Bringing the Scientific Method to the Classroom
Context Hundreds of millions of children are in schools and are not learning much. There are lots of plausible reasons for that: failed policies, resource shortages and substandard management being some of them. But what about what actually happens inside the classroom – the actual 40-minute experience an 8th grade child has in her Science […]
Unlocking the Educational Potential of the 3.5 Billion Still Offline
There are still 3.5 billion offline in the world today, 75% of which are distributed in just 20 countries, most of them disproportionately rural, female, poor and illiterate. The problem is, these countries with the least internet access are the same ones with the least access to quality education in general, including fewer qualified […]
Putting Education at the Heart of Global Development
This interview was originally published in Q Magazine’s 4th Issue For Dr Asmaa E Al Fadala, the field of education has always been one that requires a local understanding and a global outlook. In her pursuit of educational reform, her career path has transitioned from being a physics teacher in Qatar; a science coordinator following her acquisition […]
Blurring the Boundaries Between School and Life
We sat down to talk with Ms. Kiran Bir Sethi, Founder-Director of the Riverside School in Ahmedabad, India. Riverside School creates working models of pedagogical practices with a single-minded focus: student wellbeing. The curriculum prioritizes real-world learning as part of its pedagogy such that character and content go hand in hand. Here’s what she […]
Community-Based Education: A Perspective From The Escuela Nueva Model
Community-based education represents a true learner-centered and participatory education. It offers relevant, contextualized, and future-oriented educational processes; it also represents a way to materialize Dewey’s philosophy of experience. Overall, community-based education aims to build interconnections. It develops students’ identities and their sense of belonging (Powers, 2004), links knowledge and reality (Gregory A. Smith & […]
The Need to Transform Autism Education
Autistic people, of all abilities and across the age range, have enormous potential to enrich our lives. They process and understand the world in a unique way, and we can all learn from their experiences and perspectives. Sadly, there continue to be social barriers for this population, including severe financial and personal difficulties, as […]
Libraries as a Space for Self-Actualization in the Refugee Context
The practice of curating libraries can be traced back to 2600 BC while their significance as hubs of knowledge remains uncontested until this day. Libraries, often synonymous with learning, complement existing educational institutions. In situations where these institutions have diminished, particularly for refugee and migrant communities, libraries are becoming a key component of responding to this […]
Championing Girls’ Education and Health with Malaika and the Global Fund
Working with girls is deeply personal to me. Alongside a dedicated team, we founded Malaika in 2007 as a grassroots nonprofit whose mission is to empower girls and communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) through education and health programs. Malaika believes in the enormous potential of the Congolese people to bring about […]
The Future of Africa’s Education is in the Hands of African Youth
In 1993, I was a second-grade student at St Paul’s Primary School, one of the top-ranked schools in northern Ghana. I remember clearly the unpainted and overcrowded classroom with limited resources as well as the fact that our teachers rarely showed up. The 2016 USAID report on Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) shows that […]
Leaving No One Behind: Empowering Women Through Education
Sustainable development begins with education which holds the key to achieving most of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) from healthy families to sustainable communities and peaceful societies. To achieve SDG 5 for gender equality and women’s empowerment we need first and foremost invest our effort in ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting […]