A collection of essays from Brookings' Center for Universal Education: Meaningful education in times of uncertainty

Thursday, August 3, 2017. From Brookings: We are living at a time of enormous uncertainty. Technology is advancing at an ever-increasing rate, transforming the nature of work and employment. Widening inequality threatens to further disrupt our systems and to leave a large part of the world behind. And as a result, our political systems are increasingly facing an isolationist backlash.

Change is happening at a disorienting pace and our institutions can barely keep up.

That’s why, in March 2017, we convened a meeting of top thought leaders in the fields of learning, innovation, and technology. We asked them: how can we rapidly accelerate progress in education—not only to help marginalized communities catch up to where the privileged are today, but also to reach a more effective, holistic, and equitable education for every child in the world?

This collection of essays represents the outcome of those discussions. It addresses some of the most urgent and important issues of our time.

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Accelerated Education Working Group – Launch of Guidance Materials in DC, October 3, 2017 (Save the Date)

From ECCN: ECCN is happy to support the Accelerated Education Working Group in launching its revised and updated guidance materials for accelerated education in crisis and conflict-affected countries. The updated materials include the Guide to the Accelerated Education Principles, 10 Principles for Effective Practice, Accelerated Education definitions, and its new Accelerated Education Learning Agenda.

The Accelerated Education Principles (AEP) and research seek to improve the quality of Accelerated Education (AE) programming to better serve children and youth unable to access formal schooling in crisis and conflict settings. AE is a vital strategy to support the Sustainable Development Goals and initiatives such as Education Cannot Wait.

The event will be hosted at EDC, in Washington, DC, on October 3, 2017. Space will be limited, so mark your calendars and stay tuned for sign-up and program details. Updates and all published resources can also befound on the ECCN AEWG webpage.

Journal on Education in Emergencies – Volume 3 Now Available

By Heddy Lehman via ECCN

July 19- The third issue of the Journal on Education in Emergencies (JEiE) is now available. With this new issue of JEiE — which consists of three research articles, one field note, and four book reviews — we return to the positive face of education as we examine its contributions to peacebuilding. The articles in this issue bring a range of analyses to this question, including a focus on social justice, reconciliation, inclusion, gender norms, and the importance of social cohesion.

The full JEiE Volume 3, Number 1 can be downloaded for free here. 

For detailed information about the Journal on Education in Emergencies, and for instructions on how submit articles, please visit www.ineesite.org/journal.

Early Childhood Education report language in the House

Explicit support for early childhood education was included in the House State and Foreign Operations FY 2018 Appropriations bill report.

Under Basic Education: “The Committee is concerned that USAID has not sufficiently integrated programs for pre-primary education into the basic education strategy. Not later than 90 days after enactment of this Act, the USAID Administrator is directed to submit a report to the Committees on Appropriations on the criteria used to determine where pre-primary education programs are funded. The report should also include a list of countries and funding levels for all current pre-primary education programs. The Committee encourages the USAID Administrator to explore opportunities to promote early child development through ongoing activities and programs, including screening for early development delays and training for caregivers about behaviors that promote brain development….”

At HLPF, countries reaffirm commitment to SDG's but recognize that stronger partnerships and cooperation are needed

From UN's Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform

July 21, New York- Countries reaffirmed their commitment to achieve the landmark 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development that provides a framework for sustainable development for all countries as the eight-day High Level Political Forum concluded on Wednesday.

“The 2017 HLPF has yet again reaffirmed its place as a central platform for follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda. The Ministerial Declaration set forth important recommendations and political guidance on all seven SDGs under discussion as well as on the voluntary national reviews and cross-cutting issues”, said the President of ECOSOC after the adoption of the 10-page ministerial declaration by consensus although there was a vote on two paragraphs, one concerning international trade and the other, on peoples living under colonial and foreign occupation.

Countries recognized that after almost two years of implementation “our individual and collective efforts have yielded encouraging results in many areas.” But they acknowledged “that the pace of implementation must be accelerated as the tasks facing us are urgent.”

Countries also noted that the Secretary-General’s report on the progress made towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, found that while global progress has been evident in many cases, it has been uneven across countries and regions and also insufficient across many targets.

The Declaration commits “to ending poverty and hunger and ensuring healthy lives (…); combating inequalities within and among the countries; and healing and securing our planet”. It also stresses “that climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our time and its widespread, unprecedented impacts disproportionately burden the poorest and most vulnerable.”

While the Declaration represents an early indication of the global resolve to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, many countries also expressed disappointment that various issues were not fully represented, or that certain issues were not represented as strongly as they wished.

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BEC co-hosts multi-sector Early Childhood Development event on Capitol Hill

More than 100 people attended the event “Ensuring All Children Thrive: A Global Challenge" on Capitol Hill, July 19th. BEC's Early Childhood Development group was pleased to co-host the event, with the American Academy of Pediatrics, RESULTS, Catholic Relief Services, the Global Alliance for Children, Global Partners United, The Lego Group, The Lego Foundation, PATH, 1,000 Days, RTI, Save the Children, Sesame Workshop, and UNICEF USA.

The event began with a call to action by U.S. Rep. Dan Donovan (R-NY) followed by presentations from the American Academy of Pediatrics, the World Bank Group, and UNICEF about evidence drawn from brain science, economics, and field programs about the need for early childhood development (ECD) to be prioritized in U.S. foreign assistance. Sesame Workshop spoke about their strategies for engaging children and families, including a chat with Zari, a 6-year-old Muppet girl from Afghanistan who just began to attend school and is very eager to learn how to read and write. The Lego Foundation brought evidence for play-based learning from the LEGO Foundation and activities for audience participation (pictured above). There were also interactive stations from Catholic Relief Services, LEGO, PATH, RTI, Save the Children, and Sesame Workshop, and child-friendly refreshments from Ice Cream Jubilee. Staff for Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) secured the room and went above and beyond the call of duty to accommodate the innovative format.

We have heard that the event infused new enthusiasm for global ECD on Capitol Hill and look forward to more opportunities to leverage partnerships for increased awareness of the importance of early childhood education and care. 


Above: Zari, the Afghan Muppet, on Capitol Hill July 19th, advocating for early childhood education.
Photo by Jim Stipe/Catholic Relief Services.