Promoting and Implementing Digital STEM Education at Secondary Schools in Africa

This paper discusses an ongoing initiative aimed at promoting and implementing digital STEM education at secondary schools in Africa. This initiative, coined Go-Lab Goes Africa (GO-GA), is an innovation action supported by the European Commission through its H2020 Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). The general vision and the implementation strategy are outlined in detail, as well as the challenges faced and results achieved during its first year

Education Workforce Initiative: Initial Research

The purpose of this initial research is to offer evidenced possibilities in the key areas of education workforce roles, recruitment, training, deployment and leadership, along with suggested areas for further research to inform innovation in the design and strengthening of the public sector education workforce. The examples described were identified through the process outlined in the methodology section of this report, whilst we recognise that separation of examples from their context is problematic – effective innovations are highly sensitive to context and uncritical transfer of initiatives is rarely successful. The research aims to support the Education Workforce Initiative (EWI) in moving forward with engaging education leaders and other key actors in radical thinking around the design and strengthening of the education workforce to meet the demands of the 21st century. EWI policy recommendations will be drawn from a number of country level workforce reform activities and research activity associated with the production of an Education Workforce Report (EWR). This research has informed the key questions, approach and structure of the EWR as outlined in the Education Workforce Report Proposal. Issues pertaining to teaching and learning in primary and secondary education are at the centre of the research reported here; the focus is on moving towards schools as safe places where all children/ young people are able to engage in meaningful activity. The majority of the evidence shared here relates to teachers and school leaders; evidence on learning support staff, district officials and the wider education workforce is scant. Many of the issues examined are also pertinent to the early childhood care and education sector but these are being examined in depth by the Early Childhood Workforce Initiative. Resourcing for the Education Workforce was out of scope of this initial research but the EC recognises, as outlined in the Learning Generation Report, that provision of additional finance is a critical factor in achieving a sustainable, strong and well-motivated education workforce, particularly but not exclusively, in low and middle income countries. The next stage of EWI work will consider the relative costs of current initiatives and modelling of the cost implications of proposed reforms. EWI aims to complement the work on teacher policy design and teacher career frameworks (including salary structures) being undertaken by other bodies and institutions such as Education International, the International Task Force on Teachers for 2030 and the Teachers’ Alliance, most particularly by bringing a focus on school and district leadership, the role of Education Support Professionals (ESPs) and inter-agency working

Sparking Innovation in STEM Education with Technology and Collaboration

This report highlights innovative technology-supported pedagogic models in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education, explores what to expect from collaboration in a designed network, and, thereafter, sketches lessons for promoting educational innovation through collaboration. How can technology-supported learning help to move beyond content delivery and truly enhance STEM education so that students develop a broad mix of skills? How can collaboration be encouraged and used to help develop, spread, accelerate and sustain innovation in education? The HP Catalyst Initiative –an education grant programme by the Hewlett Packard (HP) Sustainability and Social Innovation team – is used as a case study to answer these questions

Abrupt Shift or Caught Off Guard: A Systematic Review of K-12 Engineering and STEM Education’s Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic

In the past hundred years, there have been a number of pandemics that have affected the entire world, including the 1918 H1N1 influenza pandemic, the 1957 H2N2 influenza pandemic, and the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic. While responses to the most recent H1N1 influenza pandemic remained local, the COVID-19 pandemic, on the other hand, resulted in long-term school closures all around the world, prompting a sudden shift to distant education by compelling K-12 educators and students to do so. The purpose of this study is to find out how K-12 education studies reacted to the sudden shift in supporting engineering and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education during the COVID-19 pandemic. To accomplish this goal, we conducted two separate searches in different databases and reviewed 25 articles. These articles were classified into four categories: (1) adaptation to online learning and the effects of a sudden shift, (2) implementing new strategies and tools, (3) STEM education in informal learning environments, and (4) teacher professional development. Our analysis indicated that engineering and STEM education research primarily focused on higher education during the COVID-19 pandemic. The limited number of studies examining K-12 engineering and STEM first investigated the adaptation to online learning by utilizing various resources that elementary and secondary teachers could easily access. Blended learning, flipped learning, and maker pedagogy were encouraged in K-12 engineering and STEM studies. Movies were the most commonly used tool in K-12 engineering and STEM studies. It is encouraging that studies also examined informal learning contexts (outreach initiatives, museums) and inequities in STEM and engineering education. However, the small number of studies in each category reminds us that there is still a lot of work to be done in terms of the future of K-12 engineering education, especially considering that distant education may become a permanent part of K-12 education

Diverse Approaches to Developing and Implementing Competency-based ICT Training for Teachers: A Case Study

In this highly connected and rapidly changing world, there is no doubt that teachers play a key role in successfully integrating ICT into education. Realizing the importance of teachers’ capacity to do this, governments, teacher education institutions, the private sector, and NGOs alike provide training opportunities – ranging from the skills needed to use a particular software, to integrating educational technologies, to innovating teaching to promote 21st century skills. However, more often than not, teachers’ actual use of ICT in the classroom is reported as incremental, merely reinforcing traditional teacher-centred approaches by using slides and drill-and-practice exercises. Teachers’ use of ICT to actually innovate teaching is an exception rather than the norm. From the policy perspective, facilitating ICT-pedagogy integration in school education takes more than sporadic professional development, requiring more systematic policy-level changes to create an enabling environment. Research also shows that an essential condition to foster innovative teaching and learning is a close alignment between what the policy envisions and what actually happens in the classrooms. Inadequate monitoring of teachers’ development and their integration practices of ICT have also been raised as reoccurring concerns. With the formal adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at the United Nations General Assembly in September 2015, Member States are asked to abide by the Education 2030 Framework for Action that underscores the central role of teachers in achieving the new set of education goals. In line with this Framework, all governments are enjoined to ensure that by 2030, all learners are taught by qualified, professionally trained, motivated, committed, and wellsupported teachers who use relevant pedagogical approaches. Accordingly, one of the major focus areas for the governments is equipping teachers with the competencies through quality teacher training and continuous professional development, alongside favourable working conditions and appropriate support. In response to this, UNESCO Bangkok has implemented the ‘Supporting Competency-Based Teacher Training Reforms to Facilitate ICT-Pedagogy Integration’ project. Supported by Korean Funds-inTrust, this project encourages governments to enact systematic policy-level changes. They include reforming teacher training and professional development programmes into competency-based ones, whereby teacher development is systematically guided, assessed, monitored and tracked at policy and institutional levels. As part of the project, UNESCO Bangkok gathered four exemplary cases which took diverse approaches to developing and implementing competency-based ICT training and development for teachers. This publication is to take stock of different frameworks, models, processes, and reference materials that are used in developing and implementing national ICT competency standards for teachers and to provide step-by-step references for countries or organisations that wish to develop and implement competency-based teacher training and development. We hope that this collection of case studies, with varying approaches, will provide policy-makers with sufficient background and models to develop and implement ICT competency standards for teachers within their respective contextsUNESCO, Korean Funds-in-Trus

Exploring Effective ICT Integration Strategies in Education: A Case of Two Public Primary Schools in Mombasa, Kenya

Purpose: The contemporary education landscape is undergoing a significant transformation, largely driven by the integration of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). This paper explores the experiences of educators as they incorporate ICT into teaching and learning. Methodology: The study was conducted in Mombasa City, Kenya, and utilized qualitative research methods, including in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and classroom observations, in a case study design involving two urban primary schools. The research meticulously documented the experiences of 16 participants. Findings: The findings of the study highlight several advantages of using ICT in teaching and learning, including easy access to information, interactive and personalized learning opportunities, as well as collaboration. However, the data also revealed significant challenges faced by educators, such as unstable electricity, inadequate ICT gadgets, internet fluctuation, and a lack of skills to integrate ICT into teaching. Unique Contribution to Theory, Policy, and Practice: Educators consistently stressed the importance of continuous support and professional development to enhance their ICT integration skills. Furthermore, the research emphasized several promising recommendations, including the installation of alternative sources of electricity, sourcing for additional ICT devices, supervising learners while using ICT gadgets, and conducting professional development initiatives tailored to the creation of a collaborative community of practice (COP), which have the potential to effectively address these challenges. To fully leverage the potential of ICT for enriching the learning experience, equipping students with essential digital skills, and preparing them for a digital-centric world, educational institutions, and policymakers must prioritize investments in technological infrastructure and foster a culture of innovation and collaboration among educators

Towards gender equality: gender aware it

This dissertation focus around the issues of technological development and gender inequality in sub-Saharan Africa. It departs from a general analysis on the tech situation in SSA and focus on policy analysis using an analytical framework where the subjects of information technology and gender inequality come into dialogue. In these terms, it problematizes limited access and unequal distribution of opportunities in technological markets for women, strikingly strong in this region. Outlining the main socio-economic and cultural determinants for this type of situation, this dissertations intends to provide a link to Senegal's case. Jiggen Tech initiative launched in Senegal address the complex inequality issues quite comprehensively and offer a valuable example for other alike states to adopt the mechanisms developed through the variety of projects closely analyzed in the thesis. Finally, the dissertation summarizes and critically assesses the positive effects of these initiatives on gender inequality issue.Esta dissertação foca-se no desenvolvimento tecnológico e desigualdade de género na África subsariana. Parte de uma análise geral sobre a situação da tecnologia nesta região e de uma análise das políticas, usando um quadro analítico onde as tecnologias de informação e a desigualdade de género dialogam. Nestes termos, problematiza o acesso limitado e desigual distribuição de oportunidades aos mercados de tecnologia por parte das mulheres, particularmente vincados no continente. Analisando os grandes determinantes socioeconómicos e culturais, esta dissertação faz a ponte para o caso do Senegal através do estudo da iniciativa Jiggen Tech, lançada precisamente para dar resposta à complexidade das desigualdades. Jiggen Tech fornece um exemplo relevante para outros Estados e sublinha a possível adopção de mecanismos desenvolvidos nos diversos projetos analisados nesta dissertação. Finalmente, a dissertação sumariza e avalia criticamente os impactos positicos destas iniciativas relativas à questão da desigualdade de género

Digital Transformation of Education and Sustainability-Review Based Study

Since 1990, the usage of internet as well as digitization has significantly increased. Digital transformation is the process of using, adoption of digital technology or information technology by an organisation to embed or digitalize products and services. A brief picture of types of learning, educational technology like Artificial intelligence, Metaverse, AR&VR, IoT, how digital transformation enables to meet UN SDG 4 is portrayed in this paper