It starts with curiosity. Once something has our curiosity, we begin to study it. After a period of study, we begin to believe that we understand it. At this point, we find ways to put our understanding to the test. Using the test results, we update our understanding. It is through this reiterative process that we deepen our insight. At…
In Sierra Leone, the education data landscape has continued to grow and expand, with the government focusing on using data for decision-making now more than ever. Since the launch of the Free Quality School Education (FQSE) programme in 2018, the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education and the Teaching Service Commission have prioritised collecting and using this data to…
Are you a government official, NGO or researcher looking to understand what education data is available locally? Our new guidance note shares practical lessons learnt from mapping the availability of education data in Kenya, Malawi, and Sierra Leone. Last year, we posted about the Unlocking Data initiative and its goal to support access, use, and sharing of education data to…
A small group of primary school teachers in Makeni, Sierra Leone, huddle around a table in the principal’s office. Each holds a set of brightly coloured sticky notes that describes the teaching experience, payroll status, family background, and qualifications of three teachers — Sheku, Hawa, and Aminata. The group is debating how to allocate these teachers to a set of…
In March 2022, I joined the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona and spent a significant amount of time in a hall dedicated to exploring how things will be different 4 years from now (4YFN). The hall was full of startups showcasing the latest products for urban mobility, healthcare, education, and more. 4YFN invited me to moderate a fireside chat on…
In Part 2 of our strategy, we go deeper into EdTech Hub’s integrated approach to how we work, where we work, and how that comes together with our topics to inform our theory of change. Verna Lalbeharie, Executive Director The EdTech Hub integrated approach We do research because it is imperative to build deep quantitative and qualitative insight regarding how…
For the last five months, EdTech Hub has been exploring and refining our strategy for advancing evidence in EdTech for low- and middle-income countries. We invite you to explore our thinking for how we will carry out this mission within our context and in partnership with the global EdTech community. Verna Lalbeharie, Executive Director Acknowledgements Thank you to all of…
The Prioritizing Learning During Covid-19 report, recently launched by the Global Education Evidence Advisory Panel, reinforces a well-known but often overlooked refrain about EdTech: it is not a silver bullet. Using evidence from Covid responses, the report advises policymakers responding to learning loss caused by the pandemic to use existing EdTech, and focus on good pedagogy that is supported, rather…
Dr Noran Fouad is a Research Associate for Digital Pathways at Oxford University and has recently published a journal paper inviting policymakers and researchers to explore the links between EdTech and cybersecurity (Fouad, 2021). We sat down with her to discuss her paper and better understand how evidence related to cybersecurity could be used to improve EdTech programmes and policies.…
This guest post from The Busara Center for Behavioral Economics team members focuses on understanding non-structural barriers to achieving equity in education through EdTech. Classical economists put forward that “more is always better,” suggesting that having more options should always improve your situation (or at least keep it the same) no matter what the additional choice is, or when the information…
