International Council for Education Quality Certification
Verify a certificateSubmit a complaint or concernContact ICEQC

Thematic Research Report series

Thematic Research Reports

241 complete publications covering the years 2005 to 2026.

Showing 10 of 10 results

241 publications in this series

ICEQC-R-2015-10

Thematic Research Report

The Incheon Declaration: Public Responsibilities for Inclusive and Equitable Quality Education

A global policy and regulatory synthesis of rights, public duties, finance and immediate Education 2030 implementation

The Incheon Declaration places inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning within a universal public commitment. Its meaning is neither exhausted by a political slogan nor detached from existing law. It should be read with the right to education and non-discrimination, the universal development agenda adopted in September 2015, the financing agreement adopted in July, and the Education 2030 Framework for Action adopted on 4 November. Each instrument has a distinct status; together they establish a contemporaneous direction for national responsibility, cooperation, finance and review.

Research category
Industry Policy and Regional Regulatory Analysis
Report archetype
Policy and Regulatory Synthesis
Geographic scope
Global
ICEQC-R-2015-09

Thematic Research Report

Interpreting the Scope of Sustainable Development Goal 4

A standards interpretation of the adopted education goal, targets and contemporaneous implementation instruments

Sustainable Development Goal 4 is the text adopted by the General Assembly in resolution 70/1: “Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.” Its seven numbered targets and three means-of-implementation targets form part of an integrated and indivisible Agenda. Interpretation should preserve the ordinary meaning and relation of those provisions without importing indicators, definitions or reported results agreed after 26 November 2015.

Research category
Standards Interpretation
Report archetype
Standards Interpretive Study
Geographic scope
Global
ICEQC-R-2015-08

Thematic Research Report

Baseline Requirements for Monitoring the Education Targets of the 2030 Agenda

A global comparative indicator study of target concepts, population coverage, historical baselines and statistical responsibility

The adoption of the 2030 Agenda places defined new demands on national and international education evidence. As at 24 November 2015, the Incheon Declaration, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, the 2030 Agenda and the Education 2030 Framework for Action were officially available. Goal 4 and its targets therefore provide the policy concepts for this study. Later indicator selections, technical refinements and reported results do not. Baseline readiness must be assessed against the adopted target substance while the institutional status of each measurement proposal remains explicit.

Research category
Data and Indicator Research
Report archetype
Comparative Indicator Study
Geographic scope
Global
ICEQC-R-2015-07

Thematic Research Report

Regional Preparedness for the Transition from Education for All to Education 2030

A global policy synthesis of differentiated starting points, institutional readiness and the adopted 2015 commitments

Three relevant instruments had been adopted by the evidence date. The Incheon Declaration was adopted at the World Education Forum on 21 May 2015. The Addis Ababa Action Agenda was endorsed by the General Assembly in resolution 69/313 on 27 July 2015. The General Assembly adopted the 2030 Agenda, including Sustainable Development Goal 4, on 25 September 2015. They are used with those respective legal and institutional statuses.

Research category
Industry Policy and Regional Regulatory Analysis
Report archetype
Policy and Regulatory Synthesis
Geographic scope
Global
ICEQC-R-2015-06

Thematic Research Report

Translating Global Education Commitments into National Improvement Priorities

A global quality-improvement study of prioritisation, implementation, equity and public review

On 26 September 2015, the institutional position is unusually precise. The Incheon Declaration had been adopted in May, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda in July, and the United Nations General Assembly had adopted the 2030 Agenda on 25 September. The 2030 Agenda therefore forms part of the evidence and commitment base of this report. The later Education 2030 Framework for Action does not: it had not been adopted by the cut-off and no provision or institutional arrangement specific to that later instrument is used or implied.

Research category
Quality Improvement Methods
Report archetype
Quality Improvement Study
Geographic scope
Global
ICEQC-R-2015-05

Thematic Research Report

Lifelong Learning as a System Standard: Coverage, Progression and Evidence

A global standards-interpretive study of learning opportunity across ages, settings and pathways

Lifelong learning should be interpreted as a connected system of credible opportunities across ages, settings and pathways. It includes early foundations, school education, technical and vocational learning, tertiary education, adult literacy, workplace and non-formal learning, with routes for recognition, return and progression.

Research category
Standards Interpretation
Report archetype
Standards Interpretive Study
Geographic scope
Global
ICEQC-R-2015-04

Thematic Research Report

Aligning Institutional Review with Equity, Learning and Completion

A global quality-improvement study of learner pathways, institutional diagnosis and accountable action

Institutional review often separates access, classroom quality and completion into different enquiries. The result is a fragmented account: admission may improve without sustained attendance; instruction may be observed without examining which learners receive it; completion may be reported without following repetition, interruption or transition. This report presents an integrated quality-improvement method in which equity, learning and completion are consecutive and connected tests of the learner pathway.

Research category
Quality Improvement Methods
Report archetype
Quality Improvement Study
Geographic scope
Global
ICEQC-R-2015-03

Thematic Research Report

Education Financing within the Addis Ababa Action Agenda

A contemporaneous policy synthesis of the financing-for-development preparatory and draft agenda as at 27 April 2015

Education financing should be judged by whether resources become equitable, sustained and educationally adequate service. A larger national budget can coexist with deteriorating provision in remote schools, high household costs, teacher vacancies or exclusion from secondary education. An aid commitment can be recorded without predictable disbursement or alignment with national institutions. Private finance can extend activity while creating cost, selection, quality or accountability risks. The financing account must therefore follow mobilisation, allocation, execution, learner-facing use and educational consequence.

Research category
Industry Policy and Regional Regulatory Analysis
Report archetype
Policy and Regulatory Synthesis
Geographic scope
Global
ICEQC-R-2015-02

Thematic Research Report

Education for All 2000–2015: Progress, Distribution and Unfinished Commitments

A global comparative indicator study of access, equality, learning and the limits of aggregate progress

The close of the Education for All period calls for a disciplined assessment of progress without anticipating evidence or agreements issued after 31 March 2015. The six commitments adopted at Dakar linked early childhood care and education, universal primary education, learning opportunities for young people and adults, adult literacy, gender equality and educational quality. They should be examined as a connected public undertaking rather than reduced to one enrolment trend. Expansion of access is material progress; it does not establish timely entry, sustained attendance, completion, learning or equality among the populations entitled to education.

Research category
Data and Indicator Research
Report archetype
Comparative Indicator Study
Geographic scope
Global
ICEQC-R-2015-01

Thematic Research Report

Data Readiness for Disaggregated Monitoring under a Universal Education Goal

A global comparative indicator study of measurement scope, population visibility and sustainable statistical capability

The prospect of a universal education goal places new demands on national and international evidence. As at 14 February 2015, the goal and its targets remained under intergovernmental negotiation. The Open Working Group had proposed a broad education goal, and the Secretary-General had presented a synthesis for the negotiating year, but later declarations, adopted goals and final indicator arrangements did not yet exist. Data readiness at this date must therefore be assessed against plausible concepts and enduring statistical duties without presenting a proposal as an agreed outcome.

Research category
Data and Indicator Research
Report archetype
Comparative Indicator Study
Geographic scope
Global