Ei-iE

Worlds of Education

Reflect. Mobilise. Take action.

Education transforms the world. Education is our world, as rich and diverse as the voices speaking out on the pages of Worlds of Education.

Worlds of Education is a platform for teachers, unionists, activists, and academics to share their insights into the issues affecting the education workforce and community around the world. The aim is to encourage a global conversation, to reflect, mobilise, and take action for education everywhere.

Explore the diverse, compelling, and engaging Worlds of Education.

Share your insights

We are always eager to publish new and interesting perspectives on education. Click here to find out how you can contribute to Worlds of Education.

Thematic Series

Recent Posts

  1. Fighting the commercialisation of education 7 August 2017

    The private advantage that isn’t: School costs and student achievement in Australia

    By Chris Bonnor Whenever Australian educators go overseas they are often asked how we provide and fund schools in the antipodes. It's hard to explain because it is complicated and at odds with practice elsewhere. It is a story about the failure of policy, supported by mounting evidence that our...

    The private advantage that isn’t: School costs and student achievement in Australia
  2. Union growth 2 August 2017

    A Long Way to Go: An Analysis of Inclusive Education for Disabled Girls Globally

    Tania Principe

    Disabled girls are among the most marginalised and poorly educated groups in the world. They have not been a priority in international development, education, or arguably, disability organisations.

    A Long Way to Go: An Analysis of Inclusive Education for Disabled Girls Globally
  3. Fighting the commercialisation of education 31 July 2017

    Liberia’s Private Experiment in Education

    By Tyler Hook & the University of Wisconsin research team The Ministry of Education (MoE) in Liberia launched the PSL pilot project in 2016, handing over 94 schools to 8 private service providers, enrolling approximately 27,000 students. Modeled after the United States charter and the United Kingdom (UK) academy systems,...

    Liberia’s Private Experiment in Education
  4. Union growth 18 July 2017

    Preparing for Difficult Conversations

    Felisa Tibbitts

    How can educators facilitate difficult conversations in their classrooms?  If we believe that democratic citizenship is linked with engagement in social issues, then undoubtedly these topics also include those that make us feel uncomfortable. Or are complex or even unresolvable. If there are different points of view on a hot...

    Preparing for Difficult Conversations
  5. Fighting the commercialisation of education 6 July 2017

    The issue of data privacy in public education

    By Anna Hogan, Bob Lingard & Greg Thompson Data has become the new black in public education. It is generated by students, schools and systems and collected and analysed by a variety of organisations. While traditionally data has been held by government departments, increasingly we are seeing commercial entities accessing...

    The issue of data privacy in public education
  7. Fighting the commercialisation of education 22 June 2017

    Venture philanthropy & the neoliberal ecosystem: who needs a Ministry of Education?

    By Antonio Olmedo, University of Roehampton Coinciding with this year's World Social Forum in Davos, Oxfam released a report based on Credit Suisse Global Wealth Databook[1] , denouncing that the top 1% richest people have gained more income than the poorest 50% altogether[2] . The tendency seems to be worsening.

    Venture philanthropy & the neoliberal ecosystem: who needs a Ministry of Education?
  8. Achieving Sustainable Development Goal 4 15 June 2017

    Copyright and education at WIPO

    Teresa Nobre

    The World Intellectual Property Organization Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) is currently engaged in discussing, at an international level, limitations and exceptions to copyright, including for educational purposes.

    Copyright and education at WIPO
  9. Fighting the commercialisation of education 12 June 2017

    Public education needs public investment, not private profit

    By Howard Stevenson, University of Nottingham  It is nearly nine years since Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy in the USA and triggered the banking crisis that has blighted the world economy ever since. The company held over $600 billion in assets and it remains the largest bankruptcy in US history.

    Public education needs public investment, not private profit
  10. Fighting the commercialisation of education 5 June 2017

    The CETA’s “Investment Court System”: A Supreme Tribunal to Protect the Wealth of Foreign Nationals

    Gus Van Harten

    Imagine if governments proposed a supreme tribunal for the world. The tribunal would have the power to review anything countries can do in their sovereign role. It could review countries’ laws and regulations at any level. It could review the judgments of their highest courts.

    The CETA’s “Investment Court System”: A Supreme Tribunal to Protect the Wealth of Foreign Nationals
  11. Achieving Sustainable Development Goal 4 1 June 2017

    Teacher union renewal: developing the power of the profession

    Howard Stevenson

    The challenges that face teachers often look very similar around the world. Global league tables are often behind the relentless pressure to drive test scores up, whilst the forces of global economic competition explain a race to the bottom on teachers’ working conditions. Teachers experience ever rising workloads, but perhaps...

    Teacher union renewal: developing the power of the profession
  12. Trade union rights are human rights 31 May 2017

    Re-thinking Disability

    Tania Principe

    Over the last 50 years, attitudes toward disability have changed. Whether viewing disability as a medical condition, through the prism of human rights or forms of exclusion, the understanding of disability has dramatically evolved. One could argue that we now know more than ever about disability.

    Re-thinking Disability
  13. Achieving Sustainable Development Goal 4 31 May 2017

    Constructing Teachers’ Professional Identity – learning from seven countries

    Philippa Cordingley

    Early stages in research projects are always a mix of aspirations, exploration of the research literature and growing clarity about key questions. In a research project that is as important as the one funded by Education International, to explore how national policies and cultural factors influence the development of teachers’...

    Constructing Teachers’ Professional Identity – learning from seven countries
  14. Fighting the commercialisation of education 29 May 2017

    Pearson and the Neo-Liberal Global Assault on Public Education

    By Alan Singer ([email protected]) Powerful forces are at work shaping global education in both the North Atlantic core capitalist nations and regions historically referred to as the Third World. Neoliberal business philosophies and practices promoted by corporations and their partner foundations, supported by international organizations, financiers, and bankers, and welcomed,...

    Pearson and the Neo-Liberal Global Assault on Public Education
  15. Equity and inclusion 19 May 2017

    Women Teachers in Africa

    Nelly P. Stromquist

    A balanced representation of men and women teachers in the classroom creates a healthy environment, where children and youth have access to the wisdom and guidance of adults with varying experiences, attitudes, and skills. The presence of women teachers in two regions of the world, however, is quite weak. In...

    Women Teachers in Africa
  16. Achieving Sustainable Development Goal 4 5 May 2017

    Big Data or Small Data: What’s the key to unlocking learning opportunities?

    Pasi Sahlberg

    Some say that schools don’t change. Many things may have remained the same but one thing is new: data. Today the walls of principals’ offices display performance results and data walls in teachers’ lounges highlight whether students have accomplished their learning targets. Data has become hot currency in school reforms.

    Big Data or Small Data: What’s the key to unlocking learning opportunities?
  17. Union growth 4 May 2017

    Building human rights education through global teacher networks

    John Heffernan

    A few years ago, calling for a more robust worldwide embrace of human rights education by invoking the Holocaust, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid bin Ra'ad said in a speech given at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum: “Eight of the 15 people who planned the Holocaust in 1942...

    Building human rights education through global teacher networks
  18. Achieving Sustainable Development Goal 4 3 May 2017

    It’s time to look carefully at where testing fails to make the grade

    Steffen Handal

    Teacher unions have for a long time expressed concern about the growing scope of international tests. In this post, I will point out some of the reasons why Union of Education Norway is especially critical to the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). I will also point to some alternative...

    It’s time to look carefully at where testing fails to make the grade