Research

The What Works Hub for Global Education publishes a synthesis brief looking at the benefits of literacy, numeracy and other foundational learning.

Article by Tom Simpson and others calls for scientists and stakeholders to cross traditional academic boundaries to address emerging and evolving societal challenges arising from AI.

Thomas Elston and a colleague have published an article in the Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory on what enables civil services to implement decisions by politicians, showing that slack in the system is needed in order to act on new political signals rather than simply implementing existing policy commitments. 

In England, older people and others who need social care must self-fund unless their assets fall below £23,250, in which case they receive state support. In this British Medical Journal article, Anders Bach-Mortensen and colleagues examine how state-funded residents experience worse quality care, with severe consequences for individuals and the NHS.

New data show that in 2024, 242 million students (one in seven worldwide) experienced school disruptions due to extreme climate events. But there is a growing list of evidence-based solutions. Authors from the What Works Hub for Global Education point to these and call for further research on how to implement them.

A paper in the Journal of Development Economics by Noam Angrist and colleagues reviews around 200 impact evaluations in education and identifies the most cost-effective education intervention

Learning levels remain alarmingly low in many countries. An analysis of 50 countries by Noam Angrist and Stefan Dercon reveals that failures of implementation are a key reason. Noam discusses this on the VoxDev Education Policy podcast.