Thematic Research Report series

Thematic Research Reports

241 complete publications covering the years 2005 to 2026.

Showing 12 of 63 results

241 publications in this series

ICEQC-R-2026-11

Thematic Research Report

High-Risk Artificial Intelligence in Education: Regulatory Readiness after 2 August 2026

A European Union policy synthesis on educational use, risk classification, institutional duties and rights

Regulatory readiness after 2 August 2026 requires education authorities and institutions in the European Union to identify where artificial intelligence is used, for what educational purpose, by which actor and with what consequence. Classification under Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 depends on the system, intended purpose and applicable provisions; the presence of software alone does not establish a high-risk use.

Research category
Industry Policy and Regional Regulatory Analysis
Report archetype
Policy and Regulatory Synthesis
Geographic scope
European Union
ICEQC-R-2026-04

Thematic Research Report

Equity-Oriented Education Financing: Transfers, Student Support and Public Provision

A global policy synthesis on allocation, fiscal incidence, learner costs and service obligations

Equity-oriented financing should direct sufficient and predictable resources to the services and learners facing the greatest barriers. Equal nominal allocation is not necessarily equitable where costs, needs and starting conditions differ. Formulae, grants, student support and public provision should be assessed through actual distribution and learner-facing service.

Research category
Industry Policy and Regional Regulatory Analysis
Report archetype
Policy and Regulatory Synthesis
Geographic scope
Global
ICEQC-R-2026-03

Thematic Research Report

The Final Years to 2030: National Targets, Policy Credibility and Public Accountability

A policy synthesis on national ambition, implementation evidence, financing, distribution and correction

The final years to 2030 require national targets that are publicly intelligible, evidentially grounded and connected to authorised action. Ambition remains necessary, but credibility depends on a defined baseline, population, measure, policy instrument, responsible authority, finance and review date.

Research category
Industry Policy and Regional Regulatory Analysis
Report archetype
Policy and Regulatory Synthesis
Geographic scope
Global
ICEQC-R-2025-08

Thematic Research Report

Leadership for Inclusion in Central and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia

A regional policy synthesis on authority, professional capacity, participation, language, evidence and public responsibility

Regional evidence 1 indicates that Leadership for inclusion in Central and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia should be interpreted through diverse constitutional, administrative, linguistic, demographic and territorial contexts. The regional label is useful for structured dialogue but does not imply a single governance model, historical trajectory or pattern of exclusion.

Research category
Industry Policy and Regional Regulatory Analysis
Report archetype
Policy and Regulatory Synthesis
Geographic scope
Central and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia
ICEQC-R-2025-07

Thematic Research Report

Sustainable Financing of the Teaching Profession under Fiscal Constraint

Policy options for recurrent workforce capacity, equitable deployment and service continuity

Financing the teaching profession is a recurrent public obligation. Salaries, social protection, preparation, induction, professional development, leadership, reasonable workload and safe working conditions sustain the daily capacity through which education rights are realized. Treating these requirements as a residual after other allocations creates predictable risks to access, continuity, inclusion and learning.

Research category
Industry Policy and Regional Regulatory Analysis
Report archetype
Policy and Regulatory Synthesis
Geographic scope
Global
ICEQC-R-2025-06

Thematic Research Report

Basic Skills and STEM Policy: Targets, Equity and System Capacity

A quality-improvement study of progression, curriculum, support, equity and institutional correction

Tertiary completion is shaped by the coherence of the programme learners encounter and the timeliness of support when progression becomes uncertain. For basic-skills and STEM policy, this proposition directly informs the issue under review within Executive summary: whether targets, equity and system capacity form a credible improvement settlement; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. Entry alone does not constitute opportunity if requirements are opaque, essential modules are unavailable, assessment is poorly sequenced, credit decisions are delayed or support arrives after a learner has disengaged. Improvement should therefore examine the pathway from admission to award as an institutional responsibility rather than treating non-completion as an unexplained individual deficit.

Research category
Industry Policy and Regional Regulatory Analysis
Report archetype
Policy and Regulatory Synthesis
Geographic scope
European Union
ICEQC-R-2024-11

Thematic Research Report

Leadership in Education: System Conditions, Public Purpose and Distributed Responsibility

A quality improvement study of authority, conditions, evidence, professional capacity and correction

feasibility and before, attributing, responsibility in Leadership in Education: System Conditions, Public Purpose and Distributed Responsibility require Leadership in Education: System Conditions, Public Purpose and Distributed Responsibility to connect evidence with delivery, unequal effect and correction. A leader may influence priorities, organisation, support and culture, while law, finance, staffing, curriculum, infrastructure, population and prior conditions remain controlled elsewhere or jointly. Evaluation should map authority before attributing responsibility.

Research category
Industry Policy and Regional Regulatory Analysis
Report archetype
Policy and Regulatory Synthesis
Geographic scope
Global
ICEQC-R-2024-08

Thematic Research Report

Education Commitments within the Pact for the Future

A policy synthesis of authority, baseline, finance, institutional capability and public review

feasibility and rather, ambition, statement in Education Commitments within the Pact for the Future require Education Commitments within the Pact for the Future to connect evidence with delivery, unequal effect and correction. These are political commitments and agenda-setting instruments. They do not establish that national law, budgets, institutional capacity, teaching or learner outcomes changed by the 19 October cutoff. National reform should therefore be assessed through an implementation chain rather than the ambition of a statement.

Research category
Industry Policy and Regional Regulatory Analysis
Report archetype
Policy and Regulatory Synthesis
Geographic scope
Global
ICEQC-R-2024-05

Thematic Research Report

High-Risk Artificial Intelligence Uses in Education under Regulation (EU) 2024/1689

A standards interpretation of human agency, ethics, foundations, pedagogy and professional development

feasibility and professional, learner, safeguards in High-Risk Artificial Intelligence Uses in Education under Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 require High-Risk Artificial Intelligence Uses in Education under Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 to connect evidence with delivery, unequal effect and correction. They provide progressive, human-centred references for knowledge, judgement and responsible educational use. They do not create a universal curriculum, certify individual competence or prove that institutions have supplied the necessary professional and learner safeguards.

Research category
Industry Policy and Regional Regulatory Analysis
Report archetype
Policy and Regulatory Synthesis
Geographic scope
European Union
ICEQC-R-2023-12

Thematic Research Report

Education for Peace, Human Rights and Sustainable Development after the 2023 Recommendation

A policy synthesis of access, continuity, reopening, institutional duties and correction

Education continuity during COVID-19 is a continuing public duty under altered and uncertain conditions. For education for peace, rights and sustainable development, the proposition has a direct bearing on the issue under review within Executive summary: whether the 2023 Recommendation is translated into curriculum, institutional practice and public accountability; the competent body should identify the affected population, decision authority and review point. Closure, remote provision, partial reopening and renewed interruption can coexist across places and levels. Authorities should preserve entitlement, learner contact, teaching, support, records, progression and remedy while applying proportionate health-related rules issued by competent bodies.

Research category
Industry Policy and Regional Regulatory Analysis
Report archetype
Policy and Regulatory Synthesis
Geographic scope
Global
ICEQC-R-2023-11

Thematic Research Report

Technology in Education: Governance in the Interests of Learners

A policy synthesis on educational purpose, rights, evidence, professional authority and public accountability

Governance in the interests of learners begins with public educational purpose. Technology should be selected, used and reviewed because it supports a defined service for learners and educators, not because availability, commercial pressure or institutional fashion creates its own justification. Public authorities remain responsible for rights, quality, equitable access, continuity and remedy.

Research category
Industry Policy and Regional Regulatory Analysis
Report archetype
Policy and Regulatory Synthesis
Geographic scope
Global
ICEQC-R-2023-04

Thematic Research Report

Implementation Readiness following Entry into Force of the Global Convention on Higher Education

A policy synthesis of competent authorities, fair recognition, information, records and review

The UNESCO Global Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education entered into force on 5 March 2023. By this report's 13 July cutoff, entry into force is a legal and institutional status for states bound according to the Convention's terms; it is not evidence that every recognition body, information arrangement or applicant pathway was implementation-ready.

Research category
Industry Policy and Regional Regulatory Analysis
Report archetype
Policy and Regulatory Synthesis
Geographic scope
Global