Transforming Children's Lives Through Innovation in Quality Education: Implications for Policy and Practice

Abstract

This report argues for an expansion of the understanding of quality basic education, to be education that empowers students and addresses the inter-generational transmission of inequality and poverty. It argues that what is needed is an understanding of quality education that combines behaviourist and humanist approaches, infused with transformative education (TE) approaches. This report provides a framework for this broader understanding of quality education. It highlights evidence that shows transformative education approaches can help stimulate economic development, increase learning retention, lead to better cognitive performance and retention rates; increase civic engagement, raise human rights awareness to address discrimination; and promote reconciliation and reintegration. Most importantly, transformative education approaches are aimed at empowering students and can contribute to addressing inter-generational transmissions of inequality and poverty. It concludes with three recommendations for policymakers: (1) to expand the assessment of ‘effective’ education to include broader education outcomes, including individual and social transformation, empowerment and learner's retention rates, rather than simple test scores; (2) to include transformative education approaches in pre- and in-service training and as part of the mainstream teacher training curriculum, and; (3) that donors need to increase long-term and predictable funding to meet the existing annual $7.2 billion gap in education financing globally.