Blog

This paper was co-authored with Alec Gershberg and originally posted on March 29, 2023 and can be downloaded from https://riseprogramme.org/publications/politics-accountability-and-learning-insights-rise-programmes-political-economy-case The RISE (Research on Improving Systems of Education) Programme political economy team focused on “adoption” (PET-A) examines the political conditions required to put learning at the center of an education system. This work stream has … Continue reading Politics, Accountability, and Learning: Insights from the RISE Programme’s Political Economy Case Studies →

This paper was co-authored with Luis Crouch and originally published March 22, 2023, and can be downloaded in full at https://riseprogramme.org/publications/purpose-driven-education-system-transformations-history-lessons-korea-and-japan This paper is an essay in comparative educational history and its possible relevance to educational development today. It addresses the question of whether Japan and Korea’s history in using educational development to further national … Continue reading Purpose-Driven Education System Transformations: History Lessons from Korea and Japan →

This insight note was originally published on January 30, 2023 at https://riseprogramme.org/publications/investing-foundational-skills-first-case-south-korea? Key Points Foundational learning in the first two decades post-independence was supported by a historical context that cultivated high demand for quality, equitable education;  Adoption and adaptation of policies from elsewhere took place in an atmosphere of healthy debate between foreign advisors, domestic policy-makers, and … Continue reading Investing in Foundational Skills First: A Case from South Korea →

This blog was written by Laura Cashman, Charlotte Allen, and myself and was originally published at https://baice.ac.uk/blog-post/provoking-conversations-around-power-positionality-and-bias-in-quantitative-research/ on 27 October 2021. Earlier this year, the student-run Quantitative Methods Group at the Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge began discussing the implications of power, positionality and bias in quantitative research. While qualitative researchers have undertaken important … Continue reading Provoking Conversations Around Power, Positionality, And Bias In Quantitative Research →

This blog was originally published at https://riseprogramme.org/blog/low-learning-school-dropout-agency on 10 August, 2021 How does our approach to low learning and dropout change when we assume that young people are, in fact, quite mindful of their future opportunities and aware of what is needed to grasp them? The 2021 SDG progress report estimates that 584 million students … Continue reading Low Learning, School Dropout, and the Exercise of Agency in the Context of Constrained Choices →

This blog was written by Michelle Kaffenberger, Danielle Sobol, Marla Spivack and myself and originally published at https://riseprogramme.org/blog/increase-girls-schooling-improve-girls-learning on 14 June, 2021 A new paper shows that girls who are learning are more likely to stay in school. Improving learning could be key to achieving both schooling and learning goals. The G7 recently agreed to two new education … Continue reading To Increase Girls’ Schooling, Improve Girls’ Learning →

This blog was originally published on the AISE Consulting Blog on 16 November, 2020. This past Tuesday, 10 November, Campaign for Female Education (CAMFED) Co-CEOs Angie Murimirwa and Lucy Lake shared insights from their organization’s response to the impact of COVID-19 on girls’ education with members of Cambridge University’s REAL (Research for Equitable Access in … Continue reading COVID and Education →

This blog was written by Michelle Kaffenberger, Danielle Sobol, and myself and originally published at https://riseprogramme.org/publications/role-low-learning-driving-dropout-longitudinal-mixed-methods-study-four-countries on 20 April, 2021 (paper download available at link). Using unique longitudinal quantitative and qualitative data, we examine the role that low learning plays in driving dropout in Ethiopia, India, Peru, and Vietnam. Regression analysis using IRT-linked test scores and … Continue reading The role of low learning in driving dropout: A longitudinal mixed methods study in four countries →

This blog was originally published on the Faculty of Education Research Student Association (FERSA) blog on 30 November, 2020. We all carry a multiplicity of identities into our research, some of which are closer to the top of our minds at any moment in time. Some identities can’t be set down at any point– my … Continue reading Fieldwork interrupted: On identities, deep breaths, and difficult decisions →