Coordinator
Katherine Merseth, Harvard Graduate School of Education

This panel convenes leaders of Latin America’s most influential foundations working in the education field today. Panelists will discuss the role of privately funded foundations in advancing public educational objectives. Discussion questions include the following: How are foundations changing the landscape of education in Latin America? What best practices have been identified and how can they be applied in similar contexts elsewhere? Are there unintended consequences of private initiatives in the public sphere? Can there be productive partnerships between foundations and government to ensure equality of access and achievement across the socioeconomic spectrum?

Coordinators
Fiamma Rupp-Gembs and Amelie Banzet, Harvard Graduate School of Education

Everyone values education regardless of political positions or ideological preferences. For some, education is the vehicle towards social stability and economic growth. Others prefer to think of education as a means for social change and individual freedom. Schooling, however, has both committed supporters and harsh critics. In this panel four presenters with diverse cultural and ideological backgrounds (India, Guatemala, France, and the US) will discuss on what the purpose of education should be, which purposes it is actually fulfilling, and what are its main challenges. They will also discuss whether formal schooling should prevail as the mechanism to provide education or alternative models should substitute current schools.

Assessment of educational outcomes is an important aspect of educational programming that has yet to realize its full potential in developing countries. Development and use of reliable and valid assessment instruments that provide the complete picture of successes and failures of public education systems requires substantial expertise and financial resources. Another challenge is finding the common ground among educators at different levels on the appropriate expectations of student achievement, and identifying the factors within and outside schools with the greatest impact on learning outcome.

The panel will examine the current practices in assessment of learning outcomes from different perspectives: classroom assessment, school level assessment, national level assessment, external agency assessment, and international level assessment. Presentations will be followed by discussions of policies informed by student assessments.

Coordinator
Haviva Kohl, Harvard Kennedy School

The theme of this panel will focus on innovative technology solutions that are working to bridge the education divide through technology. Key themes that this panel will focus on are: How do teachers get access to relevant curriculum and create a more global space for children in developing countries, and how do children interact with technology that will be relevant to their fight against poverty and other external conditions that might impact their daily lives. Since technology is changing the way people get information, it is critical to look at its role in education and international development. Each of the panelists will be able to represent a technology solution for either the teacher or student, and in some cases both.