Global Education Summit: system coherence, research and benchmarking key to education transformation

Hosted in London by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, the Global Education Summit sees the community come together to support quality education for all children. Matching the summit’s centrepiece – governments’ financial commitments to support the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) – is a focus on concretely how we can improve education for individuals, communities, and our world.

As part of this emphasis on tangible action, Jane Mann joined His Excellency Dr Didacus Jules, Secretary General for the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States, for a discussion on designing and delivering education systems better fit for children. The conversation, moderated by Colm Brophy TD, Minister of State for Overseas Development and the Diaspora, Ireland, examined the most important things to keep in mind when trying to make change happen at an education system level.

Before this discussion, Jane invited Professor Pauline Rose and Rt Hon Charles Clarke to share their views and offer solutions on reform of education systems.

View the discussions below.

During the summit, Jane Mann raised the importance of system coherence, research and evidence-based action, and international benchmarking. Cambridge Partnership for Education has these elements at its heart. The Cambridge Approach identifies that, while attention to the detail of each element of an education system is important, research suggests that the complex and constant interaction between the different elements of a system is what determines outcomes. Jane discussed how collecting and analysing data to inform policy and action can help maximise the impact of investment too. Throughout, she stressed the importance of allowing time for change to be embedded – recognising that in-depth education transformation takes time and won’t happen overnight.

"GPE has a really important role to play in inclusive partnerships and bringing actors from across the sector together in dialogue to solve the problems. It’s about encouraging an inclusive policy dialogue from an evidence-base and helping countries to generate the means to collect the data that they need to make really good evidence-based decisions. It’s also about making sure that time frames are realistic and balancing the need to act with urgency with also making sure that what’s being done is sustainable long-term and keeps the change moving forward year after year." - Jane Mann

Watch all the talks from the Global Education Summit's session on Education's Reset: Learning from Covid. To view Jane and Dr Jules' session, fast forward to 1:07:18.