Global Learning Community's Efforts Featured in NORRAG Special Issue
In a stride towards fostering global collaboration in education, the Global Learning Community (GLC) – which brings together 80 education organizations from across the world – announced the publication of two articles in the NORRAG Special Issue 09 earlier this year. The articles showcase the diligent efforts of 20 GLC members in addressing critical issues concerning the integration of Whole Child Development (WCD) principles into education systems worldwide and their importance for foundational learning.
The GLC has been at the forefront of promoting collaborative initiatives aimed at enhancing WCD on a global scale. Building upon this momentum, the community set out to create two Communities of Practice centered around the integration of WCD measurement into education systems and incorporating WCD principles into school leader and teacher training programs. In this process, the 20 education organizations identified areas of common interest and concern and summarized them into two articles.
The first article, located on Page 65, explores what such holistic approaches to building foundational skills mean for measuring student outcomes, including at young ages, and what other indicators are necessary to support education systems that foster the thriving of children with different needs across different contexts. Based on the experiences of 10 organizations, the article explores the challenges faced by educators worldwide in assessing holistic development outcomes and offers insights into effective strategies for implementation.
The second article, found on Page 97, focuses on incorporating WCD principles into school leader and teacher training programs. Drawing upon the experiences of 10 GLC members, this article explores how education systems can support teachers and school leaders in taking a child-centered and multi-dimensional approach.
The publication of these articles underscores the GLC members' commitment to expanding the definition of foundational learning beyond literacy and numeracy while also serving as a testament to the community's dedication to driving positive change in global education.