The
World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) has released three
research reports that focus on issues with direct impact on the
development of education in Qatar: on school leadership, early
childhood, and education for people with autism.
The three reports are especially relevant to Qatar and are available on the WISE website in English and Arabic.
The new reports form part of a larger series to be launched at the upcoming WISE 2017 to take place from November 14 to 16.
The
first research report, titled Developing Agile Leaders of Learning:
School leadership policy for dynamic times, was produced in partnership
between WISE and Learn Labs, Australia.
It evolved from the
Empowering Leaders of Learning programme which WISE presented, in
partnership with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education and with
Qatar Foundation (QF)’s Education Development Institute, over an
eight-month period.
The objective of the workshop series is to
strengthen capabilities among Qatar’s school leaders through strategies,
collaboration, and sharing experiences ultimately towards improved
student learning.
Selected participants benefit from one-on-one coaching sessions to refine leadership practices.
School
leaders and teachers identify issues, lead change in teaching practices
and design iterative action plans to motivate students, and ultimately
improve outcomes.
The authors of the report are Learn Labs executive
director Dr Simon Breakspear, Harvard University fellow Amelia Peterson,
WISE research and content development director Dr Asmaa Alfadala, and
senior WISE research associate Mohamed Salman bin Mohamed Khair.
The
authors will present a two-day master class on Agile Leadership on
November 13 and 14, during the upcoming Doha Learning Week.
The
second report, Early Childhood Development in Qatar: Status and
opportunities for the future, was produced by WISE colleagues at the
World Bank.
The lead authors of the report are World Bank education
specialist Samira Nikaein Towfighian and World Bank consultant Lindsay
Adams.
The report makes recommendations to strengthen the policy
environment for early childhood development, improve the coverage and
scope of programmes and establish a comprehensive quality assurance
system.
The third WISE report, produced in partnership with the
University of Birmingham, UK, is titled Meeting the Needs of Pupils with
Autism in Qatar: Moving forward.
The lead author is Dr Karen
Guldberg, reader in autism studies and director of the Autism Centre for
Education and Research at the University of Birmingham.