Launch of the Global Alliance on the Science of Learning for Education

The Global Alliance on the Science of Learning for Education was inaugurated at a meeting of experts on the Learning Sciences held at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris from 25 to 26 October 2023. Within the overall goal of accelerating achievement of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 on education, the meeting was in response to the call of the international community to urgently address the learning crisis, as reiterated in the work of the SDG 4 High-Level Steering Committee (HLSC)’s Functional Area 1 on evidence-based policy formulation, planning and implementation, the Call to Action of the 2022 United Nations Transforming Education Summit, and the recommendations in the report of the International Commission on the Futures of Education, which are also reflected in the United Nations Secretary-General’s Vision Statement on Transforming Education.

What is the Global Alliance on the Science of Learning for Education?

• An international group of experts that speaks with a common and independent voice representing the scientific arm of UNESCO at high-level global political events to advocate for evidence-based policy formulation, planning and implementation.
• A platform that brokers between scientists, policymakers and practitioners for global partnership-building and for synergizing national fragmented efforts into a global knowledge ecosystem for the translation of scientific knowledge into applications for education policy and practice.
• An international community of practice for knowledge sharing, mutual learning, collaboration and capacity building, with a focus on supporting the development of professionals in Africa and other low- and middle-income countries.

From scientific knowledge of learning to application in education policy and practice.

The overarching aim of the Global Alliance is to serve as an international community of practice to influence and inform global and national policy discourses on transforming education which are currently taking place in both political and education development fora. The Global Alliance is the knowledge arm of the Global Education Coalition’s mission - Global Learning House and supports the HLSC’s Functional Area 1 on evidence-based policy formulation, planning and implementation to inform these debates. It is represented by UNESCO as the principal Scientific Council at important high-level global political events to advocate for and inform these deliberations in the areas of its expertise.

An international community of practice for knowledge translation.

Decades of established scientific research and knowledge about how people learn and about teaching-learning processes have the potential to impact education by improving learning experiences and outcomes and better preparing the learners of today for addressing societal and economic challenges in a rapidly changing world. The Science of Learning is an interdisciplinary area of study that investigates the process of teaching and learning by testing and deploying alternative models of learning content and methods that can cater to the diverse needs of learners, whether taking place in formal, informal, or digital learning environments. The Science of Learning embeds scientific inquiry from all academic disciplines that study learning and pedagogy, as well as those fields working on the frontiers of knowledge, which are apparently far from education issues, but have the potential to impact them strongly in the future. However, the ‘translation’ of scientific knowledge and how it can be implemented or applied to education policies, pedagogical practices, and teacher education and professional development remains a challenge. To facilitate this translational work, the Global Alliance on the Science of Learning for Education serves as an international community of practice to improve the feedback loop from research production (i.e., scientific knowledge) to policymaking and implementation (i.e., the uptake of scientific knowledge to improve curriculum, pedagogy and teaching-learning processes), and vice versa.

A global platform for brokering between scientists, policymakers and practitioners.

The Global Learning House Connect serves as the platform for members of the Global Alliance to facilitate the brokering between scientists, policymakers and practitioners for the purposes of knowledge sharing, peer learning and partnership-building. An important capacity-building function of the Global Alliance supports the development of professionals in Africa and other low- and middle-income countries to collaborate with experts from all over the world to translate local scientific knowledge into local solutions.

Read the Inaugural Statement and list of founding members. [LINK]

Read the Terms of Reference to learn more about the objectives, scope of work and working modalities of the Global Alliance:

Become a member and join our mailing list!

Membership is open to universities, research institutions, networks, think tanks, civil society organizations, non-governmental organizations, intergovernmental organizations, foundations, funders, associations, academic societies and publishers (Institutional Membership), as well as individual researchers, academics, and policymakers, who may be representatives of national governments (Individual Membership). Membership application form.

Members must meet the following criteria:

(1) Mandate of the institution is strongly linked to brokering, knowledge translation, or conducting scientific research on learning, pedagogy, teaching-learning processes, quality of education, or improving student learning outcomes.

(2) Track record of relevant contributions to brokering, knowledge translation, or conducting scientific research on learning and other education-related activities linked to the scope of work of the Alliance.

Membership application form.

Working Groups

The important aspect of operationalization of the community of practice is its agility through the establishment of thematic Working Groups, which may change focus areas of research annually based on global education priorities. Two Working Groups have been established for this year to support the preparation of background research that will be the focus of the discussions at the next annual meeting of the Alliance, scheduled for 2-3 December 2024. Working Groups on Foundational Learning and Technologies for Learning were selected based on priorities expressed by UNESCO Member States for accelerating achievement of SDG 4. Read more about the Working Groups and how to get involved. [LINK to TOR]

News & Updates

The next annual meeting will take place on 2-3 December 2024. Keep watch here for updates.

Contact

For more information, contact educationpolicy@unesco.org.