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Efficient use of resources depends upon many factors, but one key variable is the extent to which we design and implement activities which require funding in a way that is informed by relevant evidence. The application of insights about 'what works', derived from robust research, combined with evidence about context and real-time system data have, when taken together, the potential to add substantial value to 'building back better' after COVID-19. Evidence is the fuel that drives smart, adaptive, impactful policy. At its best, the combination of knowing what the most effective investments are and having great system intelligence that tells us how things are translating into action and change, will enable policy and decision-making to be strategic, open to fine tuning and deeply contextualised. Education Development Trust identifies five key components needed for an effective evidence-driven approach to education reform. (1) Ensure your data systems provide disaggregated data and insight about student outcomes and learning and resource distribution; (2) Use the available evidence about what works and engage in the drive to build more of the right kind of evidence that is relevant to specific circumstances; (3) Align global insight about what works with local contextual evidence and need; (4) Mediate evidence-based insights for policy professionals and frontline staff; and (5) Create collaborative spaces where professionals at all levels can engage with evidence and reflect on practice--these can be linked to specific improvement agendas (for example, girls' education). All of these interrelated components already exist in different forms and different places. All are essential for ensuring that approaches to education reform are both effective and evidence-driven.

The health emergency has stress-tested the education systems. What has been learned from the experience? And how can that be applied to lessons while seeking to ensure that 'building back better' is an evidence-informed undertaking? In this report, the authors identify ten lessons from the crisis of 2020-2021 that should be used to inform planning for the reconstruction of education in the long term: (1) The crisis has reinforced the need for adaptive, agile policymaking; (2) Meeting the equity challenge depends on data, detail and deliberate action; (3) The best external support for teachers comes from other teachers; (4) School leadership matters; (5) Without effective assessment for learning, it is impossible to meet the needs of individual students; (6) Great teaching and learning are not enough: schools need to address the wellbeing of students and teachers; (7) Access to technology is necessary but not sufficient: many teachers urgently need training in digital pedagogy; (8) Technology solutions must be accessible -- and include a no-tech safety net; (9) Parental and community resources must be harnessed to support learning; and (10) Effective support for girls must be prioritised in plans for reopening and learning recovery. The authors arrived at these ten lessons through a thorough global review of a range of sources including policy documents and research findings and through a series of interviews with senior leaders in some of the organisations and programmes featured. [This report was written with Susy Ndaruhutse and Ruth Naylor.]

The COVID-19 pandemic has been intensely disruptive to education all around the world. With children in many countries continuing to face prolonged absences from the classroom, innovative solutions are needed to maintain education continuity, especially for the most vulnerable students. Such crises require solutions that go beyond the resources of the 'traditional' education workforce, with local communities and inputs from other sectors playing a potentially important role in ensuring continuity of learning. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Education Development Trust has sought to be highly responsive to the changing needs of educators, system leaders and partners around the world. In doing so, Education Development Trust has developed an evidence base from which new thinking has been developed, called 'Learning Renewed', which reimagines what more effective, equitable and resilient education systems might look like, and how they might better withstand future shocks. This report, the second in the Learning Renewed series, explores the solutions adopted by a team in Kenya, where the roles of community health volunteers (CHVs) have been redesigned to support continuity of learning for the vulnerable girls, and identifies key lessons which may prove valuable both during and beyond the current crisis. To do so, Education Development Trust commissioned a research study to explore, in detail, CHV activities during school closure. Data was collected remotely through surveys, diaries written by CHVs and interviews with stakeholders. The research covered CHVs operating in both rural Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASAL) and urban areas. The research highlighted both many positive outcomes for girls and significant challenges. [Foreword is written by Tony McAleavy. For "Learning Renewed: A Safe Way to Reopen Schools in the Global South. Paper 1 of the Learning Renewed Series," see ED614318.]

As education systems around the world begin to emerge from COVID-19-related lockdown, governments are facing the difficult decision of when and how to reopen schools, balancing the risks of widespread learning loss -- and the impact this will have on a generation of learners -- with the risks of virus transmission, which are more significant in low-income settings. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Education Development Trust has sought to be highly responsive to the changing needs of educators, system leaders and partners around the world. In doing so, Education Development Trust has developed an evidence base from which new thinking has been developed, called 'Learning Renewed', which reimagines what more effective, equitable and resilient education systems might look like, and how they might better withstand future shocks. This programme of work will be continuing in the coming months, but this report is the first major think piece in this series. In it, a vision for 'flexible reopening' of schools is outlined, supplemented by community-based learning. A 'middle way' is proposed between full closure and full reopening, featuring smaller, tutorial-style classes attending school on a part-time basis, supplemented by community-based learning. The flexible opening model is not without challenges, but it offers the real potential to ensure higher quality education provision for some of the world's most vulnerable children. [For "Maintaining Learning Continuity during School Closure: Community Health Volunteer Support for Marginalised Girls in Kenya. Paper 2 of the Learning Renewed Series," see ED614319.]

This report captures what might be learnt from a selection of the world's most interesting examples of technology-assisted in-service professional development in lower-income countries and from wider reflections about the potential of technology to enhance the professional learning of teachers. This report explores the literature surrounding technology for professional learning, identifying six promising case studies: (1) UNESCO projects in Pakistan and Nigeria -- using mobile phones to deliver pedagogical content to early-grade and primary school teachers; (2) English in Action, Bangladesh using mobile phones and SD cards to deliver content to teachers; (3) Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa (TESSA) -- OER [Open Educational Resources] to support interactive teaching practice; (4) Teacher Education through School-based Support in India (TESS-India) -- OER to support the adoption of more engaging pedagogies; (5) Teachers for Teachers, Kenya -- using mobile technology to strengthen teacher development in Kakuma Refugee Camp; and (6) National Tablets Programme, Kenya -- improving the coaching provided to teachers. Through these case studies we have made a series of reflections on the impact technology can have on teacher professional development, particularly in low- and low-middle income contexts: (1) Promising technology is not enough, we must not forget the human factor; (2) Mobile technologies have high potential to improve the reach, scalability and flexibility of teacher professional development; (3) OER constitute a promising format for professional development resources; (4) High-impact, sustainable technology-enabled solutions depend on local partnership and a sense of local ownership; and (5) The design and delivery of effective technology-enabled professional learning depends on high-quality impact data and careful piloting solutions. Our report explores each of these case studies and reflections in greater detail, drawing lessons for policymakers, practitioners and other organisations who seek to provide technology-related professional development opportunities for teachers.

Vietnam's government schools have attracted a great deal of international attention since the publication of the 2012 PISA student tests: Vietnamese students performed particularly well in science, ranking eighth globally out of 65 participating jurisdictions; Vietnam maintained this position in 2015. The Education Development Trust partnered with the Vietnam Institute of Educational Sciences to find out how and why Vietnam has been so successful. Adopting a mixed-methodology approach for an insightful qualitative view of the Vietnam phenomenon, the authors conducted a policy analysis, a survey of parents, reviewed available secondary data, and conducted qualitative fieldwork in contrasting four provinces in Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Binh Dinh and Ha Giang). The aim of the research was to explore the country's approach to educational improvement. The investigation identified five key features of the Vietnamese school system that contributed to its success, each of which is explored in detail in this report: (1) Purposeful policy: the government of Vietnam has consistently stated, over many years, that education is a national priority; (2) High levels of accountability: the Vietnamese system can be characterised by high levels of accountability at all levels; (3) The quality of teaching and teachers: teaching in Vietnam is a highly respected profession; (4) School leadership that focuses on the classroom: principals in Vietnam have clearly defined roles as leaders of teaching and learning; and (5) Partnership between schools and parents: the Vietnamese government encourages high levels of partnership between schools and parents.

Data has played an important role in England's recent school improvement journey. The evolution of the approach has not been perfect but the National Pupil Database has become a vital tool for health checking the education system, driving accountability, directing education policymaking, and tracking the educational attainment of key vulnerable groups. Within the United Kingdom, education is a 'devolved' responsibility managed at the level of each of the four national jurisdictions: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. This report focuses on experiences in England, which is by far the largest of the four political units. The purpose of this report is to highlight some of the lessons learned and successes of the England national pupil data story. This report is based on the expertise and experience of its authors and draws on some relevant literature to support key points and provide illustrations. This report is intended to offer insights for policymakers in other countries where a national pupil level data system is being developed or refined. By sharing England's story the authors hope that others may be able to avoid some of the mistakes and unexpected consequences that were made in the last three decades of development in England. The report provides analysis of seven key lessons: (1) The school accountability system in England benefits from a data infrastructure of national tests and information about pupil characteristics, supported by technology; (2) English experience demonstrates the risks of an over-simplistic approach to school performance data; (3) In England, there has been an important and lively debate about 'value-added' measures which take into account the starting points of pupils; (4) There is a need for a national accountability system that evolves over time; (5) Accountability measures used in England have played a significant role in the development of school self-evaluation; (6) Schools can benefit from comparing their own students' performance with that of the national database through item level analysis; and (7) There should be an alignment between data-based support for internal school improvement and external school improvement through inspection.

This report considers how successful London's schools have been over the past decade and identifies potentially transferable components of the success story. There is much to be learned from the transformation undergone in London that is relevant to policymakers and educationalists worldwide, working in both high-income and low-income countries. The improvement in student academic outcomes in London since 2000 has been nothing short of outstanding. This report focuses on the applicability of the lessons from London to other contexts--so that policymakers can reflect on their relevance in education systems across the globe. Our original research report into London's success sought to investigate the causal factors which underpinned the transformation of schooling in London (Baars et al., 2014). The research identified key lessons for policymakers derived directly from a mixed-methods approach combining qualitative and quantitative data. The research involved analysis of student attainment and school inspection data, a literature review and a series of expert witness interviews with key people who played a part in the London story and focus groups with teachers in London schools. This report uses the original research and data in order to address how London's story can be applied to school reform worldwide. It re-purposes the lessons in order to make them relevant to a global audience, so that policymakers in whatever context--including both the developed and developing worlds--might learn from what happened in London. This report is divided into four main chapters. An initial Overview provides a summary of the research findings. Chapter 2 outlines the statistical evidence base from 2000 to 2013 which demonstrates the scale of the improvement in academic outcomes achieved by London's government schools during this period. Chapter 3 describes the specific reforms that proved to be successful in London, while Chapter 4 identifies the underlying themes which characterised these reforms.

This publication contains 12 (A3 open-out) poster-style reports of teacher experimental research. The style of presentation parallels the type of preliminary reporting common at academic conferences and postgraduate events. At the same time, it aims to act as a form of short primer to introduce teachers to the basic options that there are when conducting this type of research. This said, the determined teacher-researcher would be advised to extend their reading further to full-scale textbooks such as Richard Churches and Eleanor Dommett's "Teacher-Led Research: How to Design and Implement Randomised Controlled Trials and Other Forms of Experimental Research" which clearly explains how to choose and conduct the right statistical tests. "Education Development Trust" also offers an in-depth training programme over two days with access to statistical software and support for teachers when conducting and writing up their research. Most of the teachers in this report followed this programme in Wales, or in one case Dubai. Others, associated with Kyra Teaching School Alliance (led by Mount Street Academy, part of the CfBT Schools Trust), attended the Department for Education/ National College for Teaching and Leadership training that Richard Churches delivered as part of the "Closing the Gap: Test and Learn" programme in England. The reports in this publication demonstrate the potential of practising teachers to carry out research which applies a scientific method, both in terms of the generation of school-based local and contextual evidence and with regard to the development of a research-engaged, research-informed and research-led teaching profession. They also illustrate how poster-style reporting can offer an engaging and immediate way of understanding a piece of education research of this type, how the research was conducted and its implications for other teachers. The report was previewed at the 2015 British Science Festival within a session delivered by Richard Churches, Tony McAleavy and Michael Latham. To find out more about the Education Development Trust training programme which supports teachers and schools to conduct experimental research contact: rchurches@educationdevelopmenttrust.com.

This study investigates the experience of an unusually interesting group of schools. There are about 20,000 government-funded primary and secondary schools in England. They are all subject to inspection by the national schools inspectorate for England known as Ofsted (the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills). According to Ofsted a very small proportion of the government schools have recently improved dramatically from a previous low baseline. Ofsted uses a 4 point scale to categorise school quality. Using Ofsted data the authors calculated that there were 360 schools that, in the previous two years or less, had moved from being graded by Ofsted as 'inadequate' (category 4) to being graded as 'good' or 'outstanding' (category 2 or 1, respectively). They wanted to know more about what had happened in these schools. The aim of this study was to engage with the headteachers of these schools in order to better understand their view of the causes of transformation in the educational performance of their schools and to ascertain how they think improvements had taken place. The findings are presented in this report.

Increasingly, teachers and schools are becoming aware of the possibilities that becoming research-aware can bring. There is a small but powerful movement within the profession--in the UK and abroad--that has begun to integrate the fruits of research and the skills of the research practitioner into their own practice. But this transition from research consumer to research participant hasn't been without challenges. The quality of some wings of education research can sometimes be suboptimal, or poorly disguised rhetoric, leaving the educator with considerable confusion about which research is valuable and which a waste of time to pursue, or worse. The ecosystem of educational research is often more akin to a jungle than a laboratory, replete with predators in the form of vested interests and those with commercial and political agendas. This report confronts these challenges head on. Better still, it provides an invaluable roadmap for anyone embarking on a journey towards being more research informed, the better to negotiate the difficulties. Many people ask if it really is necessary for educators to be engaged in any way with research--after all, why should they? The short answer is that the world which we now inhabit is propelled by research, and teachers, however much they may dispute it, are as much a part of this as anyone else. Their assumptions and ideology will be informed by the research of others, even if they aren't aware of it. In such an environment, the only sane response is for the teaching profession to become as immune as possible to poor research, and ask as many intelligent questions as possible from those who would seek to benefit from their ignorance. And to become an articulate, informed and research-literate part of the ecosystem--for the benefit of all. [For the second report in this series, see ED574406. For the third report in this series, see ED574405.]

This publication contains 12 (A3 open-out) poster-style reports of teacher experimental research. The style of presentation parallels the type of preliminary reporting common at academic conferences and postgraduate events. At the same time, it aims to act as a form of short primer to introduce teachers to the basic options that there are when conducting this type of research. This said, the determined teacher-researcher would be advised to extend their reading further to full-scale textbooks such as Richard Churches and Eleanor Dommett's Teacher-led research: how to design and implement randomised controlled trials and other forms of experimental research which clearly explains how to choose and conduct the right statistical tests. CfBT Education Trust also offers an in-depth training programme over two days with access to statistical software and support for teachers when conducting and writing up their research. Most of the teachers in this report followed this programme in Wales, or in one case Dubai. Others, associated with Kyra Teaching School Alliance (led by Mount Street Academy, part of the CfBT Schools Trust), attended the Department for Education/National College for Teaching and Leadership training that Richard Churches delivered as part of the Closing the Gap: Test and Learn programme in England. [The teacher-researchers contributing to this document are as follows: Kate Andrews, Simon Andrews, David Ashton, Timm Barnard-Dadds, Sarah Baugh-Williams, Bridie Bear, Ceri Bibby, Wendy Blyth, Allison Davies, Rachel Elphick, Dean Flood, Emmet Glackin, Gavin Jones, Graeme Jones, Daniel Lear, Matthew Maughan, Jess Moore, Charlotte Morris, Theresa Peacock, James Siddle, Alison Turner, and Rob Wilson.]

This research seeks to investigate the claim that London schools have improved dramatically since 2000. The authors have reviewed the evidence of transformational change and explored possible reasons for the development in London's schools. The project was guided by three questions: (1) Is the success of London's schools as real as has been suggested?; (2) If the success is real, in what ways have schools improved and for what reasons?; and (3) What can be learned for the future of school improvement, for London and beyond? The authors suggest that the report provides readers-- such as teachers, school leaders and policymakers--with a detailed review of what has happened across London. It provides a comprehensive synthesis of previous evaluations of the London schools' journey and of the distinctive elements that are perceived as contributing to improvement. Most importantly, it draws conclusions intended to inform current debates on educational policy reform in a very practical sense, providing an agenda for action. An appendix details the methods used in this research. [This report was written with the support of the Centre for London and LKMco.]