QF’S WISE releases 3 research reports

TheWorld Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) has released threeresearch reports that focus on issues with direct impact on thedevelopment of education in Qatar: on school leadership, earlychildhood, 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.Thefirst research report, titled Developing Agile Leaders of Learning:School leadership policy for dynamic times, was produced in partnershipbetween WISE and Learn Labs, Australia.It evolved from theEmpowering Leaders of Learning programme which WISE presented, inpartnership with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education and withQatar Foundation (QF)’s Education Development Institute, over aneight-month period.The objective of the workshop series is tostrengthen capabilities among Qatar’s school leaders through strategies,collaboration, and sharing experiences ultimately towards improvedstudent learning.Selected participants benefit from one-on-one coaching sessions to refine leadership practices.Schoolleaders and teachers identify issues, lead change in teaching practicesand design iterative action plans to motivate students, and ultimatelyimprove outcomes.The authors of the report are Learn Labs executivedirector Dr Simon Breakspear, Harvard University fellow Amelia Peterson,WISE research and content development director Dr Asmaa Alfadala, andsenior WISE research associate Mohamed Salman bin Mohamed Khair.Theauthors will present a two-day master class on Agile Leadership onNovember 13 and 14, during the upcoming Doha Learning Week.Thesecond report, Early Childhood Development in Qatar: Status andopportunities for the future, was produced by WISE colleagues at theWorld Bank.The lead authors of the report are World Bank educationspecialist Samira Nikaein Towfighian and World Bank consultant LindsayAdams.The report makes recommendations to strengthen the policyenvironment for early childhood development, improve the coverage andscope of programmes and establish a comprehensive quality assurancesystem.The third WISE report, produced in partnership with theUniversity of Birmingham, UK, is titled Meeting the Needs of Pupils withAutism in Qatar: Moving forward.The lead author is Dr KarenGuldberg, reader in autism studies and director of the Autism Centre forEducation and Research at the University of Birmingham.