World Bank: pandemic threatens to drive unprecedented number of children into learning poverty - World Bank (2021)
World Bank: Pandemic Threatens to Drive Unprecedented Number of Children into Learning Poverty

Global emergency remote education in secondary schools during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review - Bond, Melissa; Bergdahl, Nina; Mendizabal-Espinosa, Rosa; Kneale, Dylan; Bolan, Faye; Hull, Poppy; Ramadani, Fjolla (International Public Policy Observatory, 2021)
The worldwide shift to emergency remote education in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic impacted billions of students and teachers. A range of teaching and learning strategies were employed by schools as a result, despite confusing and sometimes contradictory government guidance, with systemic issues such as equity and access impacting heavily on disadvantaged students. In light of the findings of a recent IPPO evidence snapshot and roundtable event, and in order to gain further insight into how emergency remote education was experienced by secondary school students, parents and educators, a systematic review was conducted that collates and synthesises primary empirical studies across five key research questions focusing on student engagement, online assessment, peer collaboration, parent engagement, and future directions for online learning. Studies were searched for in May 2021 using Web of Science, Scopus, ERIC, Microsoft Academic Graph, ResearchGate and the COVID-19 living map, and were included if they focused on teaching and learning using blended or online approaches in secondary schools during the pandemic, that were published in English. Following quality assessment on scope and methodological rigour, 81 studies were included for narrative synthesis. The research studies were conducted in 38 countries, with 37% of studies from low or lower-middle income countries, and 63% from upper-middle income or high-income countries. Most of the evidence came from students (64%), followed by teachers (53%), with very few studies exploring the perceptions and experiences of parents (6%) or school leaders (5%). Findings reveal that self-regulation and understanding were the most frequently reported indicators of student engagement, with online assessment tools, learning management systems with collaborative tools, live synchronous lessons with peer and teacher interaction, and teacher-made videos considered particularly engaging. Social isolation was the most frequently reported indicator of disengagement, characterised by poor attendance in live lessons, a lack of opportunities to seek help with challenges and difficulties facilitating peer collaboration. Although many articles reported that assessment online was particularly challenging, 21 different types of online assessments strategies were identified, with online quizzes and formative online feedback the most frequently used. Live marking or recorded feedback and assessment were found to be particularly beneficial, as providing feedback during live lessons was sometimes challenging. Peer collaboration was facilitated through peer assessment, inquiry-based group work and experiments, aided by the use of collaborative software and combining multiple applications. Parental involvement and support contributed to student learning, although issues of equity impacted the extent to which they could engage with their children's learning, alongside gaps in family content knowledge and technological skills. Numerous implications for future policy relating to online and blended learning are provided.

Pakistan - Data Protection Overview - Rehman, Shafaq (DataGuidance, 2021)
October 2021 INTRODUCTION Pakistan does not have any extensive data protection legislation in place that specifically regulates matters in connection with the processing of personal data. The Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016 ('PECA') is currently the primary legislation that provides a legal framework in relation to various kinds of electronic crimes and also extends to the unauthorised access to personal data.

New drive launched to get 250,000 out-of-school children back to class in 16 counties - UNICEF (2021)

EdTech in Sierra Leone: Reimagining education for continuous learning and teaching - Sengeh, David Moinina (Global Partnership for Education, 2021)
Read how the government of Sierra Leone is using technology to address the profound ongoing teaching and learning crisis, and deliver inclusive, quality education.

FCDO - GEC - Belfield, Sophie; Mathur, Meenu; Caine, Ellie (2021)

Using learning profiles to inform education priorities: An editors’ overview of the Special Issue - Crouch, Luis; Kaffenberger, Michelle; Savage, Laura (International Journal of Educational Development, 2021)
This special issue explores the use of learning profiles for analysing the dynamics of low learning in low- and middle-income countries and informing priorities to address the learning crisis. The 12 papers in the special issue draw on learning data from more than 50 countries and 6 million individuals, with implications for education policy and practice. Taken together, they point to a need to steepen learning trajectories by prioritizing early mastery of foundational skills for all children. The papers show that addressing the learning crisis will not be achieved through more school grade attainment alone, nor through within-country equality across groups (such as girls and boys or rich and poor). Positive examples show that programs focused on foundational learning both improved average learning and reduced inequality. Addressing the learning crisis will require a focus on systems improvement, using foundational learning as a case in point for making the needed systems improvements to steepen learning throughout children’s time in school. Learning profiles can provide a guide for education actors aiming to improve learning outcomes.
Keywords: Education systems; Foundational skills; Inequality; Learning crisis; Learning profiles

COVID-19 learning losses: Early grade reading in South Africa - Ardington, Cally; Wills, Gabrielle; Kotze, Janeli (International Journal of Educational Development, 2021)
• In South Africa in 2020 around 60 % of early grade school days were lost due to COVID. • Grade 2 students have reading losses of between 57 % and 70 % of a year of learning. • Grade 4 students have reading losses of between 62 % and 81 % of a year of learning. • These losses imply learning to schooling loss ratios in the region of 1–1.4. • Students with stronger initial reading proficiency are more negatively impacted. Using three different studies on early grade reading from no-fee schools across in South Africa, this paper establishes short-term learning losses in reading for grade 2 and 4 students from under-resourced school contexts. We find that in 2020 grade 2 students lost between 57 % and 70 % of a year of learning relative to their pre-pandemic peers. Among a grade 4 sample, learning losses are estimated at between 62 % and 81 % of a year of learning. Considering that in 2020 students in the samples lost between 56 %–60 % of contact teaching days due to school closures and rotational timetabling schedules compared to a pre-pandemic year, this implies learning to schooling loss ratios in the region of 1–1.4. There is some evidence from the grade 4 sample that the reading trajectories of children benefiting more from attending school pre-pandemic – namely girls and children with stronger initial reading proficiency - are more negatively impacted. Mitigating the long-run implications of these learning losses will require a significant pivoting of the education system to ensure that instructional practices are appropriately levelled to optimise learning.
Keywords: BEGINNING reading; COVID-19; COVID-19 pandemic; Early grade reading; Learning losses; READING (Preschool); READING ability testing; SCHOOL closings; School closure

ClassRoute: An English to Punjabi Educational Video Translation Pipeline for Supporting Punjabi Mother-Tongue Education - Shaghaghi, Navid; Ghosh, Smita; Kapoor, Raghav (2021 IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference (GHTC), 2021)
Information Communication Technology (ICT) permeates almost every aspect of our daily lives and has become one of the most important priorities for formal and informal education. However, many people particularly those in least developed countries, are unable to reap the benefits due to lack of access to ICT but also due to lack of access to quality educational material. Additionally, in Punjab India, due to a shortage of resources and lack of infrastructure, the education system suffers from massive gaps including high student to teacher ratios, shortage of qualified teachers, and poor teacher training programs. This all has also been further exacerbated due to the COVID19 Pandemic as schools shut down globally and all teaching/learning activities moved online where possible or were canceled otherwise. In an effort to help relieve some of the burden on the Punjabi education system, and motivated by the proven efficiency of mother-tongue based education as well as the importance of visual-based learning, this paper introduces a pipeline for translating English educational videos into Punjabi equivalents which seeks to go beyond simple translation and in future iterations take into consideration the cultural needs of the learners in order to better connect them with the topics being taught. This pipeline is among a series of under construction pipelines aimed at translating English educational videos into other languages, dubbed as ClassRoute.
Keywords: Bridging the Digital Divide; Education; Education Technology (EdTech); Humanitarian Information Communications Technology (ICT); Language Translation; Natural Language Processing (NLP); Pandemics; Pipelines; Quality Education; Semantics; Tongue; Tools; Training

Situation analysis on the effects of and responses to COVID-19 on the education sector in Asia - UNICEF ROSA; UNICEF EAPRO; UNESCO Bangkok; Cambridge Education (UNICEF, 2021)

Situation Analysis on the Effects of and Responses to COVID-19 on the Education Sector in Asia: Regional Synthesis Report - UNICEF; UNESCO (2021)
Keywords: ⛔ No INSPIRE recid found

Poverty and Equity Brief: Pakistan - World Bank (2021)

Educational Technology: How Important Is It In Today's Education Industry? - Lim, Alexander (eLearning Industry, 2021)
Technological advancement has impacted a lot on education. Find out the 7 most common benefits of educational technology!

Parental support to learning - UNESCO (2021)

Perceived Efficacy of e-Proctoring Software for Emergency Remote Online Based Assessment: Perceptions of Proctored Examinations - Ironsi, Chinaza (EDEN Conference Proceedings, 2021)
The switch from traditional teaching methods to emergency remote online learning as a result of the outbreak of COVID-19 necessitated a change in approaches to measurement and evaluation in our educational system. A lot of methods were adopted yet the need for credible, properly monitored, valid and reliable assessment continues to be an issue of debate. E-proctoring as a popular strategy for monitoring and administering online-based examinations has witnessed tremendous success over the years yet ethical issues and many more are yet to be extensively examined. While a teacher may embrace the use of this software for monitoring examination, the perception of preservice teachers has not been explored adequately, much more the opinions of the instructors and preservice teachers on the level of efficacy with regards to the use of e-proctoring strategy for monitoring online-based examinations in a hybrid/emergency remote online educational model has not been investigated. It is in this light that this study intends to examine the perceptions of instructors and preservice teachers on the use of e-proctoring devices during online-based assessments, two research questions were investigated through a quantitative research design. A structured questionnaire was used to elicit information from 40 participants comprising of 36 students and 4 teachers on their perceptions of the effectiveness and efficacy of the e-proctored software while administering and monitoring examinations. Findings from the study will be beneficial in drawing valid conclusions on the use of e-proctored devices in monitoring emergency remote online-based assessment. The conclusions will prepare school administrators and equip them with the possible approaches to adopt in ensuring that a credible valid and reliable evaluation process is conducted during the post-COVID 19 semesters.

Online Course Satisfaction in a Holistic Flipped Classroom Approach - Ilic, Ulaş (Journal of Educational Technology and Online Learning, 2021)
The present study aimed to investigate the satisfaction of pre-service teachers with the completely online course instructed with the flipped classroom model. The study was conducted with the explanatory sequential mixed design. The participants included 117 pre-service teachers. Data were collected during the 2020-2021 academic year fall semester with the Online Course Satisfaction Scale and face-to-face interviews. The study findings demonstrated that the pre-service teachers were satisfied with the online course. The satisfaction level of female participants was higher, and the differences were not significant based on the student department. On the other hand, the participants stated that there were systemic and instructor-oriented problems. Furthermore, it was determined that ease of use was an important factor in predicting satisfaction. Ease of use varied based on PC ownership, but not based on tablet ownership. Satisfaction did not differ based on both PC and tablet ownership. It was found that the flipped classroom model exhibited interactional challenges. However, the model had advantages due to its structure that allowed flexibility. It could be suggested that the findings of the present study would contribute to future studies that would address flipped classroom method and satisfaction with online courses.

Reimagining Education for Continuous Learning and Teaching - Sengeh, Hon Minister David Moinina; Team, MBSSE Delivery; Team, Hon Minister David Moinina Sengeh and MBSSE Delivery (EdTech Hub, 2021)
EdTech Hub has partnered with the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education in Sierra Leone to increase the use of evidence in decisions around EdTech. Click to read more.

Education in Emergencies, Mental Wellbeing and E-Learning - Shohel, M. Mahruf C.; Mahmud, Arif; Urmee, Munira Azhar; Anwar, Muhammad Naveed; Rahman, Mohammad Mojibur; Acharya, Dev Raj; Ashrafuzzaman, Md; Shohel, M. Mahruf C.; Mahmud, Arif; Urmee, Munira Azhar; Anwar, Muhammad Naveed; Rahman, Mohammad Mojibur; et al. (IntechOpen, 2021)
The world has been going through an unprecedented situation due to the world-wide health crisis created by the COVID-19 pandemic. It affected all sectors across the globe, including education. This chapter highlights the importance of education in emergencies and how a situation like the COVID-19 pandemic creates challenges alongside opportunities to learn for personal and professional development as well as to ensure mental wellbeing of individuals through e-learning. The chapter explores literature to draw on different perspectives regarding the issues related to effectiveness in handling education and learning in an emergency in addition to preparedness for post and future emergencies. However, it focuses mainly on the role of the education sector in supporting individuals, especially learners and educators during and after emergencies. It also reflects on educational professionals’ work with students during this pandemic i.e. how educational professionals report on their adaptation journey and how the pandemic impacted the ability to serve and engage learners. From the professionals’ best practices to assist students in being successful through online education or hybrid teaching and learning formats, many opportunities arose to shape and reform education for a better future and transform the process of lifelong learning. This chapter outlines strategies, in general, for the education sector, and in particular, institutions and individuals to be better prepared for future emergencies through the opportunities e-learning offers.

Transition to online learning by a teacher education program with limited 4IR affordances - Tsakeni, Maria (Research in Social Sciences and Technology, 2021)
This study used the community of inquiry (CoI) framework and the affordances of Internet of things (IoT) to explore how the faculty of education of a rural campus of a university transitioned from face-to-face to online modes of instruction. In this qualitative interpretive study, data were collected through open-ended questionnaires from four purposely selected teacher educators and five final-year bachelor of education preservice teachers. Thematic content analysis techniques were used to analyze the data collected. The findings indicated the tensions experienced by the teacher educators as they negotiated the limited IoT affordances to ensure effective teaching, cognitive, and social presence in the newly formed online classrooms. Some of the tensions included the choices that were made on whether to use synchronous or asynchronous modes of instruction and the selection of effective communication modes. The teacher educators used a combination of the official learning management system (LMS) tools of the university and a social media platform as way of navigating the limited 4IR environments experienced by the preservice teachers.
Keywords: COVID-19; Internet of things; community of inquiry; online learning; teacher education

Measuring poverty in Timor-Leste: Using census data to develop a national Multidimensional Poverty Index - Jendrissek, Dan (Asia-Pacific Sustainable Development Journal, 2021)
Keywords: ⛔ No INSPIRE recid found

Emergency remote teaching during COVID19: The role of teachers’ online community of practice (CoP) in times of crisis - Ulla, Mark B.; Perales, William F. (Journal of Interactive Media in Education, 2021)
While previous studies in the literature may have used the concept of a community of practice (CoP) to investigate its role for teachers’ professional development, this study identifies the role of a teachers’ CoP in navigating the challenges in online/remote teaching faced by six teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL) in a university in Thailand during the COVID19 pandemic. This study employed a purposive-convenience sampling method with an individual online interview to gather qualitative data. Findings revealed that although teacher-participants pointed out the lack of students’ interaction, lack of time to do assessment and feedback, and the lack of students’ concentration in online teaching, they greatly acknowledged the role of the teachers’ CoP in navigating the demands and challenges of online teaching during the pandemic. Some of the ascribed roles of the teachers’ CoP in online teaching include; a support group, a source of solutions to online teaching issues, and a learning community. Implications are discussed and suggestions for future studies are offered.

What Explains Vietnam’s Exceptional Performance in Education Relative to Other Countries? Analysis of the Young Lives Data from Ethiopia, Peru, India and Vietnam - Glewwe, P.; James, Z.; Lee, J.; Rolleston, C.; Vu, K. (RISE Working Paper Series, 2021)
Vietnam’s strong performance on the 2012 and 2015 PISA assessments has led to interest in what explains the strong academic performance of Vietnamese students. Analysis of the PISA data has not shed much light on this issue. This paper analyses a much richer data set, the Young Lives data for Ethiopia, India (Andhra Pradesh and Telangana), Peru and Vietnam, to investigate the reasons for the strong academic performance of 15-year-olds in Vietnam. Differences in observed child and household characteristics explain 37-39 percent of the gap between Vietnam, and Ethiopia, while observed school variables explain only about 3-4 additional percentage points (although an important variable, math teachers’ pedagogical skills, is not available for Ethiopia). Differences in observed child and household characteristics explain very little of the gaps between Vietnam and India and between Vietnam and Peru, yet one observed school variable has a large explanatory effect: primary school math teachers’ pedagogical skills. It explains about 10-12 percent of the gap between Vietnam and India, raising the overall explained portion to 14-21 percent of the gap. For Peru, it explains most (65-84 percent) of the gap.

Kenya lauded for achieving 75% electricity access rate - Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) (2021)

17 EdTech Frameworks and Who Needs to Know Them - Bapna, Akanksha; Nicolai, Susan; Myers, Christina; Pellini, Arnaldo; Sharma, Namrata; Wilson, Sam; Wilson, Akanksha Bapna, Susan Nicolai, Christina Myers, Arnaldo Pellini, Namrata Sharma and Sam (EdTech Hub, 2021)
17 EdTech frameworks that provide a valuable bridge between theory and practice. EdTech resources for policy-makers, educational institutions, teachers and multi-stakeholders.

Intergenerational transmission of lockdown consequences: prognosis of the longer-run persistence of COVID-19 in Latin America - Neidhöfer, Guido; Lustig, Nora; Tommasi, Mariano (The Journal of Economic Inequality, 2021)
The shock on human capital caused by COVID-19 is likely to have long lasting consequences, especially for children of low-educated families. Applying a counterfactual exercise we project the effects of school closures and other lockdown policies on the intergenerational persistence of education in 17 Latin American countries. First, we retrieve detailed information on school lockdowns and on the policies enacted to support education from home in each country. Then, we use these information to estimate the potential impact of the pandemic on schooling, high school completion, and intergenerational associations. In addition, we account for educational disruptions related to household income shocks. Our findings show that, despite that mitigation policies were able to partly reduce instructional losses in some countries, the educational attainment of the most vulnerable could be seriously affected. In particular, the likelihood of children from low educated families to attain a secondary schooling degree could fall substantially.
Keywords: COVID-19; Education; Human capital; I24; I38; Inequality; Intergenerational persistence; J62; Latin America; Lockdowns; School closures

Intergenerational transmission of lockdown consequences: prognosis of the longer-run persistence of COVID-19 in Latin America - Neidhöfer, Guido; Lustig, Nora; Tommasi, Mariano (The Journal of Economic Inequality, 2021)
The shock on human capital caused by COVID-19 is likely to have long lasting consequences, especially for children of low-educated families. Applying a counterfactual exercise we project the effects of school closures and other lockdown policies on the intergenerational persistence of education in 17 Latin American countries. First, we retrieve detailed information on school lockdowns and on the policies enacted to support education from home in each country. Then, we use these information to estimate the potential impact of the pandemic on schooling, high school completion, and intergenerational associations. In addition, we account for educational disruptions related to household income shocks. Our findings show that, despite that mitigation policies were able to partly reduce instructional losses in some countries, the educational attainment of the most vulnerable could be seriously affected. In particular, the likelihood of children from low educated families to attain a secondary schooling degree could fall substantially.
Keywords: COVID-19; Education; Human capital; I24; I38; Inequality; Intergenerational persistence; J62; Latin America; Lockdowns; School closures

Ed-Tech Within Limits: Anticipating educational technology in times of environmental crisis - Selwyn, Neil (E-Learning and Digital Media, 2021)
Despite climate heating and rising ecological instability, environmental issues feature rarely in discussions of educational technology. Most commentators presume the continued unfettered use of digital education resources bolstered by occasional claims that emerging technologies might support the ?greening? of school and university provision. In contrast to such business-as-usual complacency, this article anticipates ongoing environmental degradation of the planet as radically upending the continued expansion of digital technologies in education. On the one hand, depletion of natural resources and energy curtailments might put paid to established ?abundant? forms of digital technology use. On the other hand, more frequent climate-related disasters might necessitate emergency forms of education for displaced and unsettled populations. As such, the article argues for a new paradigm of educational technology that is both wholly sustainable and targeted towards displaced and disadvantaged populations. The article considers a number of ways that such an ?Ed-Tech Within Limits? might be pursued ? outlining fundamental shifts in thinking necessary to reorient educational technology along environmentally concerned lines.

Ed-tech within limits: Anticipating educational technology in times of environmental crisis - Selwyn, Neil (E-Learning and Digital Media, 2021)
Despite climate heating and rising ecological instability, environmental issues feature rarely in discussions of educational technology. Most commentators presume the continued unfettered use of digital education resources bolstered by occasional claims that emerging technologies might support the ‘greening’ of school and university provision. In contrast to such business-as-usual complacency, this article anticipates ongoing environmental degradation of the planet as radically upending the continued expansion of digital technologies in education. On the one hand, depletion of natural resources and energy curtailments might put paid to established ‘abundant’ forms of digital technology use. On the other hand, more frequent climate-related disasters might necessitate emergency forms of education for displaced and unsettled populations. As such, the article argues for a new paradigm of educational technology that is both wholly sustainable and targeted towards displaced and disadvantaged populations. The article considers a number of ways that such an ‘Ed-Tech Within Limits’ might be pursued – outlining fundamental shifts in thinking necessary to reorient educational technology along environmentally concerned lines.

Nudging in education: from theory towards guidelines for successful implementation - Weijers, Robert J.; de Koning, Björn B.; Paas, Fred (European Journal of Psychology of Education, 2021)
Nudging is one of the strategies from behavioral economics that aims to influence behavior by changing the environment. We propose that it could also be a valuable means to influence behavior in educational contexts. However, implementation of nudging in education is yet sparse. We describe the relevant issues to consider when applying nudging in education, arguing that a focus on the long-term effects and underlying processes of a nudge is necessary for successful implementation. Then, we aim to facilitate this implementation of nudging in education by making a distinction between nudges that is relevant for overcoming these issues. Based on the framework proposed by Hansen and Jespersen (European Journal of Risk Regulation, 4(1), 3–28, 2013), we distinguish between Type 1 and Type 2 nudges, and transparent and non-transparent nudges, resulting in four nudge categories. For each of these nudge categories, we determine its suitability for different educational goals. The resulting decision matrix can help researchers and practitioners when designing nudges for an educational context.
Keywords: Educational psychology; Instructional support; Learning behavior; Nudging; Teaching strategies

Teaching and Testing by Phone in a Pandemic - Crawfurd, Lee; Evans, David K.; Hares, Susannah; Sandefur, Justin (Center for Global Development, 2021)
How did children learn while schools were closed during 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic? In this paper we evaluate the effectiveness of live tutoring calls from teachers, using a randomized controlled trial with 4,399 primary school students in Sierra Leone.
Keywords: ___working_potential_duplicate

Where is EdTech working? Leveraging data for better EdTech policies - Marin, Sergio Venegas; Cobo, Cristobal; Cloutier, Marie-Helene; Lambert-Porter, Emma (Where is EdTech working? Leveraging data for better EdTech policies, 2021)
The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted schooling for over 1.6 billion students worldwide. Many education systems fell short of their goal to ensure the continuity of learning due to the digital divide that kept many without access to any kind of remote learning opportunity.

An analysis of the reach and effectiveness of distance learning in India during school closures due to COVID-19 - van Cappelle, Frank; Chopra, Vidur; Ackers, Jim; Gochyyev, Perman (International Journal of Educational Development, 2021)

Connecting Learning Spaces: Possibilities for Hybrid Learning - Working Group on Digital Learning (Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development, 2021)

Projetos de inclusão digital na educação em Angola: avanços e recuos - Barbante, Cesário José Sanajmbo (Revista Brasileira de Estudos Africanos, 2021)
The inclusion of technology in education in Angola marks yet another moment of transition in the Education and Teaching System, with the integration of new digital tools that have provided a new use, new learning and management standards for administrative processes. The study presented in this document aims to reflect on the digital inclusion initiatives in education in Angola, mainly in basic education. Contextualized in the domain of the inclusion of information and communication technologies in Angolan schools and focused, in particular, on existing projects, this study is part of an empirical approach of a qualitative nature, assuming a descriptive investigation. In comparative terms, the Escola Meu Kamba Project was the most solid, due to the fact that it had direct financial coverage from the State; the ProFuturo Project was the most innovative when using mobile and tactile devices, in addition to having an alternative power supply to the public network; and, finally, the E-Net project was the one that had contributed the most to Internet access by the school community. On the other hand, there are regrets about the discontinuities of both projects.
Keywords: Ensino de base.; inclusão digital na educação; projetos tecnológicos

Reimagining Teacher Professional Development for Scalable, Sustainable and Equitable Outcomes - Using EdTech Research Evidence - Hennessy, Sara; Koomar, Saalim (Asian Development Bank 9th International Skills Forum: Reimagining Education and Skills Development for a New Normal, 2021)

Exploring EFL teachers’ professional identity development in a CALL teacher preparation program - Meihami, Hussein; Esfandiari, Rajab (The JALT CALL Journal, 2021)

Intergovernmental fiscal transfers, equity and service delivery: lessons from Uganda - Long, Cathal; Fraser, Alasdair; Mbate, Michael; Lacroix, Antoine (ODI: Think change, 2021)
Analysing the equity of government fiscal resource allocation

First day of school 'indefinitely postponed' for 140 million first-time students around the world - UNICEF - UNICEF (2021)
At least eight million of these young learners have been waiting for over a year

Scaling Personalised Learning Technology in Malawi - Schmitt, Laurel (EdTech Hub, 2021)
Want to know more about the lessons we learnt from our sandbox with onebillion? Read our blog, Scaling personalized learning technology in Malawi.

Scaling Personalised Learning Technology in Malawi: Lessons from our sandbox with onebillion - Schmitt, Laurel (EdTech Hub, 2021)
Want to know more about the lessons we learnt from our sandbox with onebillion? Read our blog, Scaling personalized learning technology in Malawi.

Schooling, interrupted: a critical account of motivation and education during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Quebec - Thompson, Jennifer; Fraser, Sarah; Archambault, Isabelle; Beauregard, Nancy; Dupéré, Véronique; Frohlich, Katherine (Journal of Teaching and Learning, 2021)
Among the concerns about youth wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic, one well-documented impact is youth motivation, particularly in relation to schooling. Yet many questions remain: How are youth experiencing motivation? What factors affect their motivation? How are youth differentially experiencing motivation? This article addresses young people’s experiences of motivation during the first wave of the pandemic as explored through participatory visual research. In Spring 2020, the Quebec private and public secondary school systems responded very differently to school closures. Private schools pivoted to distance learning within about two weeks, whereas public schools took almost two months to provide formal instruction. Bringing youth’s accounts of motivation into conversation with youth’s concerns about the inequities across the private and public school systems offers a rich opportunity to revisit Self-Determination Theory as an established theory of motivation. Youth’s analyses urge us to revisit the conceptualization of “structure” within this theory and how structure might offer a junction for accounting for more macrostructural inequalities within motivation research.

A Framework to Democratise the Design of Educational Games on Social Issues during Game Jams - Myers, Christina (The Open University, 2021)
Game Jams are events organised to create computer games, usually taking place during weekends. These events have become a popular way to enable participants to experience processes and practices of game development as well as to offer multidisciplinary learning opportunities, accessed through the variety of skills involved in game design. However, these events tend to be attended predominantly by male game developers and present barriers to participation for more diverse groups. This thesis investigates how to support diverse group participation in Game Jams, including people from different ethnicities, genders, ages, sexual orientations and who do not have any prior experience of designing games; and explores Game Jam participation as an opportunity to discuss social issues. To this end, a framework to democratise the design of educational games on social issues in Game Jams is proposed. The framework consists of a process with structured resources and activities to enhance learning by supporting egalitarian participation and agency. It offers collaborative learning opportunities for groups to engage with a social issue, relying on storytelling and on the exchange of perspectives and experiences. It also provides support and access to research-based principles to design games for education, and egalitarian opportunities to acquire game development skills, considered relevant opportunities given the wide-spread use of games and increasing interest in games as engaging tools for online education. The development of the framework is grounded in Critical Pedagogy, an educational approach providing principles and processes to democratise learning initiatives based on egalitarian participation and agency. Following a Design-Based Research methodology, the framework is developed through a case study on creating educational games on everyday sexism. A set of formative design studies are undertaken to co-design resources and activities that enable participants to elaborate solutions to the social issue and create educational games themselves. An evaluative study is then presented with the realisation of two Game Jams to assess and validate the proposed framework. The theoretical contributions of this work validate two new applications of Critical Pedagogy. The first one is to apply Critical Pedagogy to shape Game Jams to enhance learning through the active involvement of participants as equal learners and agents of social change. The second one applies Critical Pedagogy to democratise knowledge of design principles to create educational games on social issues. Lastly, access to a co-created tool for raising awareness of everyday sexism and insights on how to enable broad audiences to acquire games development skills are some of the practical contributions of this thesis.

Countries using data to inform education policies - Kelly, Peggy (Education for All, 2021)
How can data be transformed into policy so that children everywhere, even the most disadvantaged, can realize their right to learn? Read how a project has helped countries like Lao PDR, Georgia and Mongolia to just do that.

Five ways geospatial analysis can help visualize and solve some of education’s biggest challenges - The Education Comission (2021)
As the education community continues to mobilize efforts towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4), stakeholders at all levels of the system are grappling with questions on how to deliver inclusive quality education. What communities will benefit most...

EdTech in developing countries: a review of the evidence - Rodriguez-Segura, Daniel (The World Bank Research Observer, 2021)
The emergence of educational technology (“EdTech”) in developing countries has been received as a promising avenue to address some of the most challenging policy questions within educational systems. In this paper, I review and synthesize all existing studies with credible causal identification frameworks of EdTech interventions in developing countries. While other studies review the evidence for EdTech interventions in developed countries, there is currently no equivalent study for developing contexts, in spite of the rising number of studies being produced. I classify studies into four thematic categories based on the type of EdTech intervention analyzed: Access to technology; technology-enabled behavioral interventions; improvements to instruction; and self-led learning. I find that EdTech interventions centered around self-led learning and improvements to instruction are the most effective forms of EdTech at raising learning outcomes. Similarly, technology-enabled behavioral interventions are less promising for generating large effects but highly cost-effective given their typically low marginal costs. Although expanding access to technology alone is not sufficient to improve learning, it is a necessary first step for some other types of interventions. More broadly, the overall success of interventions rests on the thoughtful customization of the EdTech solution to the policy constraints at hand. Finally, EdTech interventions across all thematic areas can and should act as complements by leveraging their respective comparative advantages to address deficiencies within educational systems in developing countries.

What drives successful economic diversification in resource-rich countries? - Lashitew, Addisu A; Ross, Michael L; Werker, Eric (The World Bank Research Observer, 2021)
The “resource curse” is often understood to imply poor growth in the non-resource sectors of the economy, but research into the diversification performance of resource-rich countries is limited. This paper surveys recent evidence and identifies empirical patterns in the economic diversification of resource-rich countries. Diversification is measured using the growth of per capita non-resource (manufacturing and services) sectors in domestic and export markets, which has a cleaner interpretation than competing measures. This measure is used to evaluate the long-term diversification of countries that started off as resource-dependent, and to rank countries according to their performance. We then identify policy-relevant correlates of diversification at the national level, including the acquisition of human capital, public and intellectual capital, and firm dynamism. More resource-dependent countries appear to perform worse on measures of human capital and intellectual capital, but more resource-abundant countries perform better on public capital and human capital accumulation. We examine the mechanisms behind diversification performance through in-depth case studies of Oman, Laos, and Indonesia, and conclude by identifying policy lessons and future research directions.
Keywords: ⛔ No INSPIRE recid found

Timor-Leste education: Supporting sustainable system-wide reform and school leader capacity-building through collaborative foreign aid - Owen, Susanne; Wong, Debbie (Journal of Educational Change, 2021)
Effective school leadership and ongoing teacher capacity-building are essential aspects of school reform and improving educational outcomes for students in developing countries. This paper examines a Timor-Leste curriculum reform and associated school leader capacity-building and the implementation processes for building sustainability, within the context of research literature regarding effective professional development and successful foreign aid principles. The Timor-Leste leadership program was developed using an interpretivist paradigm and action research, with the authors being program designers and managers embedded in the context. School leader interviews and surveys, meeting notes and monitoring and evaluation reports, also teacher skills and student achievement data, were continuously examined to analyse issues and plan actions and solutions. Findings outline early impacts in relation to changing school leader behaviours, improved teacher skills and increased student literacy and numeracy, while also presenting implementation processes and actions taken to overcome challenges in relation to research-informed foreign aid principles.Given the importance of foreign aid for supporting significant educational improvement in developing countries, this Timor-Leste leadership capacity-building case study provides an example relevant to an under-researched area. While the focus is on one particular country and reform involving curriculum and professional development, the paper has value for other education contexts and system change initiatives which involve collaborations with foreign aid donors.
Keywords: Foreign aid; International development; School leadership capacity-building; School reform; School-based professional development; ⛔ No INSPIRE recid found

Current initiatives, barriers, and opportunities for networked learning in Latin America - Romero-Hall, Enilda (Educational Technology Research and Development, 2021)
This paper explores and describes the current initiatives, barriers, and opportunities for formal, non-formal, and informal networked learning experiences using social media in Latin America. It focuses on networked learning initiatives such as the use of institutional social media accounts, educational hashtags, social media in the classroom, educational channels via video hosting platforms, and government established networked learning programs for connected classrooms. The same multiplicity, diversity, and heterogenicity that represent the culture, languages, and socio-economic status of the people of Latin America also characterize the vast mixture of networked learning initiatives across the region. Potential barriers (i.e., the digital divide, Internet filtering policies, lack of research) and opportunities for implementation (i.e., networked learning educational reforms, mobile learning technology, and social media ethical considerations) are explored. The paper concludes with recommendations that policymakers and education leaders in Latin America should keep in mind to engage in fruitful networked learning initiatives.
Keywords: Connected learning; Information and communications technology; Latin America; Mobile learning; Networked learning; Social media

COVID-19 Education Situation Analysis in Southeast Asia - UNICEF East Asia and Pacific (2021)
This sub-regional situation analysis initiated by UNICEF and UNESCO provides a snapshot of the educational responses and effects of COVID-19 across Southeas
Keywords: ⛔ No INSPIRE recid found

Automation of systematic literature reviews: A systematic literature review - van Dinter, Raymon; Tekinerdogan, Bedir; Catal, Cagatay (Information and Software Technology, 2021)
Context Systematic Literature Review (SLR) studies aim to identify relevant primary papers, extract the required data, analyze, and synthesize results to gain further and broader insight into the investigated domain. Multiple SLR studies have been conducted in several domains, such as software engineering, medicine, and pharmacy. Conducting an SLR is a time-consuming, laborious, and costly effort. As such, several researchers developed different techniques to automate the SLR process. However, a systematic overview of the current state-of-the-art in SLR automation seems to be lacking. Objective This study aims to collect and synthesize the studies that focus on the automation of SLR to pave the way for further research. Method A systematic literature review is conducted on published primary studies on the automation of SLR studies, in which 41 primary studies have been analyzed. Results This SLR identifies the objectives of automation studies, application domains, automated steps of the SLR, automation techniques, and challenges and solution directions. Conclusion According to our study, the leading automated step is the Selection of Primary Studies. Although many studies have provided automation approaches for systematic literature reviews, no study has been found to apply automation techniques in the planning and reporting phase. Further research is needed to support the automation of the other activities of the SLR process.
Keywords: Automation; Machine learning; Natural language processing; Review; Systematic literature review (SLR); Text mining; _Added-ailr-2024

The latent digital divide and its drivers in e-learning among Bangladeshi students during the COVID-19 pandemic - Badiuzzaman, Md; Rafiquzzaman, Md; Rabby, Md Insiat Islam; Rahman, Mohammad Mustaneer (Information, 2021)
The devastating COVID-19 pandemic forced academia to go virtual. Educational institutions around the world have stressed online learning programs in the aftermath of the pandemic. However, because of insufficient access to Information Communication Technology (ICT), a substantial number of students failed to harness the opportunity of online learning. This study explores the latent digital divide exhibited during the COVID-19 pandemic while online learning activities are emphasised among students of Bangladesh. It also investigates the digital divide exposure and the significant underlying drivers of the divide. In order to accomplish this, a cross-sectional survey was employed to collect quantitative data, mixed with open-ended questions were utilised to gather qualitative information from the student community. The findings revealed that despite the majority of students having physical access to ICT, only 32.5% of students could attend online classes seamlessly. In total, 34.1% reported data prices as the critical barrier, while 39.8% identified poor network infrastructure as the significant barrier preventing them from participating in online learning activities. Although most students possess physical access to various devices and the Internet, they face the first-level digital divide due to the quality of access and price of cellular Internet. Consequently, they fail to take advantage of physical access, resulting in the third-level digital divide (utility gap), which submerges them into a digital divide cycle. The primary objective of this study is to explore the underlying issues of the digital divide among Bangladeshi students. This will assist relevant stakeholders (e.g., the Bangladesh government, educational institutions, and researchers) to gain necessary insights and theoretical understanding of underlying limitations and emergent directions to arrange adequate support for underprivileged students to undertake essential online learning activities.
Keywords: COVID-19; digital divide; multi-level digital divide; online learning

National Policy on Education Management Information System (EMIS) and Implementation Guidelines - Federal Ministry of Education (Federal Government of Nigeria, 2021)

Telementoring and homeschooling during school closures: A randomized experiment in rural Bangladesh - Hassan, Hashibul; Islam, Asad; Siddique, Abu; Wang, Liang Choon (CDES Working Paper Series, 2021)
Prolonged school closures due to political unrests, teacher strikes, natural disasters, and public health crises can be detrimental to student learning in developing countries. Using a randomized controlled experiment in 200 Bangladeshi villages, we evaluate the impact of over-the-phone mentoring and homeschooling support delivered by volunteers on the learning outcomes of primary school children during school closures caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The telementoring program improved the learning outcomes of treated children by 0.75 SD and increased homeschooling involvement of treated mothers by 0.64 SD. The impacts on learning are driven primarily by the direct mentoring of children and to some extent also by the increased homeschooling involvement of mothers. Academically weaker children and households from relatively lower socioeconomic backgrounds benefitted the most from telementoring. These findings suggest that learning crises in low-resource settings can be addressed by simple and very low-cost technology solutions.
Keywords: ___working_potential_duplicate

Child education in the time of pandemic: Learning loss and dropout - Khan, Muhammad Jehangir; Ahmed, Junaid (Children and Youth Services Review, 2021)
The disruptive effects of the COVID-19 pandemic had affected the education sector at an unprecedented scale. In order to contain the spread of the virus, a large number of countries across the globe have shut their schools to handle the pandemic. However, it has adversely affected students' learning and school attendance. In this regard, we assess the impact of COVID-19 on the learning loss, school dropout, and the economic costs in term of foregone earnings for children in Pakistan. The study finds a substantial decrease in Learning Adjusted Years of Schooling (LAYS) with worsening consequences for girls than boys. Likewise, the aggregate economic cost amounts to 107 billion dollars when adjusted for human capital utilisation. Besides, our simulation results suggest that about 7.2 million children dropout due to a reduction in household expenditure by 50 percent. In comparison, the dropout is more pronounced at the primary level of schooling. The results recommend that the government design robust social protection and remote education strategies to mitigate school closure’s adverse effect on children's learning. The emphasis should be rather on the long run strategies to cope with a resilient education system of futuristic orientation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)
Keywords: Adjustment; COVID-19; Education; Learning Strategies; Learning loss; Pakistan; Pandemics; School Dropout; School Dropouts; School Learning

How to integrate Value for Money assessments within the External Evaluations of the GEC - Shah, Valsa (Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, 2021)

Intergenerational transmission of lockdown consequences: prognosis of the longer-run persistence of COVID-19 in Latin America - Neidhöfer, Guido; Lustig, Nora; Tommasi, Mariano (Journal of Economic Inequality, 2021)
The shock on human capital caused by COVID-19 is likely to have long lasting consequences, especially for children of low-educated families. Applying a counterfactual exercise we project the effects of school closures and other lockdown policies on the intergenerational persistence of education in 17 Latin American countries. First, we retrieve detailed information on school lockdowns and on the policies enacted to support education from home in each country. Then, we use these information to estimate the potential impact of the pandemic on schooling, high school completion, and intergenerational associations. In addition, we account for educational disruptions related to household income shocks. Our findings show that, despite that mitigation policies were able to partly reduce instructional losses in some countries, the educational attainment of the most vulnerable could be seriously affected. In particular, the likelihood of children from low educated families to attain a secondary schooling degree could fall substantially.

Intergenerational transmission of lockdown consequences: prognosis of the longer-run persistence of COVID-19 in Latin America - Neidhöfer, Guido; Lustig, Nora; Tommasi, Mariano (Journal of Economic Inequality, 2021)
The shock on human capital caused by COVID-19 is likely to have long lasting consequences, especially for children of low-educated families. Applying a counterfactual exercise we project the effects of school closures and other lockdown policies on the intergenerational persistence of education in 17 Latin American countries. First, we retrieve detailed information on school lockdowns and on the policies enacted to support education from home in each country. Then, we use these information to estimate the potential impact of the pandemic on schooling, high school completion, and intergenerational associations. In addition, we account for educational disruptions related to household income shocks. Our findings show that, despite that mitigation policies were able to partly reduce instructional losses in some countries, the educational attainment of the most vulnerable could be seriously affected. In particular, the likelihood of children from low educated families to attain a secondary schooling degree could fall substantially.

E-waste and planned obsolescence - Selwyn, Neil (Critical Studies of EDUCATION & TECHNOLOGY, 2021)
Notes from Guardian report (15.04.20) by John Harris on e-waste and planned obsolescence ** There is a pressing need to talk about educational technology in terms of the disposal – rather than adop…

Vietnam approves Education Society Scheme in 2021-2030 amid digital transformation - Vietnam Investment Review (2021)
Vietnam approved the Scheme on Development of Education Society in 2021-2030 to improve the quality of human resources for digital transformation.

Handbook of Regression Modeling in People Analytics: With Examples in R and Python - McNulty, Keith (CRC Press, 2021)
Despite the recent rapid growth in machine learning and predictive analytics, many of the statistical questions that are faced by researchers and practitioners still involve explaining why something is happening. Regression analysis is the best ‘swiss army knife’ we have for answering these kinds of questions. This book is a learning resource on inferential statistics and regression analysis. It teaches how to do a wide range of statistical analyses in both R and in Python, ranging from simple hypothesis testing to advanced multivariate modelling. Although it is primarily focused on examples related to the analysis of people and talent, the methods easily transfer to any discipline. The book hits a ‘sweet spot’ where there is just enough mathematical theory to support a strong understanding of the methods, but with a step-by-step guide and easily reproducible examples and code, so that the methods can be put into practice immediately. This makes the book accessible to a wide readership, from public and private sector analysts and practitioners to students and researchers. Key Features:• 16 accompanying datasets across a wide range of contexts (e.g. academic, corporate, sports, marketing) • Clear step-by-step instructions on executing the analyses. • Clear guidance on how to interpret results. • Primary instruction in R but added sections for Python coders. • Discussion exercises and data exercises for each of the main chapters.• Final chapter of practice material and datasets ideal for class homework or project work.
Keywords: Business & Economics / Statistics; Mathematics / Probability & Statistics / General

Pesquisa revela sistemas de ensino melhor avaliados no país - Blog do EX - Escolas Exponenciais, (Escolas Exponenciais, 2021)
Diagnóstico Nacional da Educação aponta qual é o sistema de ensino mais bem avaliado por pais e responsáveis por alunos em todo Brasil.

Silenced by an unknown language? Exploring language matching during rransitions from complementary education to government schools in Ghana - Daly, Kieran; Carter, Emma; Sabates, Ricardo (Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 2021)
Mother tongue-based education has been central to the promotion of early literacy skills in many multilingual contexts of the Global South. However, learners in such environments may face significant linguistic challenges when changing language of instruction during schooling. In particular, the linguistic distance between mother tongue and official language may be a significant barrier to learners. This paper provides an empirical approach to this issue by employing language matching based on linguistic distance between languages to explore changes in literacy scores for learners who change language of instruction. Findings show that the greater the linguistic distance between two languages, the larger the loss in foundational literacy. We conclude that language matching could be introduced as a tool to identify at-risk learners during transitions and, if possible, as a tool for linguistic allocation of students who have the possibility of selecting between schools with different languages for instruction.
Keywords: Ghana; Mother tongue education; language matching; literacy; multilingualism

The Role of Intergovernmental Fiscal Transfers in Improving Education Outcomes - Al-Samarrai, Samer; Lewis, Blane (World Bank, 2021)
The majority of the world’s children live in countries where local governments are responsible for the provision of basic education services. Although subnational governments manage their own education systems, they often rely on transfers from the central government for funding. The main purpose of this study is to assess how these fiscal transfers affect public funding for education and how they ultimately affect student schooling and learning outcomes. Through a careful analysis of how fiscal transfers have affected education systems in different contexts, the investigation develops a set of principles to support improvements in the design and implementation of transfer systems with a specific focus on the provision of education services. The study is centered on seven country case studies that aim to answer a set of common research questions using a similar approach. Country case studies were conducted in Brazil, Bulgaria, China, Colombia, Indonesia, Sudan, and Uganda. The analysis shows that fiscal transfer mechanisms can improve the adequacy of public education spending, reduce spending inequalities between regions, and improve spending efficiency. Moreover, the study highlights that carefully designed and implemented transfer systems can help raise overall education outcomes and reduce education inequality. This publication was funded by a grant from the Results in Education for All Children (REACH) trust fund at the World Bank. REACH is supported by the government of Germany through the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, the government of Norway through NORAD, and the government of the United States of America through the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Keywords: Education; Education Equity; Education Finance; Education Outcomes; Education Spending; Fiscal Decentralization; Fiscal Transfers; Public Expenditure

Safeguarding Her: A call to action to educating girls in vulnerable situations - Break Free Alliance (Education for All, 2021)
For millions of girls across Africa, the thought of joining school remains far-fetched. Here are 6 recommendations we consider vital to ensure girls’ better access to education and secure their futures.

Brazil Case Study - Mello, Ursula; Loureiro, Andre; Cruz, Louisee (World Bank, 2021)
The majority of the world’s children live in countries where local governments are responsible for the provision of basic education services. Although subnational governments manage their own education systems, they often rely on transfers from the central government for funding. The main purpose of this study is to assess how these fiscal transfers affect public funding for education and how they ultimately affect student schooling and learning outcomes. Through a careful analysis of how fiscal transfers have affected education systems in different contexts, the investigation develops a set of principles to support improvements in the design and implementation of transfer systems with a specific focus on the provision of education services. The study is centered on seven country case studies that aim to answer a set of common research questions using a similar approach. Country case studies were conducted in Brazil, Bulgaria, China, Colombia, Indonesia, Sudan, and Uganda. The analysis shows that fiscal transfer mechanisms can improve the adequacy of public education spending, reduce spending inequalities between regions, and improve spending efficiency. Moreover, the study highlights that carefully designed and implemented transfer systems can help raise overall education outcomes and reduce education inequality. This publication was funded by a grant from the Results in Education for All Children (REACH) trust fund at the World Bank. REACH is supported by the government of Germany through the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, the government of Norway through NORAD, and the government of the United States of America through the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Keywords: Education; Education Equity; Education Finance; Education Outcomes; Education Spending; Fiscal Decentralization; Fiscal Transfers; Public Expenditure

Guidelines for reporting trial protocols and completed trials modified due to the COVID-19 pandemic and other extenuating circumstances: The CONSERVE 2021 Statement - Orkin, Aaron M.; Gill, Peter J.; Ghersi, Davina; Campbell, Lisa; Sugarman, Jeremy; Emsley, Richard; Steg, Philippe Gabriel; Weijer, Charles; Simes, John; Rombey, Tanja; Williams, Hywel C.; Wittes, Janet; et al. (JAMA, 2021)
Extenuating circumstances can trigger unplanned changes to randomized trials and introduce methodological, ethical, feasibility, and analytical challenges that can potentially compromise the validity of findings. Numerous randomized trials have required changes in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but guidance for reporting such modifications is incomplete.As a joint extension for the CONSORT and SPIRIT reporting guidelines, CONSERVE (CONSORT and SPIRIT Extension for RCTs Revised in Extenuating Circumstances) aims to improve reporting of trial protocols and completed trials that undergo important modifications in response to extenuating circumstances.A panel of 37 international trial investigators, patient representatives, methodologists and statisticians, ethicists, funders, regulators, and journal editors convened to develop the guideline. The panel developed CONSERVE following an accelerated, iterative process between June 2020 and February 2021 involving (1) a rapid literature review of multiple databases (OVID Medline, OVID EMBASE, and EBSCO CINAHL) and gray literature sources from 2003 to March 2021; (2) consensus-based panelist meetings using a modified Delphi process and surveys; and (3) a global survey of trial stakeholders.The rapid review yielded 41 673 citations, of which 38 titles were relevant, including emerging guidance from regulatory and funding agencies for managing the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on trials. However, no generalizable guidance for all circumstances in which trials and trial protocols might face unanticipated modifications were identified. The CONSERVE panel used these findings to develop a consensus reporting guidelines following 4 rounds of meetings and surveys. Responses were received from 198 professionals from 34 countries, of whom 90% (n = 178) indicated that they understood the concept definitions and 85.4% (n = 169) indicated that they understood and could use the implementation tool. Feedback from survey respondents was used to finalize the guideline and confirm that the guideline’s core concepts were applicable and had utility for the trial community. CONSERVE incorporates an implementation tool and checklists tailored to trial reports and trial protocols for which extenuating circumstances have resulted in important modifications to the intended study procedures. The checklists include 4 sections capturing extenuating circumstances, important modifications, responsible parties, and interim data analyses.CONSERVE offers an extension to CONSORT and SPIRIT that could improve the transparency, quality, and completeness of reporting important modifications to trials in extenuating circumstances such as COVID-19.

The Importance of Caregiver Engagement in Supporting Learning - Kimathi, Deborah; El-Serafy, Yomna; Plaut, Daniel; Kaye, Tom (EdTech Hub, 2021)
Do you know the importance of caregiver engagement in supporting learning beyond the classroom? Visit our website to learn more.

Contract Type and Teacher Absenteeism in Benin: The Role of Teacher’s Supplemental Income - Senou, Barthelemy Mahugnon (2021)
Absenteeism is a phenomenon that has been noted in professional circles with consequences on the income of the wage earner as well as the profits of the firm, consequences that led, according to statistics from 2005, to losses in public finance amounting to close to 70 billion francs for the Government of Benin. Despite such losses, very few studies in economics have focused on the subject in order to try and give an understanding of the real causes of absenteeism and its consequences. The objective of this study is to explore the relationship between the status of the teacher, supplemental income of the teacher, and the absenteeism of the teacher. Using data from PASEC-CONFEMEN 2005, that will be applied to a theoretical model that we are developing, and through the use of a Tobit empirical method, after having taken the endogeneity bias on the practice of supplemental income generating activities by the teacher into account, this study demonstrates that the practice of income generating activities by teachers positively influences their absenteeism, with contract teachers being more frequently absent than those who are on permanent and pensionable employment contracts. Through linking the level of prices in a locality with absenteeism behaviours, we make it clear that the reasons for absenteeism are mostly related to low purchasing power in the context of earning relatively meagre salaries. These results elicit a set of recommendations that essentially suggest that there should be an improvement in the salaries and working conditions of teachers.
Keywords: C:Benin; ⛔ No DOI found

Innovations in Social and Emotional Learning Research and Practice: Building from Evidence and Applying Behavioral Insights to the Design of a Social and Emotional Learning Intervention in Northeast Nigeria - Bailey, Rebecca; Raisch, Natasha; Temko, Sonya; Titus, Britt; Bautista, Jonah; Eniola, Tahirat Omolara; Jones, Stephanie M. (International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2021)
Recent studies suggest that social and emotional learning (SEL) programming has the potential to be effective in conflict-affected regions, yet evidence is limited, and findings to date are mixed. One hypothesis about why SEL interventions in education in emergencies (EiE) settings have not generated the anticipated results is that the SEL content and materials have not been sufficiently localized to the context, leading to poor cultural relevance or fit. A second hypothesis is that SEL program demands tend to be high and capacity for implementation is low, undermining sustainability and impact. The current study addresses these challenges by investing in locally driven SEL content and design as a way to ensure that SEL materials are grounded in local values and needs, culturally appropriate, relevant to the specific context, and feasible to implement. The study draws on the developmental and prevention sciences as well as the field of behavioral insights to test evidence-based interventions intended to encourage desired behaviors around uptake and implementation. This paper documents the activities conducted during the project’s design phase, including landscape research, creation of initial prototypes, design workshops and rapid prototyping, and field testing. Findings suggest that using local values, practices, and framing in SEL programming increases relevance and appropriateness for the Northeast Nigeria setting. Furthermore, targeted behavioral insights interventions increased the uptake, habitual and regular use, as well as correct implementation of SEL activities. The findings contribute to the emerging literature on the cultural variability of SEL and the need to consider the context when designing and implementing programs in any setting.

Beyond partnerships: embracing complexity to understand and improve research collaboration for global development - Fransman, Jude; Hall, Budd; Hayman, Rachel; Narayanan, Pradeep; Newman, Kate; Tandon, Rajesh (Canadian Journal of Development Studies / Revue canadienne d'études du développement, 2021)
While there is a burgeoning literature on the benefits of research collaboration for development, it tends to promote the idea of the “partnership” as a bounded site in which interventions to improve collaborative practice can be made. This article draws on complexity theory and systems thinking to argue that such an assumption is problematic, divorcing collaboration from wider systems of research and practice. Instead, a systemic framework for understanding and evaluating collaboration is proposed. This framework is used to reflect on a set of principles for fair and equitable research collaboration that emerged from a programme of strategic research and capacity strengthening conducted by the Rethinking Research Collaborative (RRC) for the United Kingdom (UK)’s primary research funder: UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). The article concludes that a systemic conceptualisation of collaboration is more responsive than a “partnership” approach, both to the principles of fairness and equity and also to uncertain futures.
Keywords: Research partnerships; complexity theory; higher education policy; research collaboration; research funding; systems thinking

Rapid versus traditional qualitative analysis using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) - Nevedal, Andrea L.; Reardon, Caitlin M.; Opra Widerquist, Marilla A.; Jackson, George L.; Cutrona, Sarah L.; White, Brandolyn S.; Damschroder, Laura J. (Implementation Science, 2021)
Qualitative approaches, alone or in mixed methods, are prominent within implementation science. However, traditional qualitative approaches are resource intensive, which has led to the development of rapid qualitative approaches. Published rapid approaches are often inductive in nature and rely on transcripts of interviews. We describe a deductive rapid analysis approach using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) that uses notes and audio recordings. This paper compares our rapid versus traditional deductive CFIR approach.
Keywords: Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR); Implementation science; Qualitative methods; Rapid analysis; Veterans

Building back better to avert a learning catastrophe: Estimating learning loss from COVID-19 school shutdowns in Africa and facilitating short-term and long-term learning recovery - Angrist, Noam; de Barros, Andreas; Bhula, Radhika; Chakera, Shiraz; Cummiskey, Chris; DeStefano, Joseph; Floretta, John; Kaffenberger, Michelle; Piper, Benjamin; Stern, Jonathan (International Journal of Educational Development, 2021)
We model learning losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the potential for cost-effective strategies to build back better. Data from Early Grade Reading Assessments in Ethiopia, Kenya, Liberia, Tanzania, and Uganda suggest half to over a year’s worth of learning loss. In modeling losses over time, we found that learning deficits for a child in grade 3 could lead to 2.8 years of lost learning by grade 10. While COVID-19 has stymied learning, bold, learning-focused reform consistent with the literature reviewed in this paper—specifically reform on targeted instruction and structured pedagogy—could improve learning even beyond pre-COVID-19 levels.
Keywords: COVID-19; Education; Foundational skills; Learning loss; Recovery

Plan national de développement économique et social 2021-2025 (PNDES-II) - Government of Burkina Faso (2021)

Time to Teach: Teacher Attendance and Time on Task in Primary Schools in Mozambique - Nugroho, Dita; Karamperidou, Despina (UNICEF, 2021)
Teacher attendance is one of the prerequisites on the path toward universal learning in developing countries. Over the past decades, however, studies from across the developing world have found national rates of teacher absenteeism that range from 3 to 27 per cent. Therefore, enhancing teachers' presence in the classroom and ensuring that class time is spent teaching, can contribute significantly to the productivity and inclusive prosperity of a country. This Time to Teach study collates and strengthens the evidence base on primary school teacher absenteeism in Mozambique. The study uses a mix of qualitative and quantitative research methods to provide critical insights into the factors that underpin the multiple forms of teacher absenteeism and time on task. It also examines how factors vary across countries, school types, gender of teacher and other teacher characteristics. Despite high levels of teacher absenteeism, the study shows that teachers are generally committed and that what is needed is education system strengthening. It is hoped that findings will inform workable solutions and policies that will ensure a motivated teaching force, increase opportunities for children to learn at school and, ultimately, improve their life and work opportunities.
Keywords: Barriers; C:Mozambique; Developing Nations; Educational Change; Educational Policy; Elementary School Teachers; Employee Absenteeism; Foreign Countries; Gender Differences; Influences; Institutional Characteristics; Rural Urban Differences; Sanctions; Teacher Attendance; Teacher Attitudes; Teacher Characteristics; Teacher Education; Teacher Persistence; Teaching Conditions; Time Management; ⛔ No DOI found

Remote Learning: Evidence from Nepal during COVID-19 - Radhakrishnan, Karthika; Sabarwal, Shwetlena; Sharma, Uttam; Cullen, Claire; Crossley, Colin; Letsomo, Thato; Angrist, Noam (World Bank, 2021)
This note discusses early results from a distance education program on foundational numeracy for primary school students in Nepal during Coronavirus (COVID-19) evaluated in a randomized trial. The trial included 3,700 households with children in public school (grades 3-5). It provided support for foundational numeracy through mobile phone-based tutoring. The trial tested delivery through public school teachers and also through NGO facilitators. It led to a 30 percent increase in foundational numeracy, with teachers being slightly more effective at producing learning gains than NGO facilitators. These results suggest that instructional support through mobile phones can be a high-access and low-cost approach to providing instruction at scale
Keywords: Coronavirus; Covid-19; Numeracy; Pandemic Impact; Remote Learning; School Closure

Tool for assessing the gender responsiveness of content for digital learning platforms - UNICEF (2021)

Examination of Teacher Candidates' Views on Peer Learning Performed with Interactive Videos in the Blended Learning Process - Ipek, Jale; Kalay, Abdullah; Ertas, Sercan (Education Quarterly Reviews, 2021)
Today, the speed of the development of technology has various effects in many areas. In the field of education, some concepts, methods, techniques, theories and models come to the fore with the effect of technology and attract the attention of researchers. One of them is blended learning. Blended learning is a learning process in which both face-to-face learning processes and learning processes in online environments coexist. Today's learners are expected to be able to solve problems, work collaboratively, and have strong communication. It is thought that peer learning can be used in constructivist teaching processes in order to gain these features. Peer learning involves learners performing their learning by interacting with each other. In this study, it is aimed to determine the opinions of teacher candidates about peer learning realized with interactive videos in the blended learning process. The study group consists of 37 Computer and Instructional Technologies Education Department teacher candidates, 11 women (29.73%) and 26 men (70.27%) enrolled in the "Special Teaching Methods - II" course in the spring semester of 2018-2019 academic year. In the online part of the study, a web 2.0 tool (Edpuzzle) was used to prepare interactive video content. The videos prepared by the peers regarding the course content were expected to be watched online and before the face-to-face lessons. In the face-to-face learning process, students progressed the learning process interactively with their peers. At the end of the process, the data were collected with the data collection tool named "teacher candidate opinion form" developed by the researchers from the study group. The collected data were analyzed with content analysis and interpreted by the researchers. In the study results, the opinions of the teacher candidates about the process after their learning experiences were determined. It was found that a great majority of the teacher candidates had a positive opinion about the peer learning realized with interactive videos in the blended learning process.

Nudges to improve learning and gender parity: Supporting parent engagement and Ghana’s educational response to COVID-19 using mobile phones - Wolf, Sharon; Aurino, Elisabetta; Osei-Akoto, Isaac; Ackwerh, Eunice Yaa Brimfah (World Bank Strategic Impact Evaluation Fund (SIEF), 2021)
Randomized control trial testing impacts of SMS messages to suggest activities that promote social-emotional development at home and to encourage engagement with remote instruction, variants of these messages that have a gender-parity focus, and the duration of these messages (3 months vs. 6 months)

Empowering parents and caregivers to support learning and a safe return to school - Fuller, Sarah; Brown, Jessica Katherine (UNICEF Europe and Central Asia, 2021)
Ongoing pandemic response, recovery and long-term resilience must consider parents and caregivers if we are to reach every child.

Teacher Perspectives on Peer-Peer Collaboration and Education Technologies in Rural Tanzanian Classrooms - Uchidiuno, Judith; Koedinger, Ken; Ogan, Amy (Association for Computing Machinery, 2021)
Teachers’ perspectives are critical for understanding classroom culture. They create and enforce rules in classrooms and are responsible for educating students using methods that they perceive to be most effective. Therefore, creating supplementary education technologies without understanding teachers and the culture they promote may lead to interventions that are underutilized or ineffective. Our research specifically investigates how technologies that foster student collaboration fit into teachers’ views of learning in a rural context with limited existing collaboration scaffolds. We interviewed 24 teachers and observed 39 classrooms in a rural Tanzanian village to understand how teachers value peer-peer collaboration in their teaching practice, and the unique challenges they face educating students in rural classroom settings. We uncover insights that inform the design and deployment of supplementary education technologies to support teachers in rural Tanzania and similar demographics.
Keywords: Early literacy; Sub-Saharan Africa; educational technologies; peer-peer collaboration

Malaysia Data Protection Overview - Ping, Jillian Chia Yan (DataGuidance, 2021)
June 2021 1. Governing Texts Data protection in Malaysia is primarily governed by the Personal Data Protection Act 2010 ('PDPA') and its subsidiary legislation as outlined below. The PDPA purports to safeguard personal data by requiring data users to comply with certain obligations and conferring certain rights to the data subject in relation to his personal data. 1.1. Key acts, regulations, directives, bills Primary Legislation Prior to 2010, the regulation of personal data was governed mainly by industry specific legislation.

Promises to keep: impact of COVID-19 on adolescents in Kenya - Presidential Policy and Strategy Unit (Kenya); Population Council (2021)

UNICEF and STEAM for Viet Nam Foundation announce partnership to bring equitable STEAM learning opportunities for children in Viet Nam - UNICEF (UNICEF, 2021)

World Development Report 2021: Data for Better Lives - World Bank (The World Bank, 2021)

Reframing the policy discourse: A comparative analysis of teacher preparation for rural and remote education in Australia, South Africa and Mexico - Ledger, Susan; Masinire, Alfred; Díaz, Miguel Angel; Burgess, Madeline (education policy analysis archives, 2021)
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has highlighted a ‘vicious cycle of decline’ in rural, regional and remote (RRR) regions, with significant inequalities in educational outcomes between rural and urban areas. However, interventions have not resulted in transformative or lasting improvements to education in rural contexts. This paper presents a cross-comparative country analysis of current global policy on RRR education. We used a policy analysis framework to interrogate national policy texts concerning teacher education for RRR contexts in three countries - Australia, South Africa and Mexico. A rigorous selection process of the literature yielded 17 key policy texts, which were examined for the influences, practices, language and outcomes relating to teacher education preparation for RRR locales. Findings highlighted a legacy of historical influences and a metrocentric bias in policy texts, with limited examples of assets-based education. We argue that these factors may be perpetuating the significant and persistent disadvantage in RRR education. We recommend an alternative policy discourse that recognises the productivities and potentialities of an assets-based approach within the local context, where school leaders and teachers are positioned as central change agents in RRR education.

Eswatini Education Sector Analysis 2021 - World Bank (World Bank, 2021)
The current Education Sector Strategic Plan (ESSP) for 2010-2022 and the first and second National Education and Training Improvement Programs that operationalize the plan, were based on the comprehensive 2010 Education Sector Review (Marope, 2010, MoET, 2010, 2016, 2018b). As the current plan and program come to their end, this education sector analysis (ESA) was undertaken. In addition, complementary studies for the ECDE and TVET sub-sectors will be conducted separately to collect primary data to further help inform the development of the next ESSP. The ESA report examines the recent status of the education system to provide an evidence-based foundation for the Government’s preparation of its next ESSP and help guide the country more generally on the priority issues for the education sector looking forward. This executive summary begins with a brief description of the general context for education followed by an overview of recent achievements in education. The main part of the summary sets out the priority issues identified by the ESA report. The final section concludes with a discussion of selected policy options that may be considered looking ahead.
Keywords: Early Childhood Development; Early Childhood Education; Education Finance; Education Management; Education System; Labor Market; Primary Education; School Administration; Secondary Education; Skills Development; Student Achievement; Student Learning Assessment; Teacher Development; Teacher Recruitment; Teacher Training

Malawi World Bank Approves $100 Million to Improve Skills Development Programs Press Release - World Bank (2021)
The World Bank today approved $100 million in financing from the International Development Association (IDA)* for Malawi to support increased access, particularly for female students, to skills development programs in priority areas of the economy that are most relevant to the labor market— now and in the future.
Keywords: auto_merged

Malawi World Bank Approves $100 Million to Improve Skills Development Programs Press Release - World Bank (2021)
The World Bank today approved $100 million in financing from the International Development Association (IDA)* for Malawi to support increased access, particularly for female students, to skills development programs in priority areas of the economy that are most relevant to the labor market— now and in the future.
Keywords: auto_merged

Transforming how teachers use technology - Wilichowski, Tracy; Cobo, Cristóbal (World Bank Blogs, 2021)
Before the pandemic, there was a widely held notion that technology will revolutionize the field of education.

Bridging the gender digital divide - UNICEF (UNICEF, 2021)
The gender technology gap is standing in the way of equality. Learn how we're bridging the gender digital divide so girls can access technology.

Implementing Parental Empowerment and Engagement Strategies in Times of Crisis: Experiences from Regional Educational Learning Initiative members in Kenya - Angoye, James (Regional Education Learning Initiative Africa, 2021)

Emergency remote education experiences of teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic: a phenomenological research - Eroglu, Mehmet; Senol, Cem (Shanlax International Journal of Education, 2021)
The purpose of the study is to examine teachers' experiences of Emergency Remote Education (ERE) during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study was designed in the qualitative approach and as the research method, "phenomenology" was used. The sample of the study consists of 12 teachers selected by the criterion sampling method. The interview technique was used to collect data. The data were collected through a semi-structured interview form developed by the researchers. The data were analyzed using descriptive analysis. The study results showed that the ERE activity that teachers experienced the most was the online lessons. Teachers have done the ERE activities through various applications such as EIN (Education Information Network), Zoom, WhatsApp, YouTube. Teachers emphasized that ERE was ineffective due to low student participation, insufficient infrastructure, lack of responsibility and motivation for learning, low ICT competency of students and teachers, low socioeconomic status, and inappropriateness of planning and curriculums. In addition, teachers stated that education in the COVID-19 pandemic process should be done in diluted classrooms, hybrid or face to face. It is concluded that the lack of infrastructure, lack of responsibility and motivation for learning created inequality of opportunity for participation in ERE. The lack of infrastructure was mostly due to students being in the low socioeconomic group. In addition, students' learning responsibility and motivation are very important in the effectiveness of ERE.
Keywords: Barriers; COVID-19; Distance Education; Electronic Learning; Elementary Secondary Education; Emergency Programs; Foreign Countries; Instructional Effectiveness; Integrated Learning Systems; Internet; Learning Motivation; Pandemics; Phenomenology; Socioeconomic Status; Student Participation; Student Responsibility; Teacher Attitudes; Turkey

Emergency remote teaching and students’ academic performance in higher education during the COVID-19 pandemic: A case study - Iglesias-Pradas, Santiago; Hernández-García, Ángel; Chaparro-Peláez, Julián; Prieto, José Luis (Computers in Human Behavior, 2021)
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a massive disruption in the way traditional higher education institutions deliver their courses. Unlike transitions from face-to-face teaching to blended, online or flipped classroom in the past, changes in emergency remote teaching –a temporary shift of instructional delivery to an alternate remote delivery mode due to crisis circumstances– happen suddenly and in an unplanned way. This study analyzes the move to emergency remote teaching at the School of Telecommunication Engineering (Universidad Politécnica de Madrid), and the impact of organizational aspects related to unplanned change, instruction-related variables –class size, synchronous/asynchronous delivery– and use of digital supporting technologies, on students' academic performance. Using quantitative data of academic records across all (N = 43) courses of a bachelor's degree programme in Telecommunication Engineering and qualitative data from a questionnaire delivered to all (N = 43) course coordinators, the research also compares the academic results of students during the COVID-19 pandemic with those of previous years. The results of this case study show an increase in students' academic performance in emergency remote teaching, and support the idea that organizational factors may contribute to successful implementation of emergency remote teaching; the analysis does not find differences across courses with different class sizes or delivery modes. The study further explores possible explanations for the results of the analysis, considering organizational, individual and instruction-related aspects.

Exploring the fundamental factors of digital inequality in Bangladesh - Islam, Muhammad Nazrul; Inan, Toki Tahmid (SAGE Open, 2021)

« TICE en Guinée : usages pour de meilleures pratiques en enseignement-apprentissage et en formation » - Le Centre International de Recherche et de Documentation (CIRD); L’Institut Supérieur de Formation à Distance (ISFAD) (2021)

An Investigation into Pre-Service Teachers' Self-Regulated Online Learning Perceptions - Özdemir, Atilla; Önal, Ahmet (International Journal of Contemporary Educational Research, 2021)
The sudden outbreak of COVID-19 pandemics has accelerated the process of technological transformation experienced by educational institutions. Traditional face-to-face education has been replaced by distance education as a precaution to minimize physical contact among the teachers and the students. As a result, self-regulatory skills have become a more significant factor for academic success in distance education. In line with this, the main aim of the study is to identify the level of self-regulated online learning perceptions of pre-service teachers in Turkish higher education context. Furthermore, the study also aims to reveal whether the pre-service teachers' self-regulated online learning perceptions differ according to several variables such as their gender, department, class, level of digital literacy and the time they daily spend online. A total of 353 pre-service teachers from various departments have participated in the study. The findings of the study indicate that pre-service teachers' perceptions of self-regulated online learning are at moderate level; thus, it can be argued that the level of their perceptions is far from satisfactory. Additionally, it has been observed that the pre-service teachers' self-regulated online learning perceptions differ according to their gender, level of digital literacy and time daily spent online. To be more precise, it has been noted that self-regulated online learning perceptions of female pre-service teachers are higher than those of male pre-service teachers. In a similar vein, it has been observed that the higher the level of digital literacy and the more time spent online, the higher the self-regulated online learning perceptions of pre-service teachers. The overall results of the study suggest that self-regulation skills of the pre-service teachers need to be emphasized and improved with the aim of contributing to the efficient implementation of distance education.
Keywords: COVID-19; Correlation; Distance Education; Electronic Learning; Foreign Countries; Gender Differences; Pandemics; Preservice Teachers; Self Management; Student Attitudes; Technological Literacy; Time Management; Undergraduate Students; ⛔ No DOI found

Distance learning: Reach & Effectiveness in South Asia - Panth, Brajesh; van Cappelle, Frank; Li, Zhigang; van Kalmthout, Ellen; Gochyyev, Perman; Hayashi, Ryotaro (2021)

Sierra Leone Public Expenditure Review 2021: Fiscal Policy for a Sustainable Recovery - World Bank (World Bank, 2021)
This Fiscal and Debt Sustainability Note, the first module of a programmatic multisectoral Public Expenditure Review (PER), reviews the recent macro-fiscal challenges, analyzes their causes and consequences and provide policy options for enhancing the conduct of fiscal and PFM policies in the country. The first part of this module draws on the Boost database to provide a comprehensive overview of the budget covering both revenues and expenditures. It analyzes the composition of the budget (based on economic and functional classifications) and discusses the most critical PFM issues the country faces. It also assesses budget execution and the efficiency of public expenditure. The second part of the module focuses on fiscal risks and their implications for medium-term fiscal and debt sustainability. It examines the recent evolution of public debt, its main drivers and relationship to economic growth. It describes recent reforms to address fiscal and debt vulnerabilities and how these reforms have been affected by the global pandemic. It also analyzes the main fiscal risks with a focus on those stemming from State-Own Enterprises (SOEs), local councils, litigations, natural disasters, and health crises. This part uses simulations to analyze the most likely evolution of the public debt path over the next 20 years under alternative risk scenarios. Finally, the module proposes practical and actionable policy options to help improve the macro-fiscal environment over the short term and preserve debt sustainability over the medium term.
Keywords: Debt Sustainability; Fiscal Policy; Fiscal Sustainability; Public Debt; Public Expenditure; Public Financial Management; Public Investment Management; State-Owned Enterprises

Shupavu291 Helping Candidates Fulfill Academic Ambitions - Baraka, Peter (Eneza Education, 2021)

Re-imagining the future education management information systems, beyond head counts: leveraging data systems to support inclusive and effective learning for all - UNESCO (2021)

Analysis of Rural-Based Pre-Service Teachers Spatial-Visualisation Skills in Problem Solving in Vector Calculus Using MATLAB - Amevor, Godfred; Bayaga, Anass; Bosse, Michael (International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning (iJET), 2021)
In science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) for instance, interdisciplinary studies have noted positive correlation between spatial-visualization (SV skills) and mathematical problem solving. The majority of these studies sharing a link between SV skills and problem solving were contextualized in urban settings and only a few in rural settings. This investigation analyses how rural-based pre-service teachers apply their SV skills in problem-solving in a South African university, in the context of vector calculus. One hundred rural-based pre-service teachers in a second year vector calculus class at University of Zululand (UNIZULU) were randomly selected into control and experimental groups. MATLAB was used as a dynamic visual tool to analyse how research participants applied their SV skills. A mixed method approach was employed in data collection (quantitative and qualitative). Our findings revealed that the rural-based pre-service teachers’ SV skills correlate with their problem-solving skills in vector calculus.

What Did Children Do During School Closures? Insights from a Parent Survey in Tanzania - Oza, Shardul; Cilliers, Jacobus (Research on Improving Systems of Education (RISE), 2021)
In this Insight Note, we report results of a phone survey that the RISE Tanzania Research team conducted with 2,240 parents (or alternate primary care-givers) of primary school children following the school closures in Tanzania. After the first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Tanzania on 16 March 2020, the government ordered all primary schools closed the following day. Schools remained closed until 29 June 2020. Policymakers and other education stakeholders were concerned that the closures would lead to significant learning loss if children did not receive educational support or engagement at home. To help stem learning loss, the government promoted radio, TV, and internet-based learning content to parents of school-age children. The primary aims of the survey were to understand how children and families responded to the school closures, the education related activities they engaged in, and their strategies to send children back to school. The survey also measures households’ engagement with remote learning content over the period of school closures. We supplement the findings of the parent survey with insights from interviews with Ward Education Officers about their activities during the school closures. The survey sample is comprised of primary care-givers (in most cases, parents) of students enrolled in Grades 3 and 4 during the 2020 school year. The survey builds on an existing panel of students assessed in 2019 and 2020 in a nationally representative sample of schools.4 The parent surveys were conducted using Computer Assisted Telephonic Interviewing (CATI) over a two-week period in early September 2020, roughly two months after the re-opening of primary schools. We report the following key findings from this survey: *Almost all (more than 99 percent) of children in our sample were back in school two months after schools re-opened. The vast majority of parents believed it was either safe or extremely safe for their children to return to school. *Only 6 percent of households reported that their children listened to radio lessons during the school closures; and a similar fraction (5.5 percent) tuned into TV lessons over the same period. Less than 1 percent of those surveyed accessed educational programmes on the internet. Households with access to radio or TV reported higher usage. *Approximately 1 in 3 (36 percent) children worked on the family farm during the closures, with most children working either 2 or 3 days a week. Male children were 6.2 percentage points likelier to work on the family farm than female children. *Households have limited access to education materials for their child. While more than 9 out of 10 households have an exercise book, far fewer had access to textbooks (35 percent) or own reading books (31 percent). *One in four parents (24 percent) read a book to their child in the last week.

Locked out of school: Pakistan’s digital divide has students struggling - Irfan, Anmol (The Guardian, 2021)
Online lessons can’t reach children in many areas of Covid-hit country even though their parents still have to pay fees

School Hits the Airwaves: Sierra Leone Turns to Education Radio as a Response to COVID-19 - World Bank (World Bank, 2021)
Sierra Leone's experience with education radio during the 2014 Ebola outbreak has helped strengthen its radio programming during school closures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

School Hits the Airwaves: Sierra Leone Turns to Education Radio as a Response to COVID-19 - World Bank (The World Bank, 2021)
Sierra Leone's experience with education radio during the 2014 Ebola outbreak has helped strengthen its radio programming during school closures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

New data on learning loss in Pakistan - Crawfurd, Lee; Hares, Susannah; Minardi, Ana Luiza (Center for Global Development, 2021)
To get a better picture of the effects of the pandemic on education in Pakistan, we carried out another round of our survey of students and parents. We found gender differences in learning loss, little engagement with government teleschool, dropping parental support for further closures, and more.

STEM: breaking gender stereotypes - UNGEI (UNGEI, 2021)
In some Western cultures, pink is for girls, blue is for boys. Why? It just is. You might hear mothers remark with wonder that their little girls just love the pink dress (that was given to them). You may have heard fathers insist that their sons not wear pink clothing. It’s interesting to think that at the end of the nineteenth century in the USA, pink was actually the colour preferred for boys, it being a softer version of military red. Things change. The accepted wisdom that stereotypes originally come from a place of truth is erroneous. No credible research has indicated that girls gravitate to pink things without any cultural prompting. Our gendered behaviour is primarily socially conditioned. Research suggests that the idea of a female brain and a male brain is false [1]. Rather, the plasticity of the brain means that it can be moulded – from birth onwards – through learning, engaging in the world and being socially conditioned. This includes learning and absorbing gender stereotyping. Gendered colours are harmless though, right? No, not really. Any gender stereotype will reinforce a gender bias. In 2019, a Fawcett Society study found that 45 per cent of people said that when they were children, they experienced gender stereotyping as they were expected to behave in a certain way [2]. Seven in 10 younger women (18-34s) affected by stereotypes say their career choices were restricted [3].  Around 70 per cent of individuals in 34 countries associated science with males more than with females [4]. © UNICEF/UN0364176/XimendazCaregivers and teachers often reproduce the stereotype that boys are better in science and mathematics than girls, encouraging girls to aspire to ‘female-oriented’ careers instead of ‘male’ STEM related ones [5,6]. To compound this negative reinforcement, curriculum and learning materials reinforce gender stereotypes and unequal gender norms in STEM. In India, illustrations in math and science textbooks in primary school show 6 per cent girls, but more than 50 per cent boys [7]. The stereotyping sanctioned by parents, teachers and the curriculum itself negatively impacts a girl’s self-belief – and her future aspirations [8]. When three women won the Nobel Prize for science in 2020, it was newsworthy partly because not many women have won the prize over the years. But is it also newsworthy because, even today, many would not expect women to be such high achievers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Engineering is for boys. Mechanical toys are for boys. Science experiments are for boys. These are the stereotypes we learn. Where does this thinking come from? There’s obviously a lot to unpack here: traditional roles in society born out of a female’s capability to bear children, or stronger upper body strength, on average, amongst males, for example. But they don’t speak to our cognitive and intellectual potential. And I’m sure there would be many who would dispute every particular of the above. Questioning norms that are the foundation of our interaction with the world is difficult for all of us to do. © UNICEF/UN0145559/SchermbruckerAcknowledging that stereotypes exist is straightforward. Deciding that they shouldn’t constrain our behaviour and life path is a little harder. But confronting and actively challenging these stereotypes – indeed, breaking them! – is an altogether more difficult process. How do we do it? How do we take organic and grassroots solutions toward a tipping point of change? This International Girls in ICT Day (22nd April), UNGEI hosted an Instagram Live event to explore these important questions. Transform Education members Maryam and Nivaal and NASA engineer Farah Alibay talked about working with NASA on the Mars 2020 mission, how to drive progress for gender equality in STEM and why representation matters.  Shifting power in STEM starts with listening to the experts and girls themselves, such as the inspiring changemakers on UNICEF’s Teen. Girl. Activist site. Debunking stereotypes is in their very capable hands… The first thing we need to do is recognize that there is a societal bias... let’s recognize that we are treating girls differently and that they are not being given the same opportunities. Now that we’ve started to recognize that problem, I think...normalizing STEM for girls, providing resources, and providing a safe space for girls is really important. Farah Alibay, Systems Engineer, NASA (UNGEI International Girls in ICT IG Live Event) Some choose to tackle stereotypes head-on, like the ‘Talent Viewer’ in the Netherlands, to break the stereotype that girls can’t successfully engage in STEM. Girls and boys in primary school (aged 9 to 12) assign talents to each other, discuss them, then investigate what STEM professions used these talents. This looks at certain talents being appropriate for STEM, not gender. A woman working in a STEM field talks to the classes about her job, effectively role modelling for girls. Critically, parents are encouraged to discuss the talents with their child and teachers participate in professional development on gender awareness, STEM education and talent development. The evaluation of the programme has indicated a positive change in attitude in both girls and boys towards girls’ participation in STEM. Around 46,000 children have engaged in this exciting work to date. © UNICEF/UNI363793/AryanAnother approach is simply to place girls in STEM-related industries, to show that it’s a natural place for both men and women, like the ‘Technogirls’ programme. This is a public-private partnership in South Africa that seeks to enhance the career uptake by disadvantaged girls in STEM fields (which is critical to the country’s economic growth). It identifies school-going young women from disadvantaged communities and places them in corporate mentorship and job-shadowing programmes. So far, 11,241 girls have engaged in structured job-shadowing programmes – and 78 per cent of them who have gone on to study in one of three scarce skills STEM fields in the country. These women become role models for the next generation and many of them are now mentors to new intakes of girls. The best investment is...girls' quality STEM education. And if we can give support to girls for quality STEM education, they will pay back successfully in the future to make a better world. Nasrin Siddiqa, Brookings Echidna Global Scholar (UNGEI@20 Forum) Other education systems have worked on how they teach STEM to ensure that girls aren’t overlooked or left behind. UNICEF in Ghana has worked with the Korea International Cooperation Agency and the Ghana Education Service on the ‘Better Life for Girls’ project. Focused on dismantling gender norms, the project included gender-responsive pedagogy (teaching and learning processes that pay attention to the specific learning needs of girls and boys) in mathematics and science, and providing life skills and leadership training for adolescent girls – helping more than 4,000 girls to stay in school and explore their potential. Training teachers on gender-responsive pedagogy helped to change girls’ perceptions of their own abilities – and this has a knock-on effect in the learning they pursue. If girls had believed the stereotype about not being good at mathematics, what other stereotypes can they challenge? And that is surely a question for all of us. During UNGEI’s 20th Anniversary Forum (UNGEI@20), activists, experts and leaders came together to explore what it will take to close the STEM gender gap in education and thus help girls fulfil their leadership potential. The event concluded that we need a gender-transformative approach to education, increasing opportunities for girls to develop digital skills and building their confidence and aspirations to pursue careers as STEM professionals. Technology is such a useful tool because it doesn't just provide mentors. It provides resources. It provides community. When you take away that access to tech, you take away that access to education as well, that basic human right. Audrey Pe, WiTech Founder (UNGEI@20 Forum) In the pursuit of equity in digital literacy and STEM skills, especially as we look toward a world of work where 9 in 10 jobs will require digital skills, UNICEF is proud to mobilize commitments alongside other public and private partners as an Action Coalition for Technology and Innovation as part of the Generation Equality Forum. These commitments include advancing girl-designed solutions to learning fit for a digital world, and advancing an outcome fund for digital literacy equity that brings together the best of public and private human and financial resources. © UNICEF/UNI363793/AryanIn the context of the Covid-19 crisis, which exposed structural inequalities in education and access to technology, these types of interventions are more important than ever. If we are to deliver on our global commitments to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 4 and 5, we need to understand just how much harm stereotypes of any kind can be, particularly to young, vulnerable, curious children. If we are serious about helping children to achieve their potential – for their own development and so they can contribute to their communities and the world – then we need to minimize the forces that limit that potential. This includes gender stereotyping. We need to start celebrating children for who they are, not who we think they should be, based on a pointless stereotype. Let’s help them to access their rights to be themselves. Let’s help them to wear whatever colour they like.

Making the Grade: The Sensitivity of Education Program Effectiveness to Input Choices and Outcome Measures - Kerwin, Jason T.; Thornton, Rebecca L. (The Review of Economics and Statistics, 2021)
This paper demonstrates the acute sensitivity of education program effectiveness to the choices of inputs and outcome measures, using a randomized evaluation of a mother-tongue literacy program. The program raises reading scores by 0.64 SD and writing scores by 0.45 SD. A reduced-cost version instead yields statistically insignificant reading gains and some large negative effects (−0.33 SDs) on advanced writing. We combine a conceptual model of education production with detailed classroom observations to examine the mechanisms driving the results; we show they could be driven by the program initially lowering productivity before raising it, and potentially by missing complementary inputs in the reduced-cost version.

Making the Grade: The Sensitivity of Education Program Effectiveness to Input Choices and Outcome Measures - Kerwin, Jason T.; Thornton, Rebecca L. (The Review of Economics and Statistics, 2021)
This paper demonstrates the acute sensitivity of education program effectiveness to the choices of inputs and outcome measures, using a randomized evaluation of a mother-tongue literacy program. The program raises reading scores by 0.64 SD and writing scores by 0.45 SD. A reduced-cost version instead yields statistically insignificant reading gains and some large negative effects (−0.33 SDs) on advanced writing. We combine a conceptual model of education production with detailed classroom observations to examine the mechanisms driving the results; we show they could be driven by the program initially lowering productivity before raising it, and potentially by missing complementary inputs in the reduced-cost version.

Making the grade: The sensitivity of education program effectiveness to input choices and outcome measures - Kerwin, Jason T.; Thornton, Rebecca L. (The Review of Economics and Statistics, 2021)
This paper demonstrates the acute sensitivity of education program effectiveness to the choices of inputs and outcome measures, using a randomized evaluation of a mother-tongue literacy program. The program raises reading scores by 0.64 SD and writing scores by 0.45 SD. A reduced-cost version instead yields statistically insignificant reading gains and some large negative effects (−0.33 SDs) on advanced writing. We combine a conceptual model of education production with detailed classroom observations to examine the mechanisms driving the results; we show they could be driven by the program initially lowering productivity before raising it, and potentially by missing complementary inputs in the reduced-cost version.

2019 Survey on Socio-Economic Status of 53 Ethnic Minorities - General Statistics Office (Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, 2021)

Influence of COVID-19 on Students’ Sign Language Learning in a Teacher-Preparation Program in Saudi Arabia: Moving to E-Learning - Alawajee, Omar (Contemporary Educational Technology, 2021)

How can real-time performance data lead to better education outcomes? - Sharma, Aarushi; Gustafsson-Wright, Emily; Osbourne, Sarah (Brookings, 2021)

Are the eﬀects of informational interventions driven by salience? - Bettinger, Eric; Cunha, Nina; Lichand, Guilherme; Madeira, Ricardo (Working Paper Series, 2021)
Informational interventions have been shown to signiﬁcantly change behavior across a variety of settings. Is that because they lead subjects to merely update beliefs in the right direction? Or, alternatively, is it to a large extent because they increase the salience of the decision they target, aﬀecting behavior even in the absence of inputs for belief updating? We study this question in the context of an informational intervention with school parents in Brazil. We randomly assign parents to either an information group, who receives text messages with weekly data on their child’s attendance and school eﬀort, or a salience group, who receives messages that try to redirect their attention without child-speciﬁc information. We ﬁnd that information makes parents more accurate about student attendance, and has large impacts on their test scores and grade promotion relative to the control group. Even though salience messages, in contrast, do not make parents more accurate about attendance levels, learning outcomes in the salience group improve by at least as much. Why? We show that treated parents across both conditions become more accurate about changes in their children’s grades over time, although not about grade levels. Such coarse belief updating is consistent with independent information acquisition in response to salience eﬀects from both interventions. Our results have implications for the design and interpretation of informational interventions across a range of domains.
Keywords: ❓ Multiple DOI

Equitable learning with ICT: study of an intervention at scale for underserved students in India - Chandran, M.G.; Sarangapani, P. (Comparative and International Education Society 65th Annual Meeting, 2021)

Zotero Workbook (v4) - Haßler, Björn; McBurnie, Chris; Murphy, Mary; Nourie, Kristi (2021)