Questions around what transformation looks like in practice, how it’s happening and what it takes have been at the forefront of conversations in GPE partner countries and in cross-country exchanges.

They’re not easy to answer as education transformation can mean different things to individual countries depending on their development and education vision, the scope of reform processes and chosen strategies.

Practices nonetheless seem to suggest there’s a range of signals present in countries undergoing transformation, letting us know that changes are underway in relation to both educational goals and how systems are organized.

With the aim of producing radically different outcomes for children, these signals might include bold policy reforms or the introduction of innovative solutions, directed at enhancing the quality of the education experience including through learning approaches, teaching methods and teacher training, curriculum adaptation and learning assessment policies.

Pedagogic shifts are often accompanied by changes to system structures as well as to organizational and management behaviors and capabilities. Here, enabling factors for transformation might include a combination of financing, innovations in data and planning systems, and coordination and capacity strengthening to improve system performance.

Recognizing these signals can help governments and development partners monitor progress, direct investments and reinforce or recalibrate their support.

It can also help stakeholders generate clarity around different levers at play or identify what may be missing to move forward faster to transform education.

Signals of change and growth: From policy shifts to cross-sector collaboration

1. Clear vision, policy shifts, high-level leaders and champions for change

At the beginning of the transformation journey, high-level leaders and champions for change play a critical role in articulating a long-term vision for their education sector and in rallying partner support behind shifts in policy and reform efforts.

In El Salvador, the Office of the First Lady gave dedicated support and momentum to early childhood learning, then embodied in the Crecer Juntos (Growing Together) campaign.

In Sierra Leone, the priority reform on foundational learning—the National Policy on Radical Inclusion—and the reversal of the ban for pregnant girls to attend secondary school were all driven by influential individuals within the ministry of education who served as role models and inspired others, including the Minister of Education at the time, Honorable David Sengeh.

2. Targeted investments in equity, inclusion and gender equality

Changes to financial allocations and targeted investments in equity, inclusion and gender equality goals (accompanied by strengthened data and planning systems) signal that resources are being channeled toward learners and schools in deepest need.

In Nepal, the creation of an equity index continues to support implementation of the School Sector Development Plan and has been used to direct financial resources toward improving access, retention and learning outcomes in communities lagging furthest behind.

Several countries in sub-Saharan Africa, including Burkina Faso, Chad and Mozambique, further demonstrate the importance of strengthening internal alliances as well as cooperating within and across ministries to integrate gender equality into policies and plans, including through gender-responsive budgeting within finance ministries (see the Gender at the Centre Initiative).

3. Breaking with business as usual, smart partnerships and cross-sector collaboration

As the COVID-19 pandemic illustrated, country abilities to quickly respond to learners’ needs can be facilitated by breaking with business as usual, whether through smart partnerships with private actors, radical collaboration or technology integration.

Countries such as Ghana, Uganda and Sierra Leone are examples of where breaking with business as usual is accelerating the pace of change. Partnerships and service agreements with not-for-profits, nongovernmental organizations and the private sector are enabling these countries to go faster in harmonizing and strengthening their data systems and reconceptualizing teacher training.

Partners across health, child protection, employment, telecoms and public infrastructure sectors are also coming together to strengthen local learning ecosystems serving the most vulnerable learners, including in the context of humanitarian response and digital transformation. Even though such partnerships are often triggered by a crisis, they can lead to significant shifts in education design and delivery practices.

The partnership between Ukraine’s Ministry of Education, Google, Microsoft, Ukraine’s telecoms, GPE, UNICEF and UNESCO was central to assembling the e-learning, digital platforms, infrastructure and connectivity needed for students affected by the conflict to continue learning remotely and to receive psychosocial support.

4. Long-term shifts in organizational culture

Over the long term, changes in institutional behaviors and culture and letting go of outdated organizational practices are important signals of countries’ commitment to change.

As countries pick up the pace and begin to scale up their activities, leadership and partner behaviors and their alignment at all levels indicate that stakeholders are getting behind the vision and supporting and sustaining momentum for change.

To ensure sustainable impacts at the school level and within broader public sector reforms, decentralizing resources and decision making can prompt local actors to improve service delivery.

In Senegal, local policy dialogue around annual education sector plan roadmaps is helping to ensure that district managers and school-level actors can concretely act on reform intentions and feel heard. In Cote d’Ivoire, new incentive-based contractual relationships with subnational authorities are strengthening local autonomy while driving performance improvements and accountability.

Capturing transformational change

The practices described here suggest evidence of levers and steps taken toward transformational change for education systems, capturing some key signals and initial insights. But this is only a simplified snapshot of how systems transform and what this might look like.

None of these elements work in isolation, nor are they sufficient in and of themselves for change to happen. Dynamic transformation strategies are nonlinear and rely on interdependencies between national policies, approaches, system components, stakeholder behaviors and relationships as well as partner practices to propel and carry change forward.