NEW LITERACY PAPER CALLS FOR URGENT EVIDENCE-TO-POLICY ACTION

Kwame Akyeampong, Professor of International Education and Development at the Open University, UK.

Embu, Kenya – Friday, 5th September 2025. A new literacy paper calling for urgent evidence-based action to tackle global learning poverty was spotlighted at the 6th Biennial Education Evidence for Action (EE4A) and EDF Conference, ahead of its official launch later this year.

Produced by the What Works Hub for Global Education (WWHGE), in partnership with the Global Education Evidence Advisory Panel (GEEAP) and the British Council, the paper emphasizes the need to translate rigorous evidence into government policies and classroom practices.

Why This Matters

The paper underscores three central messages:

• Foundational literacy is essential – Without literacy, children are excluded from all other learning opportunities.
• We know what works – Approaches such as structured pedagogy, teacher professional development, and targeted interventions have proven to improve outcomes at scale.
• Partnerships accelerate impact – Aligning global evidence with local policy and classroom practice enables governments and partners to achieve sustainable learning gains.

EE4A: Bridging Evidence and Policy

The EE4A Conference, organized and hosted by Zizi Afrique Foundation, serves as a platform where education stakeholders and researchers meet to discuss how to close the gap between research and policy. This year’s event featured a special session convened by WWHGE titled “Strengthening the Evidence Ecosystem: Building a Roadmap for Education Reform in Kenya.”

WWHGE stressed its mission to take global evidence—such as the GEEAP Literacy Paper—and move it into national reform agendas, teacher training institutions, and ultimately, classrooms.

Partners Driving Change

• The What Works Hub for Global Education is an international partnership funded by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Convened by the Blavatnik School of Government, it brings together 12 strategic and 43 consortium partners to support education reforms at scale.
• The British Council’s Learning and Life for Global Education (LL4GE) initiative also featured at the conference. LL4GE integrates literacy, language, and life skills, equipping young people with both academic and social competencies for future employment, resilience, and active citizenship.

The Road Ahead

Together, WWHGE, GEEAP, and the British Council are set to embed the Literacy Paper’s recommendations into national policies, ensuring governments not only adopt but implement them in classrooms. This marks a significant step forward in the mission to ensure that every child—regardless of context—benefits from proven strategies to build foundational literacy and lifelong learning skills.