UNICEF Education COVID-19 Case Study - UNICEF Malaysia (2020)

Nigeria | Education - UNICEF Nigeria (2020)
See how UNICEF in Nigeria supports children so they can attend school and learn.

Leveraging Education Technology to Reach Disadvantaged Children and Youth - UNICEF (ROSA) (2020)

Monitoring Distance Learning During School Closures - UNICEF ROSA (2020)

ICT for Learning Process and Tools – Volume II | UNICEF Eastern and Southern Africa - UNICEF; Aga Khan Foundation and Innovation Unit (2020)

How many children and young people have internet access at home - UNICEF; ITU (2020)

Towards an equal future: Reimagining girls’ education through STEM - UNICEF; ITU (2020)
Marking the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action

Policy Brief: Education during COVID-19 and beyond - United Nations (2020)

UN Flagship Report Disability. - United Nations (2020)

UN radio spreads Covid-19 information to remote areas - United Nations (United Nations, 2020)
In the Central African Republic, radio broadcasts are a useful means to share public information, especially to the most remote populations. UN Volunteers assigned with the MINUSCA’s radio are on the frontline to raise awareness aboutt the COVID-19 pandemic. These dedicated UN Volunteers share current up-dates on COVID-19 via radio programmes, while advocating for prevention and protection measures.

Human Development Reports - United Nations Development Programme (2020)

Goal 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all - United Nations Statistics Division (2020)

Schools ICT project - Universal Access Development Fund (Sierra Leone) (2020)

Universal Access Development Fund | Home - Universal Access Development Fund (Sierra Leone) (2020)

Summative Evaluation of GPE’s Country-Level Support to Education: Bangladesh - Universalia (2020)

Policy Brief: Education during COVID-19 and beyond - UNSDG (2020)
The COVID-19 pandemic has created the largest disruption of education systems in history, affecting nearly 1.6 billion l

Private education and compliance with the Abidjan Principles: A study of Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Nigeria - Unterhalter, Elaine; Robinson, Lynsey; Luis, Jose; Canelhas, Benito; Coysh, Joanne (ActionAid, 2020)

Education for the most marginalised post-COVID-19: Guidance for governments on the use of digital technologies in education - Unwin, Tim; Naseem, Azra; Pawluczuk, Alicja; Shareef, Mohamed; Spiesberger, Paul; West, Paul; Yoo, Christopher (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, 2020)
Keywords: ___working_potential_duplicate; ⛔ No DOI found

Education for the most marginalised post-COVID-19: Guidance for governments on the use of digital technologies in education ACT TWO (OF THREE): FULL REPORT - Unwin, Tim; Naseem, Azra; Pawluczuk, Alicja; Shareef, Mohamed; Spiesberger, Paul; West, Paul; Yoo, Christopher (EdTech Hub, UNESCO, UniTwin, 2020)

Report homepage https://edtechhub.org/education-for-the-most-marginalised-post-covid-19/ - Unwin, Tim; Naseem, Azra; Pawluczuk, Alicja; Shareef, Mohamed; Spiesberger, Paul; West, Paul; Yoo, Christopher (2020)
Keywords: ⛔ No DOI found

2019 Civil Society Organization Sustainability Index - for Asia 6th Edition – December 2020 - USAID (United States Agency for International Development Bureau for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance Center of Excellence on Democracy, Human Rights and Governance, 2020)

Delivering Distance Learning in Emergencies: a review of evidence and best practice - USAID (USAID, 2020)

ICT4E How-To Note Final_Feb20.pdf - USAID (2020)

Language of Instruction Country Profile: South Africa - USAID (2020)
Keywords: ⛔ No DOI found

USAID digital strategy - USAID (USAID, 2020)

USAID Digital Strategy - USAID (2020)

USAID Partnership for Education - USAID (Global Reading Network, 2020)
The USAID Ghana Partnership for Education: Learning activity developed a phonics-based reading program that will provide evidence-based tools and strategies for improving reading performance in 100 districts in Ghana, reaching approximately 1.1 million primary students. This brochure provides an overview of Learning’s approach, which includes teacher professional development models, methods for scaling up, a model for primary mathematics, a rigorous monitoring and support system and a learning-by-doing approach to capacity development. The brochure also highlights strong results from a prototype of the program conducted in the Dagbani language.

Are Our Children Learning? The Status of Remote-learning among School-going Children in Kenya during the Covid-19 Crisis - Usawa Agenda (Usawa Agenda, 2020)

Ustad Mobile – Access and share education content offline - Ustad (Ustad Mobile, 2020)

Covid-19 disrupts education in rural Bangladesh - Uttom, Stephan; Rozario, Rock (UCA News, 2020)
Pupils and teachers lament lack of access to online classes due to poverty

Are Our Children Learning? The Status of Remote-learning among School-going Children in Kenya during the Covid-19 Crisis - Uwezo (Usawa Agenda, 2020)

Efficiency and effectiveness in choosing and using an EMIS - van Wyk, Chris; Crouch, Luis (UNESCO, 2020)

Efficiency and effectiveness in choosing and using an EMIS - van Wyk, Chris; Crouch, Luis (UNESCO, 2020)

Building back better: Education systems for resilience, equity and quality in the age of Covid-19 - Vu, B.T.; Savonitto, I.S. (World Bank, 2020)

Save Our Education: Protect every child’s right to learn in the COVID-19 response and recovery - Wagner, Emma; Warren, Hollie (Save The Children, 2020)
Keywords: ___working_potential_duplicate

Cost Analysis Guidance for USAID-Funded Education Activities - Walls, Elena; Tulloch, Caitlin; Harris-Van Keuren, Christine (United States Agency for International Development, 2020)

Misallocation in the Public Sector? Cross-Country Evidence from Two Million Primary Schools, - Walter, Torsten Figueiredo (STICERD - Economic Organisation and Public Policy Discussion Papers Series, 2020)

Can't Wait To Learn - War Child Holland (Warchild English, 2020)
War Child empowers children and young people in conflict areas by providing psychosocial support, stimulating education and protecting children from the effects of war.

Save Our Education: Protect every child’s right to learn in the COVID-19 response and recovery - Warren, Hollie; Wagner, Emma (Save the Children, 2020)
Keywords: ___working_potential_duplicate

RECOVR Sierra Leone: Tracking the Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic - Warren, Shana; Parkerson, Doug; Collins, Elliott (Innovations for Poverty Action, 2020)

Using Technology to Change Education: Blended Learning in the Science Classroom - Washington, LaToya (2020)
Keywords: ⛔ No DOI found

The relationship between educational television and mathematics capability in Tanzania - Watson, Joseph; Hennessy, Sara; Vignoles, Anna (British Journal of Educational Technology, 2020)
Previous studies have frequently demonstrated that educational television viewing can have a positive effect on learning in low-income country contexts when shows are delivered in controlled settings. However, the consequence of day-to-day viewing in such contexts has scarcely been considered. Additionally, no recent published research has provided any information on the costs of educational television. The lack of research in these areas is striking. Examining educational television viewing in monitored settings provides limited information on the influence of routine television consumption. Further, the broad reach of numerous educational television programmes should provide low perviewer costs and, resultantly, strong cost-effectiveness findings. This PhD study therefore examined (1) the association between educational television exposure and mathematics capability and (2) the cost effectiveness of educational television interventions. To achieve this, research was carried out that centred on Ubongo Kids – a popular Tanzanian-produced show delivering mathematics-focused content.
Keywords: Tanzania; ___working_potential_duplicate; cost effectiveness; educational television; mathematics; ⛔ No DOI found

Back to school with telepresence robot technology: A qualitative pilot study about how telepresence robots help school-aged children and adolescents with cancer to remain socially and academically connected with their school classes during treatment - Weibel, Mette; Nielsen, Martin Kaj Fridh; Topperzer, Martha Krogh; Hammer, Nanna Maria; Møller, Sarah Wagn; Schmiegelow, Kjeld; Bækgaard Larsen, Hanne (Nursing Open, 2020)
Aim: To explore how an AV1 telepresence robot helps school-aged children and adolescents with cancer to remain socially and academically connected with their school classes during cancer treatment. Design: Qualitative pilot study. Methods: Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with school-aged children and adolescents (N = 3, 12–14 years) diagnosed with cancer, their parents (N = 3), teachers (N = 2), classmates (12–14 years, N = 15, focus group interviews) and healthcare professionals (N = 4). Participant observation was performed in the child or adolescents' homes and in the classrooms during education participation via an AV1 telepresence robot. Results: Five themes emerged: expectations, sociality, learning, spatiality and technology. Participants experienced the robots as facilitating social interaction processes with classmates and inclusion in learning activities, reducing their sense of loneliness and lacking behind educationally. Nevertheless, multiple factors determine whether the robot is perceived as exclusive, including the technical functionality of the robot, spatiality in the classroom and mutual expectations of the parties involved.
Keywords: cancer; childhood illness; education; school nursing; technology

COVID-19: the gendered impacts of the outbreak - Wenham, Clare; Smith, Julia; Morgan, Rosemary (The Lancet, 2020)
Keywords: ___working_potential_duplicate

WFP and Government of Bangladesh deliver high-energy biscuits to school children affected by COVID-19 school closures - WFP (ReliefWeb, 2020)
English News and Press Release on Bangladesh about Education, Food and Nutrition and Epidemic; published on 19 May 2020 by WFP

Mitigating the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on food and nutrition of schoolchildren - WFP; FAO; UNICEF (2020)

Considerations for school-related public health measures in the context of COVID-19 - WHO (2020)

From coping to improving and accelerating: Supporting teachers in the pandemic and beyond - Wilichowski, Tracy; Cobo, Cristobal (2020)
Countries now have an opportunity to build back better and must consider how best to help teachers not only cope through the crisis, but also become better equipped with the skills to succeed in the wake of it.

COVID-19 Crisis, Impacts on Catholic Schools, and Potential Responses| Part II: Developing Countries with Focus on Sub-Saharan Africa - Wodon, Quentin (Journal of Catholic Education, 2020)
Keywords: ⛔ No DOI found

Going Online for Sexual and Reproductive Health - Women Deliver; Girl Effect (2020)

How many women work in STEM? - Wood, Johnny (World Economic Forum, 2020)
Women in STEM are underrepresented, paid less than men, have fewer publishing opportunities and progress less in their careers.

What has the XPrize done for us lately? - Woollaston, Victoria (Engineering & Technology, 2020)
Twenty-three years. Seventy million dollars and counting. The XPrize began as a boy’s dream of journeying into space – now it is one of today’s most effective philanthropic endeavours and one with a bold mission: to make the seemingly impossible possible.

15 Ways to Support Young Children and their Families in the COVD-19 Response - World Bank (2020)

Access to electricity (% of population) - Kenya - World Bank (2020)

Bangladesh - COVID 19 School Sector Response Project (English) - World Bank (2020)

Children out of school, primary - Latin America & Caribbean | Data - World Bank (2020)

Cost-effective approaches to improve global learning: What does recent evidence tell us are “Smart Buys” for improving learning in Low and Middle Income Countries? - World Bank (2020)
Cost-Effective Approaches to Improve Global Learning : What Does Recent Evidence Tell Us Are “Smart Buys” for Improving Learning in Low and Middle Income Countries? (English)

Education Statistics | Education Expenditures - World Bank (2020)

Educational television during COVID-19: How to start and what to consider - World Bank (2020)
Five key insights on starting, using and sustaining education television for remote learning, corroborated by more than 40 current examples from countries.

Guidance Note: Remote Learning and CVID-19 - World Bank (2020)

How countries are using edtech (including online learning, radio, television, texting) to support access to remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic - World Bank (World Bank, 2020)
Examples of how countries are using edtech to support remote learning under COVID-19
Keywords: ___working_potential_duplicate

Human Capital Index - World Bank (2020)

Implementing a Results-Based Financing Mechanism for Subnational Governments to Improve Education Outcomes : An Implementation Guide Inspired by the Case of Ceara, Brazil - World Bank (2020)
Implementing a Results-Based Financing Mechanism for Subnational Governments to Improve Education Outcomes : An Implementation Guide Inspired by the Case of Ceara, Brazil (English)

Incidence of HIV, all (per 1,000 uninfected population) - Sierra Leone | Data - World Bank (2020)

Inclusive Education Initiative: Transforming Education for Children with Disabilities - World Bank (Google Docs, 2020)

Individuals using the Internet (% of population) - World Bank (2020)

Individuals using the Internet (% of population) | Data - World Bank (2020)

Individuals using the Internet (% of population) - South Asia | Data - World Bank (2020)

Individuals using the Internet (% of population) - Sub-Saharan Africa | Data - World Bank (2020)

Investing in the Early Years During COVID-19 - World Bank (World Bank, 2020)

Kenya: Off-grid Solar Access Project for Underserved Counties - World Bank (2020)
Kenya: Off-grid Solar Access Project for Underserved Counties

Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15+) - World Bank (2020)

LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN Inclusion and education: ALL MEANS ALL - World Bank (2020)

Literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above) - World Bank (2020)

Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) - South Asia | Data - World Bank (2020)

Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) - Sub-Saharan Africa | Data - World Bank (2020)

Mongolia - Improving Primary Education Outcomes for the Most Vulnerable Children in Rural Mongolia (English) - World Bank (World Bank, 2020)
Mongolia - Improving Primary Education Outcomes for the Most Vulnerable Children in Rural Mongolia (English)

Mongolia Poverty Update 2018 - World Bank (Main Report of "Household Socio-Economic Survey 2018", 2020)

Nigeria | Country Profile - World Bank (2020)
The World Bank is helping to fight poverty and improve living standards for the people of Nigeria with more than 130 IBRD loans and IDA credits since 1958.

Pakistan | Data - World Bank (World Bank Group, 2020)

Pivoting to Inclusion: Leveraging Lessons from the COVID-19 Crisis for Learners with Disabilities - World Bank (2020)

Rapid Response Guidance Note: Educational Television & COVID-19 - World Bank (2020)
Keywords: ___working_potential_duplicate

Realizing the Future of Learning : From Learning Poverty to Learning for Everyone, Everywhere - World Bank (World Bank, 2020)
Realizing the Future of Learning : From Learning Poverty to Learning for Everyone, Everywhere (English)

Remote Learning and COVID-19: The use of educational technologies at scale across an education system as a result of massive school closings in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to enable distance education and online learning - World Bank (2020)

Remote Learning Response to COVID-19 Knowledge Pack : With a Focus on Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Fragility, Conflict and Violence (FCV) - World Bank (World Bank Group, 2020)
Remote Learning Response to COVID-19 Knowledge Pack : With a Focus on Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Fragility, Conflict and Violence (FCV) (English)

Restructuring Paper on a Proposed Project: Restructuring of the Education Quality Reform Project - World Bank (The World Bank, 2020)

School enrollment, primary, female (% gross) - Liberia | Data - World Bank (2020)

Sudan | Data - World Bank (The World Bank, 2020)

TV-Based Learning in Bangladesh: Is it Reaching Students? - World Bank (World Bank Group, 2020)
Keywords: ___working_potential_duplicate

Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) - Tanzania | Data - World Bank Development Indicators (World Bank Development Indicators website, 2020)

Reimagining Human Connections: Technology and Innovation in Education at the World Bank - World Bank (forthcoming) (World Bank, 2020)

Cost-effective approaches to improve global learning: What does recent evidence tell us are “Smart Buys” for improving learning in Low and Middle Income Countries? - World Bank; Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office; BE2 (2020)
Cost-Effective Approaches to Improve Global Learning : What Does Recent Evidence Tell Us Are “Smart Buys” for Improving Learning in Low and Middle Income Countries? (English)

Nigeria | World Poverty Map - World Data Lab (2020)
Explore poverty data by age, gender, and region for every country in the world until 2030

WHO Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Dashboard - World Health Organization (2020)
World Health Organization Coronavirus disease situation dashboard presents official daily counts of COVID-19 cases and deaths worldwide, while providing a hub to other resources. Interactive tools, including maps, epidemic curves and other charts and graphics, with downloadable data, allow users to track and explore the latest trends, numbers and statistics at global, regional and country levels.

Pakistan Map (Physical) - Worldometer (2020)
Physical Map of Pakistan. Map location, cities, capital, total area, full size map.

Worldreader | Sierra Leone - Worldreader (2020)
Worldreader brings digital reading to schools in Sierra Leone in partnership with the Klintworth Family Foundation.

Unprecedented pandemic, unprecedented shift, and unprecedented opportunity - Yan, Zheng (Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies, 2020)

UN/DESA Policy Brief #89: Strengthening Data Governance for Effective Use of Open Data and Big Data Analytics for Combating COVID-19 - Yao, Keping; Park, Mi Kyoung (2020)

Promoting physical activity for children with autism spectrum disorders during Coronavirus outbreak: Benefits, strategies, and examples - Yarımkaya, Erkan; Esentürk, Oğuz Kaan (International Journal of Developmental Disabilities, 2020)
Described as a global outbreak (pandemic) by the World Health Organization, Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) raises great concern with more than 2 million infected patients worldwide. A series of measures are taken by governments worldwide to prevent the spread of the outbreak. As new cases increase, people are asked to stay at home. Active living areas such as sports centers, parks and schools are closed in most countries. In this process, staying at home for a long time makes it difficult for individuals with special needs such as Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) to stay physically active as well as typically developing individuals. The education process of children with ASD is disrupted, especially due to closed special education schools and rehabilitation centers. Online learning environments are often not suitable for children with ASD. It is predicted that excessive weight, obesity and sedentary life, which are high in children with ASD, may increase even more due to COVID-19. This article outlines the benefits of physical activity for children with ASD and provides strategies and examples of physical activity for children with ASD during the COVID-19 outbreak. The article is thought to be a guide for encouraging children with ASD in the home environment to physical activity.
Keywords: COVID-19; children with ASD; physical activity; stay at home

The social support networks stepping up in coronavirus-stricken China - You, Mi (openDemocracy, 2020)
Below the sweeping centralized measures, decentralized networks have provided relief to thousands.

Education continuity during the Coronavirus crisis: Pakistan - TeleSchool and Taleem Ghar (Educational TV at Home) - Zacharia, Sharon (World Bank, 2020)

Education Radio Knowledge Pack : With a Focus on Low-Resource Settings - Zacharia, Sharon (World Bank Group, 2020)

Education Radio Knowledge Pack : With a Focus on Low-Resource Settings - Zacharia, Sharon (World Bank Group, 2020)

Education Radio Knowledge Pack : With a Focus on Low-Resource Settings - Zacharia, Sharon (World Bank Group, 2020)

Television Education Knowledge Pack : With a Focus on Low-Resource Settings - Zacharia, Sharon; EdTech Team (World Bank Group, 2020)
Television Education Knowledge Pack : With a Focus on Low-Resource Settings (English)

The coronavirus effect on Pakistan’s digital divide - Zahra-Malik, Mehreen; BBC (BBC Worklife, 2020)
Coronavirus has rammed home the extent of Pakistan’s digital divide. Could it lead to a useful debate about the future of technology in education?
Keywords: ___working_potential_duplicate

Government launches school radio lessons programme - ZBC News (2020)

Understanding the implementation of personalized learning: a research synthesis - Zhang, Ling; Basham, James D.; Yang, Sohyun (Educational Research Review, 2020)
Personalized learning (PL) has been promoted as a major aim and reform eﬀort across the contemporary education system. In this article, we systematically identiﬁed and synthesized 71 empirical studies associated with the implementation of PL that were conducted between 2006 and 2019. This synthesis examined the current research eﬀorts on the PL implementation with a focus on the primary purposes, overall methodological characteristics, and associated student learning outcomes of the identiﬁed studies. Using the method of critical interpretive synthesis, we identiﬁed two overarching themes in relation to PL across various disciplines of study. The two themes included investigating (a) the role of varying technologies and (b) contextual factors that impacted the implementation of PL. However, few studies have examined the eﬀects of PL as a whole-school initiative on student educational outcomes. We ended by discussing the issues with the conceptualization and empirical evidence of PL and providing implications for the future advancement of the ﬁeld.

Accessibility within open educational resources and practices for disabled learners: a systematic literature review - Zhang, Xiangling; Tlili, Ahmed; Nascimbeni, Fabio; Burgos, Daniel; Huang, Ronghuai; Chang, Ting-Wen; Jemni, Mohamed; Khribi, Mohamed Koutheair (Smart Learning Environments, 2020)
The number of disabled students is rapidly increasing worldwide, but many schools and universities have failed to keep up with their learning needs. Consequently, large numbers of disabled students are dropping out of school or university. Open Educational Resources (OER) and Open Educational Practices (OEP) contain several relevant features, including the possibility of reusing and remixing, which have led researchers to consider using OER and OEP to facilitate meeting the needs of disabled and functional-diverse students in order to increase their accessibility and e-inclusion capabilities in educational settings. The very limited research to date, however, has provided a limited holistic understanding of accessibility within OER and OEP in order to aid researchers in pursuing future directions in this field. Therefore, this paper systematically reviewed 31 papers to provide insights about functional diversity within OER and OEP. The results obtained highlighted that accessibility is still in its infancy within OER and that researchers should focus more on considering the four accessibility principles — perceivable, operable, understandable and robust — when providing OER. Additionally, while several researchers have focused on several issues related to accessibility within OER, limited focus has been given to assistive technologies using OER. Finally, this paper provides several recommendations to increase accessibility within OER and help design more accessible OER for students with functional diversity.

Reading and connecting: using social annotation in online classes - Zhu, Xinran; Chen, Bodong; Avadhanam, Rukmini Manasa; Shui, Hong; Zhang, Raymond Zhuo (Information and Learning Science, 2020)
Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many instructors to rapidly shift to online/distance teaching. With a narrow preparation window, many instructors are at a loss of strategies that are both effective in responding to the crisis and compatible with their professional practices. One urgent need in classrooms at all levels is to support social reading of course materials. To fulfill this need, this paper aims to present a systematic literature review on using Web annotation in K-12 and higher education to provide practical and evidence-based recommendations for educators to incorporate social annotation in online teaching. Design/methodology/approach: This paper presents a systematic literature review of the use of Web annotation in formal education. The authors reviewed 39 articles that met the inclusion criteria and extracted the following information from each article: level of education, subject area, learning theory, learning activity design, Web annotation technology, research methods and learning outcomes. Studies were further analyzed and synthesized by the genre of learning activity design. Findings: The authors identified five types of social annotation activity design: processing domain-specific knowledge, supporting argumentation and inquiry, improving literacy skills, supporting instructor and peer assessment and connecting online learning spaces. In addition, the authors developed practical recommendations on setting pedagogical goals, selecting annotation tools, deciding instructor involvement and developing evaluation strategies. Originality/value: This study provides a timely response to online/distance teaching under the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a hope that these identified application areas, in combination with four practical recommendations, would provide pragmatic and evidence-based support for educators to engage learners in reading, learning and connecting.
Keywords: Collaborative learning; Collaborative reading; Online learning; Social annotation; Social reading; Web annotation

Zimbabwe COVID-19 Preparedness and Response Strategy - Zimbabwe Education Cluster (2020)

ZIMSEC | Home - Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (2020)

Creating asynchronous virtual field experiences with 360 video - Zolfaghari, Maryam; Austin, Christine K; Kosko, Karl W; Ferdig, Richard E (Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 2020)
The global COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted normal face- to-face classes across institutions. This has significantly im- pacted methods courses where preservice teachers (PSTs) practice pedagogy in the field (e.g., in the PreK-12 class- room). In this paper, we describe efforts to adapt an assign- ment originally situated in a face-to-face school placement into a virtual version. By utilizing multi-perspective 360 vid- eo, preliminary results suggest virtual field experiences can provide PSTs with similar experiences for observation-based assignments. Acknowledging that immersive virtual experi- ences are not a complete replacement for face-to-face field- based experiences, we suggest virtual field assignments can be a useful supplement or a viable alternative during a time of the pandemic. Keywords:
Keywords: 360 video; ex-; teacher education; virtual-based assignments; ⛔ No DOI found

A district level study on the deployment, allocation and utilisation of teachers between and within Malawi's primary schools: an accountability and political settlements approach - Zubairi, Asma (REAL Centre, Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge, 2020)

جو اكاديمي توجيهي | دروس ودوسيات التوجيهي واسئلة وزارة - توجيهي, جو اكاديمي (جو اكاديمي توجيهي, 2020)
منصة جو اكاديمي من اوائل رواد التعليم الالكتروني وحصص اون لاين ووتد التعليم في المملكة الاردنية الهاشمية بوابة للتواصل ما بين المعلم والطالب

Mobile learning policy and practice in Africa: Towards inclusive and equitable access to higher education - Kaliisa, Rogers; Picard, Michelle (Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 2019)
This article presents the results of a review of practice and policy in relation to mobile learning and its potential to enhance inclusive and equitable access to higher education in Africa. We reviewed academic literature on potential barriers. Then, we explored the current state of the mobile learning policy environment in 10 African countries through an analysis of how these policies have tried to address the prominent challenges in the adoption of mobile learning as identified in the literature. The findings reveal that significant resourcing inequalities and epistemological, sociocultural, and institutional barriers remain and affect mobile learning adoption. The analysis also reveals that there is still a policy vacuum in relation to mobile learning specific policies within African higher education institutional and governmental policies. Thus, the formal integration of mobile learning in higher education to facilitate equitable access is very much in its infancy. This article suggests a strong need for institutional, cross-institutional, national and African-wide mobile learning specific policies to ensure better implementation of mobile learning. As interest in mobile learning continues to grow, this review will provide insights into policy and strategic planning for the adoption of mobile learning to achieve inclusive and equitable access to higher education.
Keywords: Africa; Mobile learning; equity; higher education; inclusive; policy

Sierra Leone designs online portal to take long wait out of teacher recruitment - Directorate of Science, Technology & Innovation (Sierra Leone) (2019)
A new teacher recruitment portal developed at the Directorate of Science, Technology, and Innovation (DSTI) will make it easier and faster for education administrators to hire teachers, and allocate teachersRead More

Teacher Professional Development in Tanzania: Challenges and Opportunities - Komba, Sotco Claudius; Mwakabenga, Rehema Japhet (Educational Leadership, 2019)
This chapter is about teacher professional development in Tanzania. The authors have examined the current status of teacher professional development in Tanzania, focusing on predominant perspectives on the concept and provision modalities. In addition, the authors have identified challenges facing teacher professional development in Tanzania, most of which seem to be systemic. The challenges include lack of explicit policy and guidelines for teacher professional development, limited knowledge on teacher professional development among teacher professional development stakeholders, predominance of traditional approach to teacher professional development, and ineffective organization of teacher professional development activities. It is, thus, concluded that a number of opportunities are available for effective teacher professional development in Tanzania. These include strengthening the available institutions responsible for teacher professional development, making use of different teacher professional development providers available in the country to promote professional development activities for teachers through a harmonized scheme and capitalizing on the use of different communication networks and the national optic fiber to promote self-directed teacher professional development.
Keywords: _Tanzania; _final_bib

Prize Lecture: Michael Kremer, Prize in Economic Sciences 2019 - Nobel Prize (2019)

Possibilities of using Mobile Technology to improve Early Grade Reading in Bangladesh: Towards a Practical Framework - Ahsan, Sumera; Hossain, Md; Sarwar, Sheikh (2019)
Using mobile phones can enhance literacy skills such as reading. However, the success in terms of gain in reading skill using mobile phones depends on manifold conditions and factors which are context dependent. Therefore, the process of implementation of initiative that used mobile phones for boosting literacy is worth exploring in different contexts. The aim of this research project was to capture the first impression of the stakeholders related to the mBoost project, a project that used voices and text to help teachers and parents use activities to enhance children's reading skills, immediately after its piloting. Data was collected through qualitative interview, observation, and FGDs with parents, teachers, students, and relevant Save the Children Staff. This research found that three types of factors, technical, socio-cultural, and individual end user characteristics affected the implementation process in four phases (sending, receiving, comprehending, and implementing text and voice message activities) narrowing down the targeted benefits.

Global South teacher educators in digital landscape: implications on professional learning - Impedovo, Maria Antonietta; Malik, Sufiana Khatoon; Kinley, Kinley (Research on Education and Media, 2019)
Abstract This article explores Pakistani and Bhutanese teacher educators’ digital competences about the use of social media, digital resources and professional online communities and implications of this on professional learning. The two countries, less discussed in international educational literature, are facing a growing use of the Internet in teaching and learning. Data include a survey completed by 67 teacher educators from Pakistan and 37 teachers from Bhutan, as well as semi-structured interviews from both countries. This study provides evidence of how teachers’ interaction on social networks and the use of digital resources play a central role in the introduction of innovative pedagogical practices of teacher educators, and teacher educators remain interested in knowledge sharing through social media for their professional learning.
Keywords: ⚠️ Invalid DOI

Support for children and young people with vision impairment in educational settings (Welsh Government, 2019)

A Study of the Association between Self-Directed Learning Readiness and Academic Achievement of Student-Teachers in Pakistan - Hussain, Tariq; Sabar, Ajia; Jabeen, Rafia (Bulletin of Education and Research, 2019)
Education at every level is typically future-oriented; it is imperative for the learners to keep pace with the unpredictable and fast changing world. The field of teacher-education is no exception. Student-centered approaches have started gaining popularity in today's day and age. Self-directed learning is becoming one of the most prominent phenomena for the 21st century learners. This study investigated whether any relationship exists between Self-Directed Learning readiness (SDLR) and academic achievement of student-teachers. For this purpose, quantitative approach was adopted and correlation research design was used. The population comprised all the master level students of the Institute of Education and Research, enrolled in the session 2017-2019. The total number was 510. The researchers used multistage sampling to draw a sample. A total of 300 students were included in the research. To determine the SDLR of student-teachers, a modified SDLI questionnaire, developed by Su-Fen Cheng, Chien-Lin Kuo, Kuan-Chia Lin, and Jane LeeHsieh in 2009, was used. The analysis of the data concluded that student-teachers' self-directed learning readiness is high. It was determined that a significant difference does not exist among the population on the basis of gender or marital status.
Keywords: Academic Achievement; Correlation; Foreign Countries; Gender Differences; Graduate Students; Independent Study; Learning Readiness; Marital Status; Masters Programs; Student Centered Learning; Student Teacher Attitudes; Student Teachers; Teacher Education; ⛔ No DOI found

Assemblage Theory: Coping with Complexity in Technology Enhanced Language Learning - Matthews, Blair (Research-publishing, 2019)
Language classrooms are complex systems, but theory often simplifies these processes making researching effectiveness difficult. Assemblage theory -- a theory of complexity in the social sciences -- allows us to examine complexity in the language classroom. In this paper, I present an account of the language classroom that captures the complexity, subjectivity, and temporality of technology enhanced language learning. [For the complete proceedings, see ED600837.]
Keywords: Computer Assisted Instruction; Influence of Technology; Learning Motivation; Learning Processes; Learning Theories; Second Language Learning; Social Systems; Systems Approach; Teaching Methods

Beyond Short-Term Learning Gains: The Impact of Outsourcing Schools in Liberia after Three Years [short report] - Romero, Mauricio; Sandefur, Justin (Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México; Center for Global Development, 2019)

Top Marks for Rising in Final Year Liberia Evaluation - Skidmore, Paul (Center for Global Development; Innovations for Poverty Action, 2019)
The final report of a randomised controlled trial of Liberia’s flagship education reform has praised Rising Academies for producing “a consistently positive pattern of results across learning, access, and safety dimensions.” The three year ‘gold standard’ evaluation of the Liberia Education Adv

From OLPC XO to Positivo: Rwanda Sets the Bar Higher - Sabiiti, Daniel (KT PRESS, 2019)
Rwanda is set to distribute a new model computers that will change the ways in which primary school children learn and practice information communication and technology (ICT) lessons under the one laptop per child (OLPC) program. This move comes ahead of the review of the four year-ICT in educati

Rumie Management Center (RMC): Product Documentation - Janzen, Tiffany; Chugh, Manav (Rumie, 2019)

Communications for Development - Fink, Günther; Karlan, Dean; Udry, Christopher; Osei, Robert (Harvard Dataverse, 2019)
In 2012, Ghana Health Services (GHS), with funding from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), launched a Communication for Development (C4D)...
Keywords: Health and Life Sciences; Medicine; Social Sciences

Number of pay TV households in Ghana 2014-2023 - Watson, Amy (Statista, 2019)
The timeline presents the number of pay TV households in Ghana from 2014 to 2018, and a forecast thereof until 2023.

The Data Protection Act (No. 24 of 2019) - Republic of Kenya (2019)

Abracadabra (ABRA) - Coventry University (Education Endowment Foundation, 2019)
Project: Abracadabra (ABRA), An online reading programme to improve early literacy

Quantitizing Affective Data as Project Evaluation on the Use of a Mathematics Mobile Game and Intelligent Tutoring System - Nygren, Eeva; Blignaut, Seugnet; Leendertz, Verona; Sutinen, Erkki (Informatics in Education, 2019)
Technology-enhanced learning generally focuses on the cognitive rather than the affective domain of learning. This multi-method evaluation of the INBECOM project (Integrating Behaviourism and Constructivism in Mathematics) was conducted from the point of view of affective learning levels of Krathwohl et al. (1964). The research questions of the study were: (i) to explore the affective learning experiences of the three groups of participants (researchers, teachers and students) during the use of a mobile game UFractions and an intelligent tutoring system ActiveMath to enhance the learning of fractions in mathematics; and (ii) to determine the significance of the relationships among the affective learning experiences of the three groups of participants (researchers, teachers and students) in the INBECOM project. This research followed a sequential, equal status, multi-mode research design and methodology where the qualitative data were derived from the interviews with researchers, teachers and students, as well as from learning diaries, feelings blogs, and observations (311 documents) across three contexts (South Africa, Finland, and Mozambique). The qualitative data was quantitized (Saldaña, 2009), i.e. analysed deductively in an objective and quantifiable way as instances on an ExcelT spreadsheet for statistical analyses. All the data was explored from the affective perspective by labelling the feelings participants experienced according to the affective levels of the Krathwohl et al. (1964) framework. The researchers concluded that: (i) the research participants not only received information, but actively participated in the learning process; responded to what they learned; associated value to their acquired knowledge; organised their values; elaborated on their learning; built abstract knowledge; and adopted a belief system and a personal worldview; and (ii) affirmation of affective learning at all five levels was recognised among the three groups of participants. The study raised a number of issues which could be addressed in future, like how affective levels of learning are intertwined with cognitive levels of learning while learning mathematics in a technology-enhanced learning environment; and how pedagogical models which take into account both cognitive and affective aspects of learning support deep learning.

A PRACTICAL AND EFFECTIVE PROGRAMME TO BUILD FOUNDATIONAL READING SKILLS FOR PRIMARY GRADE STRUGGLING LEARNERS IN INDIA - Misquitta, Radhika; Ghosh, Aditi (2019)
Curriculum-based measurement (CBM) has emerged as a valid, reliable and economic measure to assess and monitor reading skills. Unfortunately, CBMs have not been developed for the Indian context. Further, CBMs can be cumbersome to administer manually, especially given the high teacher- student ratio in India. The challenge also then remains about what teachers actually do with the reading data. Most teachers in India are unable to interpret reading scores or use them to tailor an intervention plan. This paper describes the work Gateway has begun to develop a digital curriculum- based measurement tool that is contextually relevant. This paper outlines the procedures used to select passages, including equating passages using readability formulae, as well as field testing passages. The tool will support teachers with collecting data, interpreting the scores, and most importantly, developing an intervention plan to support struggling learners. It will also outline future directions for the project.

The private schooling phenomenon in India: A review - Kingdon, Geeta Gandhi (2019)
This paper examines the size, growth, salaries, fee levels and per-pupil-costs of private schools, and compares these with the government school sector. Official data show a steep growth of private schooling and a corresponding rapid shrinkage in the size of the government school sector in India, suggesting parental abandonment of government schools. Data show that a very large majority of private schools in most states are ‘low-fee’ when judged in relation to: state per capita income, perpupil expenditure in the government schools, and the officially-stipulated rural minimum wage rate for daily-wage-labour. This suggests that affordability is an important factor behind the migration towards and growth of private schools. The main reason for the very low fee levels in private schools is their lower teacher salaries, which the data show to be a small fraction of the salaries paid in government schools; this is possible because private schools pay the market-clearing wage, which is depressed by a large supply of unemployed graduates in the country, whereas government schools pay bureaucratically determined minimum-wages. The paper shows how education policies can be harmful when formulated without seeking the evidence.
Keywords: ⛔ No DOI found

2019 Annual Schools Census Report And Statistical Abstract - Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (Government of Sierra Leone, 2019)

Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey 2017-2018: key indicators - NIPORT; ICF (National Institute of Population Research and Training (NIPORT) and ICF, 2019)

UNESCO schools give hope to Syrian refugees in Lebanon - UNESCO (2019)
“Enrolling in this school gave me hope,” says Asma Al Ahmad who fled the conflict in the Syrian Arab Republic and found refuge in the Bekaa region of Lebanon. The 16-year-old girl was deprived of education for two years, living in a refugee camp in Saadnayel. Last year, she was offered the opportunity to resume her education at a middle school established by UNESCO to provide educational complementary support programmes for young displaced Syrians. "I hope I will have a future and succeed in life, she says.

Process for iterative and adaptive implementation of government policy in order to utilise educational technology - Haßler, Björn; Khalayleh, Abdullah (Open Development & Education, 2019)
An output of Activating EdTech Jordan.  Information about the Activating EdTech Jordan and our outputs can be found at http://tiny.cc/ActivatingEdTech.  Our outputs are archived here https://zenodo.org/communities/aet/.

Sierra Leone invests $1.5 million to bring education innovation to schools for better learning outcomes - DSTI Media (Directorate of Science, Technology and Innovation, 2019)
A national education dashboard released last month by Sierra Leone’s agency for technology and innovation and the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE) showed that schools and studentsRead More

OU partners with Ministry of Education in Ghana to launch OpenSTEM Africa - Grimmette, Hannah (OU News, 2019)
The Open University and the Ministry of Education (Ghana) have launched a programme to promote the effective teaching of practical science in Senior High Schools. Open STEM Africa: Ghana, is aimed at improving practical teaching and learning of science and in particular providing support for under-qualified or inexperienced science teachers, in line with the government of Ghana’s education policy.

Rwandan ed-tech startup BAG Innovation raises $150k seed round - Disrupt Africa - Jackson, Tom (2019)

Synthesis of Reviews on Teacher Professional Development in Sub-Saharan Africa - Haßler, Björn; D’Angelo, Sophia; Walker, Hannah; Marsden, Melissa (Open Development & Education, 2019)
Keywords: _yl:i; dode_eth-src-dode; dode_eth-trf2-dode

Why we started R4D’s evaluation & adaptive learning practice - Arkedis, Jean (Results for Development, 2019)
R4D's Evaluation & Adaptive Learning practice lead, shares a new explainer video, which offers a framework for how we design, test and evaluate for impact.

‘Digital welfare state’: big tech allowed to target and surveil the poor, UN is warned - Pilkington, Ed (the Guardian, 2019)
UN’s rapporteur on extreme poverty says in devastating account big tech companies are being allowed to go unregulated in ‘human rights free-zones’

Learning poverty - World Bank (2019)
This indicator brings together schooling and learning indicators.

Rwanda's education U-turn sparks debate on mother tongue instruction - Edwards, Sophie (Devex, 2019)
Amid growing consensus that teaching in a student's mother tongue can improve learning outcomes, why are some countries switching back to European languages that most teachers and children don’t understand?

Exploring transition toward independent learning student experiences in the first year of architecture school - Al Maani, Duaa (Welsh School of Architecture, Cardiff University, 2019)
Constructivism within the design studio capitalises on the richness embodied by the differences in learners, and strongly opposes the notion of students as empty vessels. Although this perspective suggests that learners are individual and unique, yet it emphasises on their need for outside influences to learn as well. This thesis explores the learning experiences of students in the architectural design studio, specifically looking at learning issues associated with the transition from dependence to independence and analysing students’ accounts of their learning processes during their first year. The findings suggest that the design studio is a suitable environment for facilitating learning independence in higher education. Most of the students appreciated the learning environment within the school and expressed a feeling of belonging to the community, stating that it had helped them to become more independent. More importantly, an analysis of the narratives revealed that the respondents perceived themselves as becoming more independent as they progressed through the year. However, many of the participants felt uncertain about aspects of independent learning and wanted more guidance and support, remaining attached to the practice of tutor centred learning.

Using design-based research to bring partnership between researchers and practitioners - Getenet, Seyum (Educational Research, 2019)
Background: A key aim of educational research is for findings to inform practice, thereby bringing about improvements in teaching and learning. However, the relationship between research and practice is complex, and there is often no clear link between changes in practice and research findings. One of the challenges for research and practice is breaking down barriers and finding effective and sustainable ways to translate research findings into practical solutions in the classroom.Purpose: This discursive paper focuses on describing the nature of the partnership working involved when a design-based research (DBR) approach was employed to bring researchers and practitioners together. The researchers and practitioners worked in collaboration to design a professional development (PD) programme, in order to solve classroom problems and enhance practitioners’ research engagement.Sources of evidence: This paper describes the author’s experience of using DBR to co-design a PD programme that was responsive to a particular context and practitioners’ needs. It illustrates and exemplifies the ways in which the researcher–practitioner collaboration itself sits at the heart of the design process and enabled solutions to be found. The paper also considers the epistemological positions of the practitioners and researchers in the different stages of DBR. The context for the description is a mixed-methods intervention study conducted in two colleges of teacher education, which documented the design and refinement of a PD programme to facilitate teachers’ effective use of technology to teach mathematics.Discussion and conclusions: The examples presented and discussed here suggest how a DBR process is able to facilitate fruitful collaborations between researchers and practitioners and increase engagement in research. By working with practitioners to design interventions such as PD programmes, DBR can provide a practical approach for improving practice and deepening the relationship between educational research and classroom practice.
Keywords: Design-based research; evidence-informed practice; practice; practitioners; professional development; teacher education

Call me educated: Evidence from a mobile phone experiment in Niger✰ - Aker, Jenny C; Ksoll, Christopher (Economics of Education Review, 2019)
Teacher absenteeism is an important obstacle to sustained learning gains in many developing countries. We report the results from a randomized evaluation of an adult education program in Niger, which included an additional intervention designed to improve teacher accountability and students’ learning. Villages were randomly assigned to one of three groups. The first was a two-year adult education program, with normal visits by non-governmental organization (NGO) and Ministry staff. The second included the same curriculum and visits as the first, but villages also received a mobile intervention: weekly phone calls to the teacher, village chief and two randomly selected students. The third was a pure control group, with no adult education program or calls. We find that both interventions improved students’ learning outcomes: across both years of the program, students in the standard adult education program increased their math and reading test scores by 0.19–0.22 s.d, respectively. The mobile phone intervention led to an additional increase in math and reading test scores of 0.12 and 0.15 s.d., with stronger effects amongst called students. We also address alternative threats to identification, namely, differential attrition and baseline imbalance, and find that the math results are robust across these different specifications. This suggests that using mobile phone technology as a means to communicate with teachers and students can improve learning outcomes, beyond its use as a pedagogical tool within the classroom.
Keywords: Adult education; Information technology; Monitoring; Niger; Teacher absenteeism

Improving teacher professional development for online and blended learning: a systematic meta-aggregative review - Philipsen, Brent; Tondeur, Jo; Pareja Roblin, Natalie; Vanslambrouck, Silke; Zhu, Chang (Educational Technology Research and Development, 2019)
In order to fully realise the potential of online and blended learning (OBL), teacher professional development (TPD) strategies on how to teach in an online or blended learning environment are needed. While many studies examine the effects of TPD strategies, fewer studies target the specific important components of these strategies. This study addresses that gap by conducting a systematic review of qualitative data consisting of 15 articles on TPD that targets OBL. Using a meta-aggregative approach, six different synthesised findings were identified and integrated into a visual framework of the key components of TPD for OBL. These synthesised findings are the base for the action recommendations which present specific and contextualised suggestions. Taken together, the findings can inform in-service teachers and trainers, together with further research and development efforts that are concerned with TPD for OBL.

Does Education Need a QALY and Is LAYS It? - Crawfurd, Lee; Hares, Susannah; Le Nestour, Alexis; Rossiter, Jack (Center For Global Development, 2019)

Pakistan: Learning Poverty Brief - Fasih, Tazeen; Baron, Juan; Geven, Koen Martijn (EduAnalytics, 2019)

Moving beyond the predictable failure of Ed-Tech initiatives - Sancho-Gil, Juana M.; Rivera-Vargas, Pablo; Miño-Puigcercós, Raquel (Learning, Media and Technology, 2019)
The development of Information and Communication Technology has created waves of excitement about its power to fix educational problems and improve learning results, prompting a succession of policy efforts to integrate digital technology into education. Educators, schools and corporations are increasingly driving these initiatives. This article makes the argument that a narrow vision of digital technology, which both ignores the complexity of education and wastes valuable public resources, is becoming an obstacle to significant improvement and transformation in education. Utilising our research and experience in the field of educational technology, this paper problematises the common elision of ‘technology’ and ‘digital technology’. From this basis, we then critically reflect on various common approaches to introducing digital technology in education under the guise of promoting equality and digital inclusion. These include national government-led programmes, more recent trends for local school-led initiatives, and the role of non-formal education initiatives led by corporations/foundations. Amidst the varying surface-level ‘failure’ and/or ‘success’ of these approaches, we point to limited underpinning ‘information and knowledge society’ logics in framing the application of digital technology to education. As such we conclude by considering the educational challenges for future Ed-Tech initiatives.
Keywords: Educational change; digital technology corporations; educational challenges; educational policies; school improvement

Innovative Delivery of Education in Bangladesh Using Mobile Technology - Cristol, Dean; Al-Sabbagh, Samah; Abdulbaki, Anwar; Majareh, Maryam; Tuhin, Salah Uddin; Gimbert, Belinda (World Conference on Mobile and Contextual Learning, 2019)
Given the increasing use and accessibility of mobile technology, a pilot study, “Innovative Delivery of Education in Bangladesh Using Mobile Technology” was carried out using mobile learning devices to both increase and enrich the delivery of educational services in a remote Bangladesh district. The APTUS system was used to allow learners’ connection to digital learning platforms and content without electricity or internet access. The researchers maintained that mobile learning associated with Project Based Learning can effect student learning in five ways: (1) contingent learning, changing...

Sierra Leone turns to technology and analytics to put quality back into education - Directorate of Science, Technology & Innovation (Sierra Leone) (2019)
Today, an estimated 2 million students return to school for the second year of the Free Quality School Education (FQSE) Program. The Government of Sierra Leone commits 21% of theRead More

A new methodological approach for evaluating the impact of educational intervention implementation on learning outcomes - Outhwaite, Laura A.; Gulliford, Anthea; Pitchford, Nicola J. (International Journal of Research & Method in Education, 2019)
Randomized control trials (RCTs) are commonly regarded as the ‘gold standard’ for evaluating educational interventions. While this experimental design is valuable in establishing causal relationships between the tested intervention and outcomes, reliance on statistical aggregation typically underplays the situated context in which interventions are implemented. Developing innovative, systematic methods for evaluating implementation and understanding its impact on outcomes is vital to moving educational evaluation research beyond questions of ‘what works’, towards better understanding the mechanisms underpinning an intervention’s effects. The current study presents a pragmatic, two-phased approach that combines qualitative data with quantitative analyses to examine the causal relationships between intervention implementation and outcomes. This new methodological approach is illustrated in the context of a maths app intervention recently evaluated in a RCT across 11 schools. In phase I, four implementation themes were identified; ‘teacher support’, ‘teacher supervision’, ‘implementation quality’, and ‘established routine’. In phase II, ‘established routine’ was found to predict 41% of the variance in children’s learning outcomes with the apps. This has significant implications for future scaling. Overall, this new methodological approach offers an innovative method for combining process and impact evaluations when seeking to gain a more nuanced understanding of what works in education and why.
Keywords: Implementation; _C:Greece GRC; _C:India IND; _C:Malawi MWI; _C:Netherlands NLD; _C:Pakistan PAK; _C:Turkey TUR; _C:United Kingdom GBR; _C:United States USA; __C:scheme:1; education; evaluation; intervention; mixed-methods

The Opportunities and Challenges for Developing ICT-Based Science Learning and Teaching in Ghana - Cullen, Jane; Mallet,, Joshua (2019)
Africa’s transition to an innovation-led, knowledge-based economy could drive the continent’s economic growth and lift millions out of poverty and there is opportunity to increase the number of skilled professionals across the chemistry, biology and physics disciplines. However not enough students enrol in science subjects in Higher Education in Ghana, with proportions admitted to public universities well short of the Government’s 60% target. Significant barriers for all young people include the lack of practical scientific equipment in schools, and barriers to young women include prevailing socio-cultural attitudes, a lack of female role models and unsupportive educational environments.

FunDza launches on WhatsApp to bring reading into the lives of young South Africans - turn.io (turn, 2019)
FunDza Literacy Trust has partnered with Turn.io to launch FunDza on WhatsApp to get its already popular reading content into the hands of thousands of new readers.

‘They are visually impaired, not blind … teach them!’: Grade R in-service teachers’ knowledge of teaching pre-reading skills to visually impaired learners - Kao, Matiekase A.; Mzimela, Patience J. (South African Journal of Childhood Education, 2019)
Background: Teaching reading skills is the cornerstone of all learning; therefore, teachers’ adherence to this mandate is important. However, it becomes complicated and challenging if the teacher has to teach pre-reading skills to Grade R learners with visual impairments. In light of this challenge, researchers have endeavoured to determine the Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK) that teachers should possess for the effective teaching of reading in classrooms with visually impaired learners.Aim: This article explores a small sample of in-service teachers’ knowledge of using Braille to teach pre-reading skills to Grade R learners with visual impairments.Setting: The study was conducted in a School for the Blind in Maseru, Lesotho, where three Grade R in-service teachers teaching learners with visual impairments were purposively sampled.Methods: This study is underpinned by Koehler and Mishra’s theory of TPACK. An interpretivist, qualitative small-scale case study approach was employed, using semi-structured interviews and classroom observations. Document analysis was also used to corroborate findings.Results: Findings reveal that although some of the participants possess a high level of technological knowledge, they tend to teach Braille as a ‘stand-alone’ skill and fail to integrate it with the teaching of other pre-reading skills to Grade R learners.Conclusion: In-service teachers showed limited knowledge of some of the essential skills for teaching pre-reading skills to Grade R learners who are visually impaired. The study calls for supportive in-service teacher education programmes that equip Grade R teachers of learners with visual impairments with the necessary skills to teach pre-reading skills.
Keywords: Braille; Grade R Learners; Pedagogical Knowledge; Pre-Reading Skills; Technological Knowledge; Visual Impairment

Is education ready to work in data-intensive environments? - World Bank (Medium, 2019)
The availability of good data can help lead to making good decisions. This is true in education, as it is in other sectors.

How The Radio Can Reach The World’s Most Vulnerable Children - Lister, Josephine (2019)

Ethical challenges of edtech, big data and personalized learning: twenty-first century student sorting and tracking - Regan, Priscilla M.; Jesse, Jolene (Ethics and Information Technology, 2019)
With the increase in the costs of providing education and concerns about financial responsibility, heightened consideration of accountability and results, elevated awareness of the range of teacher skills and student learning styles and needs, more focus is being placed on the promises offered by online software and educational technology. One of the most heavily marketed, exciting and controversial applications of edtech involves the varied educational programs to which different students are exposed based on how big data applications have evaluated their likely learning profiles. Characterized most often as ‘personalized learning,’ these programs raise a number of ethical concerns especially when used at the K-12 level. This paper analyzes the range of these ethical concerns arguing that characterizing them under the general rubric of ‘privacy’ oversimplifies the concerns and makes it too easy for advocates to dismiss or minimize them. Six distinct ethical concerns are identified: information privacy; anonymity; surveillance; autonomy; non-discrimination; and ownership of information. Particular attention is paid to whether personalized learning programs raise concerns similar to those raised about educational tracking in the 1950s. The paper closes with discussion of three themes that are important to consider in ethical and policy discussions.

Building Stronger Education Systems: Stories of Change (Global Partnership for Education, 2019)
The Global Partnership for Education (GPE) supports close to 70 developing countries to ensure that every child receives a quality education. The featured stories in this report show the progress that developing country partners are making in getting more children, especially girls, in school and learning. The results are not only evidence of their commitment to improve education, but also of the sustained and targeted support provided by GPE. Feature stories are included from the following countries: (1) Afghanistan; (2) Benin; (3) Burkina Faso; (4) Djibouti; (5) Eritrea; (6) Ethiopia; (7) Guyana; (8) Kenya; (9) Pakistan; (10) Papua New Guinea; and (11) Sudan.
Keywords: Access to Education; Barriers; Developing Nations; Disadvantaged; Early Childhood Education; Economic Development; Educational Change; Educational Improvement; Educational Needs; Educational Practices; Educational Quality; Equal Education; Foreign Countries; Reading Instruction; Reading Skills; Refugees; Rural Education; Technology Uses in Education; Womens Education

Lebanon starts transformation process to digital economy (MENAFN, 2019)
) BEIRUT, Sept 13 (KUNA) -- Lebanese Minister of Telecommunications Mohamed Choucair said on Friday that the government has started the transformation process to the digital economy that acquires four percent of the country's national income. Choucair, who represented Prime Minister Saad Al-Hariri at the opening ceremony to 'Digital Lebanon Conference 201

Joint Evaluation of Myanmar Non-Formal Middle School Education-Equivalency Pilot Programme - UNICEF (UNICEF, 2019)

The Impacts of Teacher Training and Parental Awareness on Kindergarten Quality in Ghana - Wolf, Sharon; Aber, John Lawrence; Behrman, Jere (Innovations for Poverty Action, 2019)

Elements Shaping the South African Education System of the Future [poster] - Barends, Heidi (2019)
A poster summarising the findings of the dissertation titles 'Elements Shaping the South African Education System of the Future' (DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.3370973)
Keywords: Basic Education; Education System; Foresight Study; Future Study; Future Trends; South African Education; South African Education System; _not_EdTechHub; _zenodoOTHER

Elements Shaping the South African Education System of the Future [presentation] - Barends, Heidi (2019)
A summary presentation of the dissertation titled 'Elements Shaping the South African Education System of the Future' (DOI:10.5281/zenodo.3370973)
Keywords: Actor Diagram; Basic Education; Causal Loop Diagram; Education System; Foresight Study; Future Study; Future Trends; South African Education; South African Education System; Systems Approach; _not_EdTechHub; _zenodoOTHER

What Is Agile Methodology: A Primer on Moving Fast - Edell, Patrick (AngelList Blog, 2019)
Everything you need to know about agile methodologies and its many frameworks.

Global perspectives on assistive technology: Proceedings of the GReAT Consultation 2019, Volume B - Day 2 (World Health Organization, 2019)

Elements Shaping the South African Education System of the Future - Barends, Heidi (2019)
The South African education system is deeply unjust because a child’s place of birth, skin colour and family’s income largely determines their educational attainment. Understanding future trends and developments can assist stakeholders in planning and decision making. Better decisions could ultimately improve the education system. Therefore, this research aims to answer three questions: What trends could impact the South African education system? What opportunities and threats arise due to these trends? Who could influence the system?  To address these questions, a mixed-method approach was adopted. First, conceptual systems diagrams were developed to depict the current education system and its stakeholders. Then, semi-structured expert interviews were used to identify future trends, threats and opportunities.  This study found that the trends impacting South Africa broadly align with global trends. Examples include an increase in privatisation, technology in schools and climate change. More violence in schools is the main outlier. The study found that the risks related to technology and climate change are not being planned or accounted for. Similarly, violence is currently not a priority. The study also found that participants agreed on who the major stakeholders are, but disagreed on what actions stakeholders should take.
Keywords: Actor Diagram; Basic Education; CLD; Causal Loop Diagram; Education System; Foresight Study; Future Study; Future Trends; South African Education System; Systems Approach; _C:China CHN; _C:Germany DEU; _C:India IND; _C:Japan JPN; _C:Nigeria NGA; _C:Pakistan PAK; _C:South Africa ZAF; _C:Turkey TUR; _C:United Kingdom GBR; _C:United States USA; __C:scheme:1; _not_EdTechHub; _zenodoOTHER

Factors affecting the teachers' intention to adopt audio-visual aids in education sector of Pakistan - Iqbal, Zeeshan; Malik, Maimoona; Iqbal, Farhan (International Journal of Innovation in Education, 2019)
An emergent body of research mainly from the developing countries indicated that behavioural and cultural factors have significant influence on the adoption of technology. Based on the theoretical ...
Keywords: ⛔ No DOI found

The evidence ecosystem in South Africa: growing resilience and institutionalisation of evidence use - Stewart, Ruth; Dayal, Harsha; Langer, Laurenz; van Rooyen, Carina (Palgrave Communications, 2019)
The evidence-informed approach to policy-making and implementation is, at its core, about better decisions for a better future. It is focused on the effective use of scarce resources, on avoiding harm and maximising good. It is grounded in principles of equity and equality, of accountability and transparency. Given these characteristics, for those of us who work in this field, there is arguably a moral, economic, social and political case for paying closer attention to evidence-informed decision-making ecosystems in the South. Evidence-based policy and implementation, or evidence-informed decision-making in line with the most recent thinking, is often framed from two inter-related but limited perspectives: first, it is viewed as an approach that has originated from ‘developed’ Northern countries, and second, it is conceptualised as a technical intervention. However, there has been a shift in how the approach is conceived, moving away from assumptions that it is an intervention implemented from outside, from the North, for the benefit of the South. As part of this shift, certain initiatives in Africa have gained greater momentum. It is in acknowledging that there are different ways to think (epistemic diversity) about Southern evidence-informed decision-making, that this work has arisen. It seizes on the opportunity to view evidence-informed decision-making in a new light, exploring the evidence ecosystems in the South as systems strongly influenced by, but not defined by, Northern stimuli, including, but not limited to, technical interventions. This work set out to describe the evidence ecosystem in South Africa. In doing so, it finds that the ecosystem is increasingly resilient despite some limitations. It has strong structural foundations, includes many diverse organisations, is supported by not inconsiderable investment, is enabled by growing and significant capacity, contains iterations and innovations, and last but not least, incorporates complexity that gives the ecosystem resilience. The work demonstrates, through its focus on South Africa’s evidence ecosystem, that the global movement has much to learn from the South.

5 Ways EdTech Helps Students With Special Needs in the Classroom - Davis, Chris (ViewSonic Library, 2019)
EdTech helps students with special needs to engage with learning better than ever before. Find out how to implement EdTech as assistive technology.

Using Dual Systems theory to conceptualise challenges to routine when transforming pedagogy with digital technologies - Blundell, Christopher; Lee, Kar-Tin; Nykvist, Shaun (Teachers and Teaching, 2019)
(2019). Using Dual Systems theory to conceptualise challenges to routine when transforming pedagogy with digital technologies. Teachers and Teaching: Vol. 25, No. 8, pp. 937-954.
Keywords: Barriers; Case Studies; Classroom Techniques; Correlation; Educational Change; Information Technology; Learning Theories; Student Behavior; Systems Approach; Teacher Attitudes; Teacher Role; Teacher Student Relationship; Teaching Methods; Technology Integration; ⛔ No DOI found

‘Without Education You Can Never Become President’: Teenage Pregnancy and Pseudo-empowerment in Post-Ebola Sierra Leone - Menzel, Anne (Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding, 2019)
This article analyses the emergence of ‘teenage pregnancy’ as a new policy focus in post-Ebola Sierra Leone and explores how Sierra Leoneans interpret the problem of ‘teenage pregnancy’. I argue that the new policy focus is not indicative of changing or new problems. Rather, ‘teenage pregnancy’ has created opportunities for donors and the Government of Sierra Leone to continue cooperation in gender politics. At the same time, Sierra Leoneans are clearly concerned about ‘teenage pregnancy’, and many agree with sensitization campaigns that responsibilize young women and girls while downplaying structural factors that render them vulnerable to arrangements involving transactional sex.
Keywords: Sierra Leone; aid and development; gender politics; neoliberalism; sexual violence; teenage pregnancy

ICT and Education for Refugees in Transit - Wahyuni, Dewi Sari; Fatdha, T. Sy Eiva (SALTeL Journal (Southeast Asia Language Teaching and Learning), 2019)
Refugees in transit often have no access to formal education. Indonesia as one of transit countries has allowed these community school-age children to join public school. Unfortunately, teenagers and adults do not have similar consent. As most of them are stranded for a long time to skip their basic education, there should be a bridge so that they still can catch up with their secondary or even higher education level. During their uncertain waiting time, some international and national organizations and local institutions have provided them with private classes in specific subjects. The problem is these classes are unaligned with the lesson grade in host country formal education institution, which is categorized based on learners’ ages. Moreover, they are placed in separated places (detention centre, interception, community housings) which cost time and fare to get these refugees in one education centre. The alternative solution for handling this situation is by having blended learning, a combination of online learning platform and face-to-face meeting managed by teachers both from the host country and refugees. These students although they are limited by any means, have been familiar with ICT such as Microsoft Office, Photoshop, Multimedia and Internet. The online learning platform will muddle through time and distance in order to support them to take Package A, B, C (National Elementary, Junior and Senior High School Equivalency) tests as these tests are admitted at work and further study in host country as well as their destination countries without age limitation.
Keywords: Google Scholar/ "blended learning" refugee education; RER theme_pedagogies and modalities

The Reliability of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test in Clinical Practice - Kopp, Bruno; Lange, Florian; Steinke, Alexander (Assessment, 2019)
The Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) represents the gold standard for the neuropsychological assessment of executive function. However, very little is known about its reliability. In the current study, 146 neurological inpatients received the Modified WCST (M-WCST). Four basic measures (number of correct sorts, categories, perseverative errors, set-loss errors) and their composites were evaluated for split-half reliability. The reliability estimates of the number of correct sorts, categories, and perseverative errors fell into the desirable range (rel ≥ .90). The study therefore disclosed sufficiently reliable M-WCST measures, fostering the application of this eminent psychological test to neuropsychological assessment. Our data also revealed that the M-WCST possesses substantially better psychometric properties than would be expected from previous studies of WCST test-retest reliabilities obtained from non-patient samples. Our study of split-half reliabilities from discretionary construed and from randomly built M-WCST splits exemplifies a novel approach to the psychometric foundation of neuropsychology.

Insights on ESL Student Teachers Reflecting Collaboratively Online Shubashini Suppiah Institute of Teacher Education Gaya Campus - Lee, S; Swanto, K; Lajium, S; Suppiah, D; Suppiah, Shubashini (2019)
The concept of a collaborative based reflective practice approach is grounded within the theoretical argument that critical reflection can be fostered through the presence of the "knowledgeable other" (Vygotsky, 1978). The present study was a pilot initiative in utilizing EDMODO (a closed educational learning management system) as a platform to explore reflection in a communal approach within a group of pre-service ESL teachers and their teacher educator mentor during a teaching practice placement in the context of the TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language) degree programme in an institute of teacher education (ITE) in Malaysia. The aims of the study are: (1) to examine the nature of the online reflection posts; and (2) to explore the nature of interactions that occurred online and the extent it supported collaborative reflection practices. The study employed a qualitative case study design in which five pre-service teachers (n=5) and their teacher educator mentor used EDMODO to post their reflections and carry out discussions for four weeks (n=4). The sources of data were the online reflection posts, the threaded discussion posts and a semi-structured group interview. Despite initial ambiguities and constraints, the EDMODO learning site as a platform for reflective practice showed positive results in that it allowed collaboration and dialogue to take place. Nevertheless, the facilitation of the reflection process requires further inquiry. The findings of the study suggest the need to establish a more systematic and structured approach when fostering critical reflection practices in a communal setting.

Insights on ESL Student Teachers Reflecting Collaboratively Online Shubashini Suppiah Institute of Teacher Education Gaya Campus - Suppiah, Shubashini; Lee, S; Swanto, K; Lajium, S (2019)
The concept of a collaborative based reflective practice approach is grounded within the theoretical argument that critical reflection can be fostered through the presence of the "knowledgeable other" (Vygotsky, 1978). The present study was a pilot initiative in utilizing EDMODO (a closed educational learning management system) as a platform to explore reflection in a communal approach within a group of pre-service ESL teachers and their teacher educator mentor during a teaching practice placement in the context of the TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language) degree programme in an institute of teacher education (ITE) in Malaysia. The aims of the study are: (1) to examine the nature of the online reflection posts; and (2) to explore the nature of interactions that occurred online and the extent it supported collaborative reflection practices. The study employed a qualitative case study design in which five pre-service teachers (n=5) and their teacher educator mentor used EDMODO to post their reflections and carry out discussions for four weeks (n=4). The sources of data were the online reflection posts, the threaded discussion posts and a semi-structured group interview. Despite initial ambiguities and constraints, the EDMODO learning site as a platform for reflective practice showed positive results in that it allowed collaboration and dialogue to take place. Nevertheless, the facilitation of the reflection process requires further inquiry. The findings of the study suggest the need to establish a more systematic and structured approach when fostering critical reflection practices in a communal setting.

Nudging at Scale: Experimental Evidence from FAFSA Completion Campaigns - Bird, Kelli, A.; Castleman, Benjamin; Denning, Jeffrey; Goodman, Joshua; Lamberton, Cait; Rosinger, Kelly Ochs (NBER Working Paper Series, 2019)
Do nudge interventions that have generated positive impacts at a local level maintain efficacy when scaled state or nationwide? What specific mechanisms explain the positive impacts of promising smaller-scale nudges? We investigate, through two randomized controlled trials, the impact of a national and state-level campaign to encourage students to apply for financial aid for college. The campaigns collectively reached over 800,000 students, with multiple treatment arms to investigate different potential mechanisms. We find no impacts on financial aid receipt or college enrollment overall or for any student subgroups. We find no evidence that different approaches to message framing, delivery, or timing, or access to one-on-one advising affected campaign efficacy. We discuss why nudge strategies that work locally may be hard to scale effectively.
Keywords: ___working_potential_duplicate

Insights on ESL student teachers reflecting collaboratively online - Suppiah, Shubashini; Wah, Lee Kean, (PhD); Swanto, Suyansah, (PhD); Lajium, Denis Andrew, (PhD) (The English Teacher, 2019)
The concept of a collaborative based reflective practice approach is grounded within the theoretical argument that critical reflection can be fostered through the presence of the "knowledgeable other" (Vygotsky, 1978). The present study was a pilot initiative in utilizing EDMODO (a closed educational learning management system) as a platform to explore reflection in a communal approach within a group of pre-service ESL teachers and their teacher educator mentor during a teaching practice placement in the context of the TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language) degree programme in an institute of teacher education (ITE) in Malaysia. The aims of the study are: (1) to examine the nature of the online reflection posts; and (2) to explore the nature of interactions that occurred online and the extent it supported collaborative reflection practices. The study employed a qualitative case study design in which five pre-service teachers (n=5) and their teacher educator mentor used EDMODO to post their reflections and carry out discussions for four weeks (n=4). The sources of data were the online reflection posts, the threaded discussion posts and a semi-structured group interview. Despite initial ambiguities and constraints, the EDMODO learning site as a platform for reflective practice showed positive results in that it allowed collaboration and dialogue to take place. Nevertheless, the facilitation of the reflection process requires further inquiry. The findings of the study suggest the need to establish a more systematic and structured approach when fostering critical reflection practices in a communal setting.
Keywords: Collaboration; Distance learning; English as a second language--ESL; Linguistics; Malaysia; Problem solving; Professional development; Reflective practice; Researchers; Social research; Student teachers; Teacher education; Teaching; Web 2.0; __:import:01; __:match:final; __:matched; __:study_id:2095770; __finaldtb; ⛔ No DOI found

The tyranny of national averages - Burke, Marshall (Medium, 2019)
Marshall Burke and Apoorva Lal, AtlasAI

Policy interventions for attraction and retention of female teachers in rural secondary schools - Kamere, Isabela M.; Makatiani, M. I.; Nzau, Arthur Kalanza (Msingi Journal, 2019)
The potential role of female teachers in achieving the Education for all (EFA) and the Sustainable Development Goals, specifically on  ensuring  inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting life-long learning opportunities for all (Goal 4), achieving gender equality and empowering  all women and girls(Goal 5 ) is well documented. Available evidence, however, suggests that attraction and retention of female teachers in secondary schools located in rural areas remains a significant and on-going challenge. In response, policy makers in Kenya have recommended three key policy interventions namely decentralization of teacher recruitment, payment of hardship allowance and provision of housing. A literature search reveals a dearth of information on the perspectives of rural educators on the effectiveness of these interventions. The paper presents findings based on one objective of a broader study which was to: Establish the views of female teachers’ and other stakeholders’ regarding the effectiveness of strategies for attraction and retention of female teachers in Makueni County. This study adopted a mixed methods design. The paper presents findings from the qualitative component of the study. Interviews were used to gather data. Based on their interpretations, the authors provide useful   insights and offer suggestions on how the implementation of these policies could be improved.
Keywords: Attraction; female teachers; retention

Sierra Leone: Economic Development Documents-National Development Plan, 2019-23 - International Monetary Fund (IMF, African Department, 2019)

Sierra Leone : Economic Development Documents-National Development Plan, 2019-23 - International Monetary Fund. African Dept. (2019)
The Government of Sierra Leone’s new Medium-term National Development Plan (MTNDP) 2019–2023 has been founded on a strong political commitment to deliver devel-opment results that would improve the welfare of Sierra Leone’s citizens. The plan charts a clear path towards 2023 en route to the goal of achieving middle-income status by 2039 through inclusive growth that is sustainable and leaves no one behind. For the next five years, the Free Quality School Education Programme is the government’s flagship programme to provide a solid base to enhance human capital development and to facilitate the transformation of the economy.

The Future Use of Technology in Education and Learning in the Commonwealth - Unwin, Tim (The Round Table, 2019)
Modern Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have increasingly been used in education systems and for learning across the world over the last quarter of a century, and are frequently seen as being an important means of delivering the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially SDG4. However, rhetoric about their potential benefits has often led to uncritical adoption of inappropriate and costly technologies, that have not benefited the poorest and most marginalised. This contribution explores likely uses of such technologies in Commonwealth education systems in the future, and what needs to be done so that these do indeed benefit everyone, rather than just the privileged with access to the latest technologies. It begins with an overview of existing Commonwealth initiatives, and then explores how ICT use for learning throughout the life-cycle is likely to change over the next decade. The next section suggests how Commonwealth organisations can best support governments and citizens in ensuring equitable distribution of relevant learning opportunities and mitigating the negative aspects of technology use. In conclusion, it advocates for the need to focus especially on the poorest and most marginalised, and it highlights the challenges of a future in which machines and humans are ever more intertwined.
Keywords: Commonwealth; Education; Qualitative Research; commentary; future; marginalisation; technology

"You give a little of yourself": family support for children's use of an IVR literacy system - Madaio, Michael A.; Kamath, Vikram; Yarzebinski, Evelyn; Zasacky, Shelby; Tanoh, Fabrice; Hannon-Cropp, Joelle; Cassell, Justine; Jasinska, Kaja; Ogan, Amy (Association for Computing Machinery, 2019)
Low levels of childhood literacy in global contexts may be mitigated by educational technologies, however, these technologies often rely on parents of sufficient literacy to effectively support their children. Given low levels of adult literacy in many low-resource contexts, we investigate the nature of low-literate adult support for children's use of a literacy technology designed to foster early literacy precursors. We deployed an interactive voice response (IVR) system with 38 families in a rural village in Côte d'Ivoire using the IVR for 5 weeks in their homes. Using call log data and grounded theory analyses of IVR observations and interviews, we find evidence that families leverage complex support networks where family members support children's use of the IVR in different ways, via a collective network of intermediaries. These results suggest opportunities to scaffold low-literate family supporters for educational technologies.
Keywords: HCI4D; IVR; ed tech; literacy; tech intermediaries

An exploration of agency in the localisation of open educational resources for teacher development - Wolfenden, Freda; Adinolfi, Lina (Learning, Media and Technology, 2019)
This study examines the practice of adaptation and translation (localisation) of Open Educational Resources (OER). It employs a sociocultural perspective to focus on the experiences of practitioners (localisers) who undertook the localisation of a suite of 125 OER created as part of a teacher professional development programme in India. This localisation process generated eight unique versions of the OER in five languages. Drawing on project reports, practitioner interviews and analysis of the adapted OER, the study explores how localisers created meaning for the task, the situational and linguistic factors that influenced and mediated their decisions to adapt the materials – or not – and the skills and experiences that emerged through the process. Although the findings revealed that changes to the materials were limited, suggesting that enacting localisation is more difficult than perhaps suggested by OER proponents, the analysis indicated forms of localisers’ emerging professional agency through this endeavour.
Keywords: India; Open educational resources (OER); __:import:01; __:match:final; __:matched; __:study_id:2457357; __finaldtb; localisation; professional agency

The impact of Galli Galli Sim Sim on Indian preschoolers - Borzekowski, Dina L. G.; Singpurwalla, Darius; Mehrotra, Deepti; Howard, Donna (Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 2019)
While educational media can affect young children's development, rigorous studies rarely occur in low and middle income countries. Using an experimental design, researchers investigated the effect of an educational television series (Galli Galli Sim Sim (GGSS), the Indian version of Sesame Street) with 1340 children in 99 preschools in Lucknow, India. Boys and girls, ages three to seven and mostly from low income households, saw 30 min of television five days a week for twelve weeks, varying how much Galli Galli Sim Sim versus other programming children watched. Assessments occurred at baseline, endline, and six weeks later. Hierarchical models showed that Galli Galli Sim Sim receptivity, an independent variable that combines exposure and recall, significantly improved literacy, numeracy, socio-emotional strategies, and nutritional knowledge. Locally-produced educational media should be encouraged as it can positively affect potential school success and child development.

Translation Apps: Increasing Communication with Dual Language Learners - Lake, Vickie E.; Beisly, Amber H. (Early Childhood Education Journal, 2019)
Dual language learners (DLLs) represent one of the fastest growing populations in classrooms, and yet many teachers are monolingual and not trained in English as a Second Language. Many teachers strive to create an anti-bias classroom that puts goals of diversity and equity at the center of all that they do, but are unsure of effective strategies for communicating with all students. By supporting the home language, teachers show their DLLs and native English speakers that every child’s home language is important and welcome in the classroom. Using translation apps can help teachers talk to their students, build relationships with children and families, and support bilingualism. Once teachers and children can communicate successfully, DLLs can increase their understanding of content, engagement, motivation, communication, and sense of self-esteem. The three apps discussed in this article, Speak and Translate, Microsoft Translator, and Google Translate have been shown to be helpful in facilitating interactions with children in their home language. Additional information is provided on using these apps, as well as their potential benefits and drawbacks.
Keywords: Anti-bias curriculum; Dual language learners; Technology; Translation apps

Factors affecting cloud computing adoption in the Indian school education system - Singh, Jewan; Mansotra, Vibhakar (Education and Information Technologies, 2019)
Cloud computing is becoming a leading trend worldwide, due to its enhanced reliability, scalability, flexibility, availability and processing throughput. However, the decision related to adoption of the cloud computing model is often complicated by challenges and uncertainties about the expected business value and its overall impact on the organisation. Till date, different contemporary technology acceptance theories and models have been used to test and validate adoption chances of cloud computing at organisational and individual levels. However, no experimental study has been conducted to provide a holistic evaluation of the determinants of cloud computing in the Asian world particularly in the context of the Indian school education system. Due to lack of such studies, we propose a theoretical model based on the TOE framework to explain the role of technological, organisational and environmental factors on the adoption of cloud computing in the Indian school education system. The data was collected from fifty-six 56 randomly selected secondary schools through questionnaire based survey to examine the relationship between the variables employing 5-points Likert scale. Reliability and validity measures were used to establish the quality and the usefulness of the collected data. In addition multi co-linearity test was also conducted. In order to test the research hypothesis, multiple regression analysis was conducted. The results indicate that relative advantage, compatibility, and complexity representing technological factors; top management support representing organisational factors; and competitive pressure, external expertise and attitude towards change representing environmental factors were found to have an positive and significant influence on the adoption of cloud computing services in the Indian school education system. The findings have a great significance since they can provide knowledge about cloud computing factors as well as insights and directions to the education policy planners and decision makers for successful adoption of cloud computing technology in India.

One step at a time: the effects of an early literacy text-messaging program for parents of preschoolers - York, Benjamin N.; Loeb, Susanna; Doss, Christopher (Journal of Human Resources, 2019)
Large systematic differences in young children’s home learning experiences have long-term economic consequences. Many parenting programs place significant demands on parents’ time and inundate parents with information. This study evaluates the effects of READY4K!, an eight-month-long text-messaging intervention for parents of preschoolers that targets the behavioral barriers to engaged parenting. We find that READY4K! increased parental involvement at home and school by 0.15 to 0.29 standard deviations, leading to child gains in early literacy of about 0.11 standard deviations. The results point to the salience of behavioral barriers to parenting and the potential for low-cost interventions to reduce these barriers.
Keywords: C93; D91; I21

Integrating social media platforms into higher education pedagogy in Ghana - Appiah-Boateng, Patricia (University of Ghana, 2019)

Connected Society: The State of Mobile Internet Connectivity 2019 - Bahia, Kalvin; Suardi, Stefano (GSMA, 2019)

Medium- and Long-Term Educational Consequences of Alternative Conditional Cash Transfer Designs: Experimental Evidence from Colombia - Barrera-Osorio, Felipe; Linden, Leigh L.; Saavedra, Juan E. (American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 2019)
In 2005 the city of Bogota, Colombia, introduced three conditional cash transfer programs for secondary schooling, randomly assigning socioeconomically disadvantaged students to different payment structures. We show, through administrative data, that forcing families to save one-third of the transfer increases long-term human capital accumulation by means of additional tertiary education—which is not incentivized—, casting doubt on conditionalities as a driving mechanism. Directly incentivizing on-time tertiary enrollment does no better than forcing families to save a portion of the transfer. Whereas forcing families to save increases enrollment in four-year universities, incentivizing tertiary enrollment only increases enrollment in low-quality colleges.
Keywords: Education; Financial Aid, Returns to Education, Human Capital; Household Saving; Human Development; Income Distribution; Labor Productivity, Economic Development: Human Resources; Migration; Occupational Choice; Personal Finance, State and Local Government: Health; Public Pensions, Analysis of Education, Educational Finance; Skills; Welfare

Bangladesh Primary Education Annual Sector Performance Report (ASPR) 2019 - Directorate of Primary Education (2019)

Meeting the Academic and Social-Emotional Needs of Nigeria’s Out-of-School Children What works and what doesn’t for an accelerated learning program - IRC (International Rescue Committee, 2019)

The potential of MOOCs for large-scale teacher professional development in contexts of mass displacement - Kennedy, Eileen; Laurillard, Diana (2019)
The mass displacement of people across the world, currently estimated at 65 million, creates a massive demand for new forms of education for children, young people and adults. However, this cannot be addressed without attending to what this means for teachers and other professionals involved in education and training. Clearly, there is a need for large-scale teacher professional development (TPD). Digital technology has the potential to meet this demand, but challenges are presented by the poor digital infrastructure in contexts of mass displacement. Data from two projects are analysed to explore the viability of scaling up TPD in the form of co-designed massive open online courses (MOOCs). The first data set is from a co-designed TPD MOOC project Blended Learning Essentials, to show that digital technology can be effective for scaling up TPD, but that a sustainability plan must be in place from the outset. The second data set is from a project that built on the first to run stakeholder co-design workshops in Lebanon, as a way of developing large-scale TPD in this most challenging context. Lebanon has the highest proportion of refugee to host communities in the world. This case study indicates that MOOCs could be viable in such a context, but also highlights the need to balance the generic principles being offered with a focus on localized practice. A theory of change is presented to outline a method of meeting these challenges by employing a co-design methodology to create self-sustaining digital TPD in the context of Lebanon, and to test this model with the contexts of mass displacement experienced by other participants in the MOOC.
Keywords: Google Scholar/ "blended learning" refugee education; RER theme_supporting educators; ___working_potential_duplicate