NORRAG

08/10/2026

Who gets to know?

In this week's blog post, Devika Alldis offers a reflection from a Sri Lankan School Leader that examines teachers’ work conditions and agency in top-down policy environments and advocates for sustainable, professional workloads and recognition.

Read more: https://f.mtr.cool/p7f5fki6jg

06/10/2026

Section 2 of NORRAG's latest Special Issue focuses on domestic resource mobilisation, showcasing how national tax justice, sovereign debt swaps, and results-based intergovernmental transfers can improve accountability and the predictability of aid.

Some key insights from our authors:

🔹 David Archer explores the term “innovative financing”, illustrating its association with special mechanisms to mobilise resources for education based on either aid grants or loans.

🔹 Biney Francis John examines reforms in Côte d’Ivoire, a leading economy in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA), supported by innovative financing focusing on an inclusive, equitable and sustainable education system and supporting national development.

🔹 Ossom M. Ossom, PhD, Abiodun Olatoun Akinsolu, Zohair Zaidi, and Kayode Sanni explore constraints in public financing of basic education in Nigeria and apply lessons from previous interventions, with the potential to transform how national funds are disbursed to enhance educational outcomes for millions of children.

🔹Naomi K. Nyamweya proposes feminist financing centred on large-scale debt relief and debt-for-education swaps embedded in gender-responsive public financial management (PFM), participatory governance, intersectional targeting, additionality audits and long-term public stewardship.

Read more: https://f.mtr.cool/wex0ausxnm

05/10/2026

This International Teachers’ Day, we invite you to explore NORRAG’s Policy Insights – Refugee Teachers: The Heart of the Global Refugee Response

Refugee teachers and those teaching refugee children play a vital role in providing education and supporting communities affected by displacement.

NORRAG’s Policy Insight #02 brought together 48 authors from academia, humanitarian agencies, and think tanks to produce 27 papers that highlight evidence and offer policy recommendations to better protect and support refugee teachers worldwide.

📘 Read the full publication here: https://f.mtr.cool/flt1j0bdrb

02/10/2026

On the , we open a call for blog contributions to our Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus blog series.

Contributions may respond to—or challenge—our thematic priorities:

🔹 Taking stock, assessing the current status and relevance of the Nexus framework in education and aid, examining coherence, financing models, and lessons learned.

🔹 Centring humanity focuses on reimagining education centred on human well-being.

🔹Teaching at the heart of the Nexus.

Leading locally examines the necessity of shifting power to local leadership and solutions.

Making the connections focuses on examining lessons from coordinating bodies.

🔗: https://www.norrageducation.org/norrag-blog-series-humanitarian-development-peace-nexus/

-Violence

01/10/2026

🔍 Postdoc Opportunity: Global Education Governance & Politics of Expertise

SNSF‑funded project at the Geneva Graduate Institute with Prof. Chanwoong Baek examining how UNESCO, OECD, and the World Bank produce and mobilise expert knowledge in global education governance. Mixed methods: social network analysis + network‑cued interviews.

Key requirements

🔹 PhD in political science, IR, CIE, education policy, or related social science

🔹 Strong background in politics of expertise, global governance, and international organisations

🔹 Training/experience in social network analysis

🔹 Ability to work independently and collaboratively in an international team

Apply by 21 Oct 2026 via the Institute job portal (PDF: cover letter, CV, transcripts, proof of SNA proficiency, two references, optional writing sample).

🔗 Full details & apply: https://www.norrageducation.org/postdoctoral-researcher-opportunity-in-international-relations-and-political-science-at-the-geneva-graduate-institute-f-m-d/

01/10/2026

Has the OECD Changed Its Mind About Education?

In this week's blog post, Iveta Silova, Hikaru Komatsu and Jeremy Rappleye analyse a recent OECD report that appears to signal an important seismic shift in the organisation’s conceptualisation of the purpose of education, and call for the OECD's influential education assessment tool, PISA, to reflect this change.

Find out more: https://www.norrageducation.org/has-the-oecd-changed-its-mind-about-education-a-new-conversation-begins/

30/09/2026

On , we highlight the importance of intercultural understanding with and through multilingualism.

NORRAG's Special Issue is translated into French, Arabic, Mandarin (Simplified), Spanish, and Russian and also offers regional contextualisation.

Read our recently translated NSI 10: https://resources.norrageducation.org/resource/900/education-for-societal-transformation-alternatives-for-a-just-future

29/09/2026

Spending on education globally remains insufficient despite long-standing promises.

On this timely reflection, NORRAG has launched its 12th Special Issue: Innovative Financing for Education: Potentials, Challenges and Learnings.

Some key highlights from our authors on: Framing and Understanding Innovative Financing for Education

🔹 Arushi Terway and Marina Dreux Frotté revisit two decades of global debate on innovative finance for education (IFE) and invite policymakers and practitioners to return to the foundational discussions on IFE and assess whether current initiatives truly meet the conditions for contributing to additional, sustainable, effective and equitable education financing

🔹 Nana Ama Boa-Amponsem critiques how we define Innovative Financing for Education (IFE) and argues for expanding the framing of Innovative Financing for Education (IFE).

🔹 Steven Klees argues that innovative finance is a distraction from the real education and international development problems the world faces. Moreover, much innovative finance, especially impact investment, is a misguided approach to improving education and development outcomes

Read More: https://resources.norrageducation.org/resource/1032/nsi-12-innovative-financing-for-education-potentials-challenges-and-learnings

28/09/2026

Amid deep education funding cuts, open access to information is more critical than ever. On , we spotlight that all NORRAG publications are open access. 📚

More recently, our latest, NSI 12: Innovative Financing for Education, explores:

1. Financing mechanisms need to be context-sensitive in their design and implementation.

2. Secondly, results-based mechanisms can improve internal efficiency and external collaboration, and yet they can also encourage gaming and auditing behaviours over educational logics.

3. System-capacity constraints need to be resolved, not masked by short-term mechanisms.

Read NSI 12: https://resources.norrageducation.org/resource/1032/nsi-12-innovative-financing-for-education-potentials-challenges-and-learnings

Explore all NORRAG publications: https://resources.norrageducation.org/?search&categories=&date_from_value=1986-11-01&date_to_value=2026-03-01&search_term=&page=0

24/09/2026

In this week's blog post, Katrin Kohl, Co-Chairholder of the UNESCO Chair in Reorienting Education towards Sustainability at York University, and Julia Heiss, Chief of UNESCO’s Section for Education for Sustainable Development, reflect on the importance and future direction of Education for Sustainable Development following the Global Expert Symposium in Munich, Germany, in September 2026.

Some key highlights:

🔹 Keep ESD’s core, sharpen its focus: Move beyond tick‑box add‑ons to clear goals and learning that drives real change.

🔹 Link knowledge to action: Prioritise co‑creation, agency, and meaningful participation across schools, workplaces, and communities.

🔹Build system‑wide learning ecosystems: Align curriculum, assessment, and governance; integrate diverse knowledge traditions; and forge cross‑generational, cross‑sector coalitions.

Read more: https://www.norrageducation.org/what-should-education-for-sustainable-development-carry-beyond-2030/

In this blogpost, Katrin Kohl, Co-Chairholder of the UNESCO Chair in Reorienting Education towards Sustainability at York University, and Julia Heiss, Chief of UNESCO’s Section for Education for Sustainable Development, reflect on the importance and future direction of Education for Sustainable De...