When it comes to implementing education sector policies, educators across Sub-Saharan Africa face a common set of challenges. These include: Lack of clarity as to the practical steps needed to turn national policy into tangible outcomes. Poor co-ordination at national level means policy priorities vary between councils, boards and… Read more →←
Topic: Data and research
What level of inequality in children’s education should rich societies tolerate? There will always be inequality in children’s educational achievements, but our new study argues that we should look to the countries with the smallest gaps between the best- and worst-performing students, as some of these countries can show us how to… Read more →←
Despite attempts to reform basic education curriculum in sub-Saharan Africa, learning levels have remained stubbornly low. The general movement away from a traditional curriculum (broadly defined as ‘academic’ and teacher-centred with high subject content) towards an ‘outcome’-based curriculum (i.e., student-centred and focused… Read more →←
First, recognise their fundamental right to education. Second, start counting them. “The answer is 4!” says Patricia, 10, as she walks confidently to the board to solve a problem during math class. She goes to school in Sandema, Ghana. At first glance, her classroom appears to be like any other, but a closer look reveals some… Read more →←
Despite significant investments going into improving the performance of teachers, evidence suggests there is a crisis in both teaching and learning. Why have we (governments, development partners, stakeholders, ‘experts’) got it so wrong? And what could we change in the future? Having worked on teacher programmes in developing… Read more →←
Do leaders, citizens and donors agree on the most important development challenges to solve in the countries where they work? Whose support and what conditions make progress more or less likely? Which international donors do leaders prefer as development partners? To answer these questions, the Listening to Leaders 2018 report draws… Read more →←
Quality pre-primary education is critical to a child’s cognitive, social and emotional development, growth, school readiness and future economic potential. However, only 42 per cent of children in sub-Saharan Africa participate in any organized pre-primary education before the typical enrolment age for grade one. And those that… Read more →←
UNICEF has commissioned 10 papers by leading researchers and practitioners to stimulate debate around educational challenges in Eastern and Southern Africa: a region where most children attend school, but many are not learning the basics. While the articles have academic roots, they are not research papers, nor do they represent… Read more →←
In the Data and Analytics Section of UNICEF, we produce many reports based on the in-depth database we maintain here in HQ. However, in March, we launched a flagship report: Progress for Every Child in the SDG Era. The report looks across all 232 SDG (Sustainable Development Goals) indicators, identifies the 44 that refer directly to… Read more →←
Ebola deaths in Sierra Leone made international headlines. But there’s no doubt what the bigger killer is: malaria. Each death is its own tragedy. I felt it immediately when stepping into the Koroma’s home. Family members were trying to cope with the loss of Kadiatu, their breadwinner who, after a brief illness, had died two… Read more →←
