Higher Education and Research for Reaching the Education for All Goals

A Project of the International Association of Universities developed with the support of an international Reference Group and partial funding from the Swedish agency SIDA

Introduction• EFA?• World Declaration on Education for All, Jomtien, Thailand, 1990• Dakar Framework for Action, Dakar, Senegal, 2000

• 6 EFA Goals: Early Childhood Care and Education; Free Universal Primary Education; Youth and Adult Life Skills; Adult Literacy Increased by Half; Gender Parity by 2005 and Gender Equality by 2015; Quality Education

• Jomtien Statement, Thailand, 2011• Tenth Meeting of the High-Level Group on EFA

• MDGs?• United Nations Millennium Declaration, New York, US, 2000

• 8 MDGs: Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger; Universal Primary Education; Gender Parity and Empowerment of Women; Reduce Child Mortality; Improve Maternal Health; Combat HIV/AID, Malaria; Ensure Environmental Sustainability; Develop Global Partnerships for Development

• Impact of MDGs on EFA?• Poverty has overtaken Education• Focus only on UPE (EFA goal n. 2; MDG n. 2) with a pinch of girls’ education (EFA goal

n. 5, MDG n. 3), limiting the activity of the HE sector in EFA to, in most cases, teachers’ training

What has changed?• Many programmes/projects/activities have taken and are taking place• Progress has been registered in primary schooling and gender equity

• The United Nations’ Education For All (EFA) initiative is coming to an end in 2015

• But, according to the latest Global Monitoring Report (GMR), the 6 set objectives will not be met by 2015

• In some places, progress is receiding• Education is not as high on the global agenda as it used to be

• Necessity to evaluate what has/is done to be able to amend, scale-up, think differently

• Growing need for evidence-based data are needed and requested at both local and international levels

all tasks within the reach of the higher education sector

Why higher education?• The higher education sector has generally not been involved as

a sector up to now• With the exception of teachers’ training• Excluding individual consultancies

• From the EFA perspective: the three primary missions of most higher education institutions can all be of help• Teaching, Research, and Public Service

• The higher education sector is generally not aware of the initiative, issues at stake, and how to proceed to help

• From the higher education perspective: The higher education sector will, if not already, be impacted by:• A growing number of secondary-school graduates; • The quality of pre-higher education schooling; • Reforms of teacher education

What are IAU’s objectives?• To raise awareness of EFA within the higher education sector• To increase the level of involvement of the higher education

sector in EFA-related issues and in all three HE missions (not only teachers’ training)

• To improve the visibility of higher education’s role and activities in/for EFA within and outside the higher education sector, locally and internationally

• To create a higher education community for EFA• To help reach EFA• To help the higher education sector deal with the impact of EFA• Numbers, quality• Relating to bogus universities, rankings, employment, brain drain,

etc…

Visual for IAU ProjectAll age groups are offered and enjoy the possibility of education

What is the project doing?• Capacity Building• A model will be developed based on the results of the two pilot

capacity building sessions which took place within the IAU 2008-2010 project on the topic. The capacity building sessions aim:• to inform both the higher education community of what EFA is and

the other EFA stakeholders of what higher education can bring to EFA, • to subsequently identify local needs and higher education’s possible

intervention(s), and• to end with a commonly agreed upon document for a way forward.

• To support the dynamic created by the capacity building sessions after the actual session, a set of activities will be developed in collaboration with the hosting partners and, when possible, with the participants of each session. The activities will follow the recommendations collectively agreed upon at each session and will consequently differ from one country to another.

What is the project doing?• IAU’s capacity building approach to involving the higher

education sector in EFA is:• Participant-centred

• Questionnaire/Workshops with IAU intervening only as facilitator• Inclusive

• All EFA stakeholders at the national level are invited• Based on Dialogue

• Mixed groups including every categories of stakeholders + HEIs• Commonly agreed-upon way forward

• Result-focused• All activities leading/aiming at the validation of a way forward

• Embedded in a process• Pre and post-workshop activities

• Local but not closed• With experts from other regions

Cuernavaca, Mexico100 participants, A Declaration, Several Groups of reflexion/action created, An annual

meeting planned and taking place

Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso40 participants, Recommendations to Ministers, Follow-up workshop to be organized

What is the project doing?• Commitment Building• A charter or equivalent document will be developed to guide

higher education’s commitment and activities to advance higher education participation in support of EFA. It will serve as a working document for the Group and a charter model for higher education institutions, a sign/logo will be developed to identify HEIs for EFA;

• Thematic sub-groups, each possibly headed by a ‘champion’, will be set up. They would research topics that emerged from the discussions at the 2010 IAU Innovation Conference: reading; marginalised populations; and quality education, or be more general, looking at the evaluation and way forward for EFA pre and post 2015, analyse new positions such as skills vs/beside education, etc.

What is the project doing?• Community Building• Starting from an enlarged Reference Group based on a call for

participation, the development of a community of higher education for EFA and its associated tools (blog, facebook wall, tweets) and services (Q/A, meetings) will be sought;

• The HEEFA Portal aims to be the main-entry point for data collection and information on higher education projects, publications (in particular theses) and experts for EFA. www.heefa.net

• Published on a quarterly-basis, the HEEFA Newsletter, which already reaches over 800 subscribers, will be enriched by experiences/ content of interest/ analysis of new developments and its format improved to become more user-friendly.

Regions as represented within the Reference GroupVoluntary focus on Africa with no region left behind

+ 2 persons from IAU

AfricaAmericasAsiaEurope

EFA Goals as represented in the Reference GroupOther research themes include: education in emergencies; school psychology; affirmative

action; educational policies; curriculum development; teachers’ training; etc.

Name Position UniversityOrganisation

Country IAU member

EFA priority

Africa Gono, Semukeliso Director Women's University in Africa Zimbabwe YES Goal 5Mbegnouga, Moussa Graduate student Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar Senegal YES Goal 6Milanzi, Montanus C. Associate Professor Mzumbe University Tanzania Goal 6Mugenda, Olive, Chair Vice-Chancellor Kenyatta University Kenya YES Goal 5Mutimucuio, Inocente V. Dean Universidade Eduardo Mondlane Mozambique YES Goal 2Nakabugo, Mary Goretti Senior Lecturer University of KwaZulu-Natal South Africa Goal 6Wambui Gichuhi, Loise P. Professor University of Nairobi Kenya Goal 3Sena Lamptey, Alice Programme Coordinator WGHE (ADEA) Africa AllShabani, Juma Director Cluster Office, UNESCO Africa AllEliya Nsapato, Limbani Policy/Advocacy Manager Africa Network Campaign for EFA Africa Goal 2Americas Chao Barona, Alejandro Director Universidad Autonoma del Estado de Morelos Mexico Goal 4Cummings, William Professor George Washington University USA YES Goal 6Greenlaw, Jim Dean University of Ontario Institute of Technology Canada Goal 2Jimerson, Shane R. Professor University of California, Santa Barbara USA Goal 2Tessler, Leandro R. Director International Relations, UNICAMP Brazil YES Goal 2Trouillot, Jocelyne President Université Caraïbe Haiti YES Goal 4Asia Azman, Norzaini Associate Professor University Kebangsaan Malaysia/IPPTN Malaysia YES Goal 3Paez, Di Project Manager University of Southern Queensland Australia Goal 3Sharma, Neerja Vice-principal Lady Irwin College, University of Delhi India YES Goal 1Pant, Bijan Policy Analyst Institute of Public Policy Action Research Nepal Goal 5Europe Ilie, Cornelia Professor Malmo University Sweden Goal 4Macfarlane, Ian G. Senior Education Specialist Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Netherlands Goal 2Mendes, Valtencir M Research Fellow Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya Spain YES Goal 2Russell, Terry Professor and Director CRPST, University of Liverpool UK YES Goal 2Boeren, Ad Senior Policy Advisor Nuffic Netherlands AllTurner-Cmuchal, Marcella Policy Officer European Agency for Development EU Goal 3

Previous Activities• Pilot and Experts’ Seminar• Objective: to know if higher education institutions were contributing

to EFA, if such a contribution was possible, desirable, and should it be developed, sustained or not.

• It ended with a Seminar in Maputo, Mozambique in 2007 where the projects’ findings revealing that little was yet known and more light still needed to be shed were discussed as well as what should be done next.

• Pre-Project and Innovation Conference• Two principal activities: capacity building (reference group of experts;

capacity building sessions) and information tools (Information Kit; HEEFA Portal).

• It ended with an Innovation Conference in Paris, France, in 2010 to evaluate the progress concerning better inclusion of higher education/research in EFA, review the project's outcomes, discuss issues and constraints, and explore ways forward.

Experts’ Seminar, Maputo, Mozambique30 participants

Innovation Conference, Paris, France60 participants

Main Results to Date• Growing awareness of the need to more systematically involve higher education

institutions at local, regional and international levels• Invitation to IAU to participate in EFA High Level Meeting in Jomtien, Thailand in

2011.• IAU sits on the Ad-Hoc Group of UNESCO Collective Consultation of NGOs for EFA as

from 2011• IAU’s General Conference (Puerto Rico, November 2012) will address: Higher

Education and the Global Agenda• Growing community of higher education for EFA• IAU call for participation in the Reference Group

• Follow-up of capacity building sessions are taking place• Mexico: 3rd Meeting• Burkina Faso: Considering the possibility of a follow-up session

• But there is still:• A lack of information (HEEFA portal quite empty, difficulty to know who is doing

what and where) • Need for evidence-based data to evaluate progress to date and consider possible

ways forward

Expectations• The capacity building model developed for encouraging more

interactions between the traditional EFA stakeholders and the HE sector is widely taken up as such or adapted;

• Information on HE projects and research results is made available and accessible to all

• Research on pre and post-2015 issues is developing • Higher education institutions are given the means to better

interact with the other EFA stakeholders• HE institutions’ possible role in EFA is recognised and valued• The community of HE for EFA is expanding• More EFA goals are reached• The HE sector is prepared for EFA knock-on effects

Africa

Kenya: University of Nairobi

• Project: Education in Emergencies Specialization Programme• Keywords: Training Programme; Emergencies; Education• Objectives: • Build capacities of students, faculty, and practitionners to

respond to the educational needs of children and youth affected by crisis in East Africa and beyond

• Document, stock and share practices and policy innovations with the larger education in emergencies community

• Establish the University of Nairobi as a hub of expertise in East Africa in the field

Americas

Mexico: Universidad Pedagogica Nacional

• Project: Intercultural Bilingual Urban School• Keywords: Bilingual education; Culturally-sensitive education;

Urban schools; Indigenous populations• Objectives: • Preserve and make the most of local indigenous cultures;• Ensure quality education to children from indigenous populations• Ensure access for and improve success of children from

indigenous populations• Serve as a practicum school for research projects

Working with Indigenous CommunitiesUniversidad Autonoma del Estado de Cuernavaca

Arab States

Lebanon: Balamand University

• Project: University Students for Literacy• Keywords: Adult Literacy; Health• Objectives:• Provide mothers and young men in rural areas with the

opportunity to acquire reading and writing skills• Break the link between illiteracy, poverty and poor health• Teach students how to become responsible citizens by

participating in the development of their community• Create a bridge between the university and the community;

between urban and rural areas; men and women

Asia

Pakistan : Fatimah Jinnah Women University

• Project: Community Radio VOW• Keywords: Radio; Training Courses; Women Empowerment• Objectives:• Produce and transmit news and informative programmes on

women’s issues• Broadcast distance learning programmes

Europe

Germany : Universität Hildesheim

• Project: Men in Primary and Pre-Primary Schools (Thesis)• Keywords: Gender; Primary Schools; Early Childhood

Education• Objectives:• Propose solutions to the issue of the lack of male teachers in pre-

primary and primary schools• Research the implications of a totally female-guided pre-primary

and primary school education

Selected other IAU Projects• Equitable Access and Success in HE• Equitable Access, Success and Quality in Higher Education: A Polic

y Statement by the International Association of Universities• Doctoral Programmes in Sub-Saharan Africa• IAU Report on the

Changing Nature of Doctoral Studies in sub-Saharan Africa - Challenges and Policy Development Opportunities at six universities in Sub-Saharan Africa

• Rethinking Internationalisation• Affirming Academic Values in Internationalization of Higher Educa

tion: A Call for Action

• Draft Guidelines for Institutional Codes of Ethics• OER and the Academic Librarian

IAU• IAU is a Membership organization. It has institutional, organisational, and

affiliates members in 120 countries • IAU Secretariat is located in Paris, France. It has been hosted by UNESCO

since its creation (1950)• IAU serves the higher education community worldwide and defends

academic values• IAU promotes knowledge sharing, collaboration and solidarity through

projects, statements, conferences, reference and scientific publications, and services.

• IAU functions with 15 permanent staff members, an elected Board composed of 22 persons and an Executive Committee composed of 6 persons, both with equitable regional/gender representation, plus all its Members on a voluntary basis

More at: www.iau-aiu.netMy contact: i.turmaine@iau-aiu.net