The Secret to School Transformation: Emotional Plumbing
Nestled inside a bamboo forest, Supo Elementary School was founded in 1917, and for decades was considered the best school in the lush rural outskirts of Chengdu, the mega-city capital of Sichuan province. That’s to say that rural children recited texts under their voices became coarse, and did test questions until their eyes squinted. In […]
Mobile Learning is the Only Viable Way to Preserve the Planet
Since the 1970s, the Earth has not been able to regenerate for itself the resources that humanity uses. Currently it takes a year and a half for the planet to regenerate what we use in a year and if the whole planet lived the lifestyle of the average Western nation, we would need five planets […]
How Are Corporations Making a Difference in Providing Middle Skills?
This article is part of a series on innovative solutions to tackle the main challenges of Latin American education (part 3 of 6). Demand for skills is rising fast in Latin America—much faster than the region’s education systems can handle. Latin American businesses are struggling to fill their open positions even as youth unemployment remains high. The private sector […]
K-12 Reform in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Countries: Challenges and Policy Recommendations
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries have recently experienced major education reforms, resulting in great achievements in learning outcomes. However, some limitations can be identified as existing gaps in access and quality of education persist. The report identifies and compares the development of the education reform initiatives put in place in selected countries of the […]
Creative Public Leadership: How School System Leaders Can Create the Conditions for System-wide Innovation
System leaders globally are aspiring toward a paradigm shift in education where a wider range of skills is achieved through new learning pathways. Such a shift requires a serious, disciplined and radical innovation at all levels of the system, and demands that governments rethink their roles in innovation eco-systems. This report aims to support system […]
Driving Grades, Driving Growth: How Private Capital in Education is Increasing Access, Inspiring Innovation, and Improving Outcomes
Across emerging markets, the middle class is growing, and with it, demands for quality education. While high-quality public sector provision is the backbone of education systems, private capital and new models of financing education has an important role to play in widening access, driving innovation, and increasing diversity of education offerings. This report explores the […]
What Can Schools Learn from Resistance to Change?
Even the most effective educational reform effort usually encounters some resistance. Resistance to change refers to any behavior furthering the maintenance of the status quo in the face of pressures to alter it. Much of the literature on change identifies resistance as a crucial element of reactions to change. Change may threaten and disturb us, but it […]
The Power of Reading Aloud
In today’s technology-driven era, reading a book is often considered boring and a chore. Reading for pleasure is an alien concept for many children around the world. A traditional book is lost amid a plethora of digital readers, iPads, and education applications. The fact that adults have very little or no time to read aloud […]
Online Networks: New Actors in Higher Education
With the expansion of hybrid learning spaces, career opportunities are much more conditioned by the building of networks than before, and the ability to build a digital identity allows better access to key professional networks. Using open licenses of content under Creative Commons; knowing how to create networking platforms; using social media; promoting face-to-face meetings with networks’ […]
Mobile Learning Evolves from Initiative to Ecosystem
On November 6, 2014, I organized a meet-up during the 2014 World Innovation Forum for Education. The audience was small, but diverse and active. Participants came from Egypt, France, Afghanistan, Palestine, Lebanon, China, as well as Qatar, where the summit was held. A variety of mobile phones were used by participants of this session, including […]