By Theme
Learning and instruction for marginalized learners
Learning and instruction are the cornerstones of education and essential to achieving learning equity globally. The provision of quality education is critical in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goal 4, of ensuring inclusive and quality education, and to promote lifelong opportunities for all. Evidence suggests that marginalized learners face serious challenges that require optimized solutions, especially with respect to gender, ethnicity, and language. Further, with the growth of economic gaps, increased climate change, and greater civil strife, many children are forced into migration (within or across borders) which creates additional barriers to quality education. Unfortunately, data shows that marginalized populations often remain in learning poverty across generations. The LEI seeks to break this persistent cycle of disadvantage through equity-focused interventions.
Teacher professional development
Research has consistently shown that marginalized learners need teachers with specialized training and a keen awareness of pedagogical solutions designed for specific groups of students. Yet many educators in low-income contexts lack sufficient training to support children with diverse backgrounds, a difficult task in any classroom. UNESCO estimates that 30 million new teachers will be required to meet growing educational demand in the coming decade. Amidst widening disparities globally, renewed and innovative training requirements will be required with equity in mind. This is a challenge for ministries of education with limited budgets that are primarily devoted to paying teacher salaries. The LEI is working with local partners and government agencies to help address this major challenge.
FLN, curriculum, and assessment
Foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) skills are essential to ensuring that children and youth have the necessary basic skills to learn, thrive, and succeed in life. Failure to attain these skills at the foundational level has far-reaching consequences both on the individual and society, reinforcing the effects of poverty and marginalization, and undermining future growth. Curriculum design plays a vital role in ensuring that these skills are taught effectively and that learning is relevant and engaging for all learners. The impact of curricular design can be empirically understood through the measurement of learning outcomes. At LEI, we work to develop and advocate for effective formative and summative assessments that can be combined in ways that allow decision makers to adjust policies to assist marginalized learners.
EdTech at the bottom of the pyramid
Educational technology (EdTech) has received significant attention in recent years, and for good reason. It promises a wealth of opportunities to enhance teaching and learning, especially for marginalized learners who may not have access to traditional educational opportunities. The COVID-19 pandemic intensified EdTech use across and within countries with a dramatic expansion of online remote learning. Given the growth of digital access in even the poorest communities, there is much more that can be done to improve education for those who are most marginalized. At LEI, we are committed to promoting innovative and effective EdTech-supported solutions to support learning equity.
Marginalization policies in implementation science, management and practice
Policy planning that has tried to help disadvantaged children has often been derived from research on the middle or top of the pyramid. We now know that policy that seeks to help the most disadvantaged needs to specifically focus on marginalized populations. Further, the application of implementation science, and its practice in local reality, also requires an understanding of the local ecology in which implementation takes place. In addition, decision-makers and stakeholders inside or outside of government may be unaware of the success or failure of programs that are in poor and difficult-to-reach geographies. Understanding how evidence is deployed to help the most marginalized is a challenging task. At LEI, we aim to give a greater voice to and for those who are from the bottom of the social, economic, and learning pyramid.