This policy brief has been prepared by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) for the UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) Regional Conference, held in Manila from 5 to 7 November 2024. This brief is in response to the conference sub-theme of, 'Learning, equity and well-being: foundational literacy,…

The COVID-19 public health emergency has been characterized by an abundance of data in the form of numbers and charts. Although these data are readily available, there have been challenges associated with their interpretation--exacerbated by generally low numeracy rates. Consequently, people may underestimate the speed at which the disease spreads…

The pervasive role of digital technologies in adult learning and education (ALE) was a prominent theme throughout the deliberations of the Seventh International Conference on Adult Education (CONFINTEA VII) held June 15-17, 2022 in Morocco. CONFINTEA VII embodied the worldwide interest in digital technologies through the use of a hybrid format…

This paper and the four commissioned works on which it is based are guided by the important question: How can we start valuing practices and outcomes of teaching and learning that are difficult to reduce to numbers? As the process of developing indicators for the Post-2015 education targets unfolds, some of the targets are at risk of being dropped…