International Developments (no.10) 2021

ISSN 1838-6172 No. 10 2021 In this issue Monitoring progress towards the SDGs Learning inequities in Southeast Asia Nepal tests higher order skills Assessing a girls education program in Zambia Learning through play at school Australian Council for Educational Research Australian Council for Educational Research Improving learning in low- and middle-income countries The Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) is one of the world’s leading educational research centres. Our mission is to create and promote research-based knowledge, products and services that can be used to improve learning across the lifespan. Since it was established in 1930, ACER has built a strong reputation as a provider of reliable support and expertise to education policymakers and professional practitioners. ACER is a not-for-profit organisation working to improve learning outcomes, including for students in developing contexts. ACER’s team of highly skilled educational researchers are experts in large-scale assessment, education policy, curricula, and teaching and learning. Our development work is funded through strategic partnerships across the international development sector, including with governments, international agencies and philanthropic organisations. In the last five years alone, ACER has worked alongside partners to improve the quality of learning for children in over 40 countries, through more than 120 international development projects. Researchers in our global offices have extensive experience working in the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East, Africa, Europe and Australia. Local staff have in-depth understanding of regional educational policies and contexts. ACER conducts, supports and uses research to improve student learning in low- and middle-income countries. Our work supports children in countries facing a range of socio-political issues, economic challenges and natural disasters. We focus on three key areas: getting the foundations right during the early years; improving teaching and learning; and building better systems to support student learning outcomes. ACER continues to work with its partners to minimise the effects of COVID-19 on education across the globe. The Australian Strategic Partnerships in Remote Education (ASPIRE) initiative that connects Australian expertise in remote education with partners in the Indo-Pacific region is just one of our projects enhancing global responses to the pandemic. ACER led the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) from 2000 until 2012, and continues to conduct the Australian component and provide support to countries new to the program. ACER is currently supporting 21 countries to strengthen their national assessment programs and is a recognised partner in all areas of largescale assessment – both regionally and nationally – for United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) countries in the AsiaPacific region. The Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Centre is a long-term partnership between ACER and the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). The GEM Centre drives improvements in learning by supporting the monitoring of education worldwide. ACER brings a rigorous and researchbased orientation to the focus of Sustainable Development Goal 4 on measuring learning outcomes. ACER is an official partner of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The GEM Centre provides technical support to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), which monitors the progress of countries against SDG 4 through the Global Alliance to Monitor Learning (GAML). In this issue of International Developments, we showcase some of our projects that are helping to improve learning outcomes in lowand middle-income countries. We cover a range of key areas − from learning assessments and capacity development to professional learning and program evaluation − that aim to improve the education of children from early childhood to secondary school. We explore important themes such as inclusive education and the education of girls in challenging contexts. This issue also features our work to support education systems impacted by COVID-19 and takes an in-depth look at how ACER enables education stakeholders to monitor progress towards achieving the SDGs. We hope you enjoy reading about how ACER’s work is improving learning in a range of contexts. CONTENTS International Developments No. 10 2021 In this issue… Monitoring progress towards the SDGs Building partnerships in remote education during COVID-19 International Developments is published by Australian Council for Educational Research 19 Prospect Hill Road Camberwell VIC 3124 Phone: +61 3 9277 5555 Australia Email: Website: www.acer.org Copyright © 2021 Australian Council for Educational Research Published April 2021 All rights reserved. Except under the conditions described in the Copyright Act 1968 of Australia and subsequent amendments, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of the publishers. Photographic credits Cover page Abir Roy Barman – Shutterstock Page 4 Pack-short – Shutterstock Page 6 Ronaldy Irfak – Shutterstock Page 8 Oxana Mamlina – Shutterstock Page 10 Billion Photos – Shutterstock Page 12 Kalilipatvideoart – Shutterstock Page 14 Jose Matheus – Shutterstock Page 16 Mangkorn Danggura – Shutterstock Page 18 Natanael Ginting – Shutterstock Page 20 Anton Ivanov – Shutterstock Page 22 DenisProduction.com – Shutterstock ISSN 1838-6172 ABN 19 004 398 145 Uncovering learning inequities in Southeast Asia ACER and UNICEF partner in assessment and evaluation A needs-based early childhood care and development model Improving learning outcomes through teacher development Reviewing professional development programs on inclusive teaching and learning Nepal shifts to the testing of higher order skills Measuring the impact of a girls education program in Zambia Investigating the impact of learning through play at school 04 06 08 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 Measuring where students are at in their learning is critical for determining whether the world is on track to meet SDG 4. ACER’s contribution to SDG 4 is spearheaded through the work of the GEM Centre, a long-term partnership with the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). At the core of the GEM Centre’s contribution is the development of technically sound and internationally comparable learning metrics that enable education stakeholders to align assessment systems with global SDG monitoring and reporting. Monitoring progress towards the SDGs The Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Centre is providing technical support to enable global, regional and national education stakeholders to monitor their progress towards United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (S (...truncated)