International Developments (No.3) 2013

id INTERNATIONAL d e v elo p m ent s ISSN 1838-6172 No. 3 2013 Partner focus UNICEF and UNESCO Regional focus Africa Issues Literacy and marginalised children Australian Council for Educational Research Australian Council for Educational Research The Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) is one of the world’s leading educational research centres. For 80 years ACER has developed a solid reputation as a provider of reliable support to education policy makers and professional practitioners. ACER’s extensive research capacity is conducted across nine research programs: • Assessment and Reporting (Humanities and Social Sciences) • Assessment and Reporting (Mathematics and Science) • National Surveys • International Surveys • Systemwide Testing • Teaching, Learning and Transitions • Policy Analysis and Program Evaluation • Higher Education • Psychometrics and Methodology As a not-for-profit organisation independent of government, ACER receives no direct financial support and generates its entire income through contracted research and development projects and by developing and distributing products and services. The organisation has offices throughout Australia, as well as branches in Dubai and New Delhi. International influence ACER works in an increasingly international context, providing research and assessment services, consultancy, support and professional development programs to governments and educational organisations in numerous countries. In addition, ACER develops, implements and evaluates regional, national and international assessment programs for a broad range of international clients. ACER has been engaged in significant collaborative work with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) as the leading partner in a consortium responsible for the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). More recently, ACER led an international consortium in the development and implementation of the OECD’s Assessment of Higher Educational Learning Outcomes (AHELO) feasibility study. ACER also collaborates on a number of international development projects with organisations such as the World Bank, AusAID and the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID), contributing to educational evaluation and reform in a number of countries. Further, ACER is the International Study Centre responsible for the IEA International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS) and jointly conducts the IEA Teacher Education Development Study (TEDS) with Michigan State University. CONTENTS International Developments International Developments is published by Australian Council for Educational Research 19 Prospect Hill Road Camberwell VIC 3124 Phone: (03) 9277 5555 Email: Website: www.acer.edu.au Copyright © 2013 Australian Council for Educational Research Published May 2013 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. Editor: Steve Holden Design: ACER Project Publishing Printed by: Camten Graphics Photographic credits Cover/page 16, Nolte Lourens, Shutterstock Page 4 & 5, Sunny studio-Igor Yaruta, Shutterstock Page 6 & 7, Pockygallery, Shutterstock Pages 10 & 11, Pal Teravagimov, Shutterstock Pages 12 & 13, Birute Vijeikiene, Shutterstock Pages 14 & 15, Africa924, Shutterstock Pages 18 & 19, Ollyy, Shutterstock No. 3 2013 Making a difference in developing countries Partner focus Supporting high-quality education across the world Regional focus Africa 04 06 10 ISSN 1838-6172 ABN 19 004 398 145 Issues Literacy and the most marginalised children Snapshot Current international projects 16 18 Making a difference in developing countries The work of ACER in education is making the difference in educational outcomes for students across the world, particularly in developing countries, as Peter McGuckian explains. Peter McGuckian is the Director of International Development at the Australian Council for Educational Research. 4 International Developments ACER has worked internationally for more than 15 years, focusing initially on international assessments, particularly the Programme for International Student Assessment of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, and increasingly on other aspects of international education. ACER’s growing contribution in the area of international education includes policy analysis and program evaluation; research into teaching and learning; and research and evaluation addressing technical and vocational education and training, and higher education. Through this work, as well as through the establishment of offices in India and the United Arab Emirates, ACER has world-class expertise in understanding the particular education challenges faced by developing countries, and is contributing to a body of evidence-based knowledge on education and development. In order to better coordinate ACER’s growing range of education and development activities, and apply the organisation’s decades of education expertise to the context of education in developing countries more strategically, ACER has developed a specific research agenda around education and development, with the principle aim of making a contribution to the improvement of educational capacity in education in developing countries by working in partnership with governments and development organisations to design and implement contextually relevant policies and programs to increase education access, quality, inclusiveness and achievement for all learners. The aim of research in this field is the development of an evidence base to inform effective educational policies and practices in less developed countries. Over the past five years, ACER has undertaken education and development projects for AusAID, the World Bank, UNESCO, the Asian Development Bank and UNICEF in countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, Tajikistan, Ethiopia and Indonesia, as well as Samoa, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Tonga and Fiji. Underlying this work is ACER’s mission to create and promote knowledge and tools that can be used to improve learning across the lifespan, and the belief in the importance of ongoing, lifelong learning both for the fulfilment of individuals and for the wellbeing of society. experiences and outcomes for all children and young people, including the most disadvantaged. Research in the field of education and development addresses specialist topics and issues of particular relevance to the context of education in developing countries such as poverty and education, inclusive education (in order to better address social inequities such as those based on gender, ethnicity, disability (...truncated)