08 Jan 2016
NEET: “Time to Look at the Whole Picture of Youth” By Ummuhan Bardak
By Ummuhan Bardak, European Training Foundation. ‘Unemployed youth’ has typically been the focus of youth-related discussions, in both developing and transition countries (and indeed in the so-called developed countries). Looking at the whole picture, however, there are many more young people who are ‘at risk’ than only the unemployed; e.g. youth who lack access to... Read More
04 Jan 2016
Education and Work’s New Lease of Life: The End of Post-2015 and the Start of 2030? By Kenneth King
By Kenneth King, Editor NORRAG News. Almost exactly a year ago, we told readers of the NORRAG Blog: ‘We [in NORRAG] are looking critically across this whole extraordinary process [of post-2015], and trying to capture and summarise some of the key directions – for the benefit of the many readers who just can’t keep up... Read More
29 Dec 2015
Disadvantage at the Starting Gate: Early Childhood Education in Pakistan By Huma Zia Faran
By Huma Zia Faran, Annual Status of Education Report (ASER), Pakistan. The recent upsurge in research on the development of a child’s brain underscores the need for greater attention to early childhood care and education, especially in developing countries. Studies (Cunha et al., 2006, and Heckman et al., 2010) reveal how a child’s brain develops... Read More
23 Dec 2015
Rethinking Education: Towards a Global Common Good? UNESCO’s New Humanistic Manifesto? By Maren Elfert
By Maren Elfert, University of British Columbia, Canada. UNESCO’s Education Sector launched Rethinking Education: Towards a Global Common Good? on 4th November 2015 during the 38th session of UNESCO’s General Conference. The report represents the outcome of the deliberations of a Senior Experts’ Group, coordinated by the head of the Education Research and Foresight Unit,... Read More
21 Dec 2015
Rebranding TVET to Attract Youth in Ghana: The Use of Competency-Based Training and the National TVET Qualification Framework By Sebastian Deh
By Sebastian Deh, Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training, Ghana. Rebranding Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) to make it attractive to the youth is a topical, though not new, issue in Ghana. This is necessary because of the role technical and vocational skills is expected to play in reducing the increasing... Read More
09 Dec 2015
How can Teachers be Supported to Provide Quality Learning in Emergency and Conflict Situations? The Experience of South Sudan By John J. Lujang Wani
By John J. Lujang Wani, Ministry of Education, South Sudan. South Sudan, the world’s youngest country, committed itself to the Education for All (EFA) goals and education Millennium Development Goal (MDG) and began collecting educational data in 2011. South Sudan has been working towards achieving these international education goals by making sure the Ministry of... Read More
03 Dec 2015
The Role of Education in Preventing Urban Violence and Countering Violent Extremisms By Mario Novelli & Joost Monks
By Mario Novelli, University of Sussex and NORRAG & Joost Monks, NORRAG. In the wake of the bombings in Ankara, the blowing up of the Russian commercial plane in Sharm el Sheik, the bombings in Beirut, the Paris attacks and the attack on the Radisson Blu Hotel in Bamako, fear of Daesh-led terror has spread... Read More
26 Nov 2015
Vocational Education and Training, Human Rights, Human Development and Equality in the Occupied Palestinian Territory By Randa Hilal
By Randa Hilal, OPTIMUM for Consultancy and Training, Ramallah, Palestine. How can Vocational Education and Training (VET) reduce the inequalities related to gender, youth, and refugee status and contribute to human development? This is the key research question I am exploring using the case of Palestine, looking through a human rights and a human development... Read More
19 Nov 2015
Learning Assessments as Public Goods? By Michel Carton and Velibor Jakovleski
By Michel Carton and Velibor Jakovleski, NORRAG The intentions behind the “data revolution” in terms of policy-making are relatively straightforward. Data are meant to guide policy and help close existing gaps between developed and developing countries, in effect making the development process more efficient. It follows the same reasoning that popular American gym L.A. Fitness... Read More
13 Nov 2015
The Need for an SDG Demonstration in Education: Why Wait Till 2030? By Steven J. Klees
By Steven J. Klees, University of Maryland. The recently approved United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) for education, like all the SDGs, is set to be attained by 2030. A very important target is to achieve universal primary education (UPE). But this was the target of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), set by the U.N.... Read More