NORRAG Series on International Education and Development – serie

Achieving Equitable Education argues that critical gaps in education data are hampering the achievement of one of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals: “inclusive and equitable quality education…for all”. This book critically explores education data gaps across regions, themes and levels of education, highlighting key relationships and disconnects between national, regional and global data needs.Written by expert researchers and practitioners, this informative book establishes a conceptual framework for assessing missing education data and how such gaps disproportionately affect marginalised groups. It then presents a series of regional perspectives on education data gaps from across the globe including Africa, the Arab states, Asia and Latin America, before examining how progress can be made in improving data governance. Incisive and perceptive, this book deftly interrogates the drivers of missing education data and argues that substantive reform to the global education data system can better contribute to the goal of quality, equitable education for all.Achieving Equitable Education will prove a stimulating resource for students and researchers in comparative education, education policy and international development. Its crucial overview of the education data regime will also benefit education practitioners and policymakers as well as practitioners working with national education data systems.

How do policymakers orient themselves in an era of surplus information? This insightful book presents a multidisciplinary investigation into the growing influence of knowledge brokers and how they utilize data to support education policy and planning.Contributors examine key actors' roles and strategies, contextual influences, and implications for equity and inclusion in the education sector, giving voice to experts in academia, institutional think tanks and intergovernmental organizations. Illustrating brokerage concepts through distinct cases, it demonstrates that institutional approaches are markedly different, and highlights the ways in which knowledge brokers have been repurposed to bring about social change, signalling a noticeable shift in the global discourse on education governance.The Rise of Knowledge Brokers in Global Education Governance is a valuable resource for researchers, analysts and planners in global governance, education policy and administration, international relations, political science and policy studies. It is also of interest to policymakers engaging with data and evidence in global education governance.

In this thought-provoking book, expert contributors challenge dominant global development and education narratives through an academic critique of contemporary coloniality in education, and move beyond critique to provide constructive ways forward to challenge and reinvent relations of domination and empower marginalised communities. Chapter authors explore education in the context of the climate crisis, education data, material and epistemic justice, and the use of so-called ‘good sense’ in international education development. Moving beyond an assessment of the educational landscape, Transforming Development in Education advocates for regenerative, restorative, and reparative action, encouraging readers to reimagine education and development pathways which lead to more equal and sustainable futures. Ultimately, the book argues that continuing to develop decolonial dialogue and practice enables education to live up to its potential as a catalyst for societal transformation and for the sustainability of our planet.Transforming Development in Education is a key resource for academics, researchers and students in education policy, comparative and international education, development studies and international relations. It presents key knowledge at the intersection between research, analysis, policy and practice, making it invaluable to international education policymakers and professionals.

This timely book investigates the emergence of data-for-accountability as a governing tool in education. Five leading scholars explore its evolution over time and across regions, highlighting how datafication in education benefits some and disadvantages others.The authors trace the origins of using data for accountability in education back to the 1990s, demonstrating how various actors have adapted and tailored this trend, thus diversifying its use as a governance tool. They examine the rise of student testing, performance-based evaluation and governance by numbers to reveal the political, economic and pedagogical uses and abuses of data. Drawing on a variety of methods, theories and disciplines, including a combination of macro-, meso-, and microlevel analyses, the authors illustrate how these instruments have taken root globally, why they persist and how their meanings and effects vary across policy contexts.Data for Accountability in Education is a crucial resource for scholars, students and practitioners in comparative education and international education policy, as well as those engaged with the sociology of education. Policymakers working with educational data will also find the book a valuable reference point for understanding accountability in education.

Businesses, philanthropies and non-profit entities are increasingly successful in capturing public funds to support private provision of schooling in developed and developing countries. Coupled with market-based reforms that include weak regulation, control over workforces, standardization of processes and economies of scale, private provision of schooling is often seen to be convenient for both public authorities and businesses. This book examines how the public subsidization of these forms of private education affects quality, equality and the realization of human rights.With original research from leading experts, The State, Business and Education sheds light on the privatization of education in fragile circumstances. It illustrates the ways in which private actors have expanded their involvement in education as a business, and shows the influence of policy borrowing on the spread of for-profit education. Case studies from Argentina, Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India and Syrian refugee camps illustrate the ways in which private actors have expanded their involvement in education as a business.This book will be of interest not only to academics and students of international and comparative education, but also to education development professionals in both the private and public sectors, with its empirical assessment of case studies, and careful consideration of the lessons to be learned from each.Contributors include: M. Avelar, J. Barkan, M. de Koning, A. Draxler, C. Fontdevila, S. Kamat, F. Menashy, M.C. Moschetti, E. Richardson, B. Schulte, C.A. Spreen, G. Steiner-Khamsi, A. Verger, Z. Zakharia, A. Zancajo

Challenging commonly held perceptions of philanthropic organisations, this book brings together a range of interdisciplinary contributors from across the globe to explore the most pressing issues facing those working in and with philanthropy and education. It focuses on the increasing influence of new philanthropic actors on the global education sector, offering a thorough insight into the topic.This engaging book explores actor relationships in philanthropic and educational spaces, and examines different types of philanthropy, including corporate, family and state giving, as well as examining the latest trends in the field. Chapters build on research from the Global North/Global South, offering a wide range of perspectives on philanthropy and education in Africa, South America, North America and the Middle East. New actors, new partnerships and new roles emerging in philanthropic engagement with the education sector are highlighted, offering insight into innovative approaches to finance and the impact of public-private partnerships.Suggesting key areas of discussion for future research, this discerning book is a vital read for development studies, philanthropy and globalisation scholars. It also contains critical analysis of the role of philanthropic organisations working in the education space for policy-makers looking to understand the field in more depth.

The global education crisis is a complex problem that requires change from teachers, school managers, civil society, implementers, planners, governments and donors. Addressing the issues that lie beneath this crisis requires new ways of working. Systems thinking is a suite of approaches to grappling with complex problems that is beginning to gain traction in international education. This book brings together new research in the nascent field of systems thinking in international education.Outlining the implications that systems thinking can hold for future research, practice and progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 4, a diverse range of leading scholars, policymakers and practitioners present novel research to encourage the shift from a linear view of change to a systems view. Chapters present diverse approaches to applying systems thinking in education across middle- and low-income countries, alongside research on how this has changed mindsets more widely. Questioning notions such as scaling and the universal applicability of ‘what works’, authors here suggest that locally relevant evidence and systemic rewards for using it are necessary to achieve SDG 4. This innovative book exemplifies how systems thinking offers the tools, frameworks and concepts to improve outcomes in education systems.With the education crisis further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, this timely book is essential reading for all those concerned with education and sustainable development goals. This thought-provoking book should be read by all those working to achieve SDG4; those whose day jobs inspire them and who look to their bookshelves for new ideas.