Groupe de travail sur les politiques éducatives

***The 2018-2021 INEE Working Groups have concluded their work as of May 2021. A consultation and review of a new structure of INEE network spaces is in process and will soon be shared with INEE members.***

The INEE Education Policy Working Group (EPWG) was established as an inter-agency mechanism to coordinate diverse initiatives and catalyze collaborative action on issues relating to education policy in crisis and conflict-affected contexts. Through EPWG, INEE fosters collaboration between 27 working group member organizations and coordinates initiatives to build evidence and knowledge in order to inform policies, planning, and practices of education ministries, donors, field practitioners, and implementing agencies in crisis-affected contexts.

Education Policy Working Group Members, 2018-2021

• Agence Française de Développement / French Development Agency (AFD) 
• Education Development Center (EDC)
• European Commission
• FHI 360
• Finn Church Aid
• GIZ
• Global Education Cluster
• Global Education Monitoring Report
• Global Partnership for Education (GPE)
• International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
• International Rescue Committee (IRC)
• Jusoor
• NORRAG
• Plan International Canada
• Porticus
• RET International
• Save the Children
• Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)
• UNESCO
• UNESCO IIEP
• UNHCR
• UNICEF
• University of Massachusetts Amherst
• University of Massachusetts Boston
• USAID
• World Bank
• World Vision International

INEE Secretariat Staff: Margi Bhatt, Coordinator, Education Policy

Priorities and Objectives

Under its 2018-2021 mandate, the work of the EPWG is focused on the following thematic areas: 

1. Alternative Education 
2. Quality and Equitable Learning Outcomes 
3. Safe and Resilient Education Systems 

The thematic areas were identified by Working Group members as those which represent a policy gap in EiE and those where INEE, and the EPWG specifically, can add the most value. The decision to focus on these  areas were informed by the INEE 2018-2023 Strategic Framework and by a set of recommendations from the 2014-2017 EPWG.

Under the 2018-2021 mandate, EPWG members also work with members from the Advocacy and Standards and Practice Working Groups on Collaboratives, which include Data and Evidence, Psychosocial Support and Social and Emotional Learning (PSS-SEL), and Teachers in Crisis Contexts (TiCC).. 

View the complete INEE Education Policy Working Group Charter (2018-2021) here.

EPWG 2018-2021 Activities (Updated April 2021)

1. Alternative Education - this EPWG workstream has published a Background Paper and Proposed Taxonomy on Non-formal Education in Crisis and Conflict Settings, now available in English and soon to come in Arabic, French, Portuguese, and Spanish.  The paper summarizes the historical and current use of terms related to NFE, reflects on current policy and programmatic use of these terms, and proposes a taxonomy and definitions of NFE programming for adolescents and youth in conflict- and crisis-affected environments. The paper aims to address the confusion about the definition of NFE, its purpose, audience and quality, and is written for the benefit of education practitioners, donors and policymakers working in crisis and conflict-affected environments. Please see the accompanying slides (in English) for a summary of the work and discussion questions. The workstream is currently finalizing a Policy Note on the topic, which .provides more specific recommendations to program implementers, policy makers, and donors on how to improve the availability and access; relevance and quality; and legitimacy and accreditation of alternative education in a range of crisis and conflict-affected settings.
    
2. Quality and Equitable Learning Outcomes - this EPWG workstream has published a mapping of academic (literacy and numeracy) and PSS/SEL measurement frameworks and assessment tools, which contains an analysis of the frameworks' and tools' connection to global frameworks (e.g., SDGs, GPE) on quality learning, as well as analysis on the relevancy of tools for those learners in crisis and conflict settings.. Please find the mapping exercises and an accompanying webinar here. The workstream has developed a Policy Paper, now available in all INEE languages, to support education in emergencies sector donors, both in humanitarian and protracted crisis contexts, national governments and humanitarian and development agencies. It provides guidance on how to increase and improve the measurement of holistic learning outcomes for crisis-affected learners. Please find the Policy Paper and accompanying Webinar here.
    
3. Safe and Resilient Education Systems - this EPWG workstream has published a mapping of measurement frameworks and tools applied to four types of school-based security activities (physical security of facilities and of risk management, contingency education delivery, and advocacy for security) and an examination of how they relate to measurement frameworks and tools used for access to education, and psychosocial wellbeing of learners. The mapping is for both the EiE and CPHA sectors, in particular for those looking to strengthen monitoring and evaluation frameworks and practices for the protection of education from attack and for those looking to develop or enhance integrated CPHA-EiE programs at school level, in areas affected by armed conflict and violence. The policy note is a 3-page companion to the mapping, highlighting the importance of this issue, key findings from the mapping, and offers recommendations for EiE and Child Protection practitioners and donors. Both papers are available in English, with translations in Arabic, French, Portuguese, and Spanish to come. 
    
4. Humanitarian-Development Coherence Task Force - this Task Force (made up of members from EPWG and AWG) developed a Background Paper which demystifies the concept of humanitarian-development coherence in the education sector its criticality, provides an overview of barriers to coherence, and offers illustrative examples of coherent action. The paper proposes a set of actions and recommendations to strengthen coherence, with guidelines for education stakeholders to take collective action and advocate within their own agencies and across the education sector’s full spectrum of policy and programming. It is aimed at a broad range of humanitarian, development, government and civil society actors who are working to ensure that all individuals have the right to a quality, safe, relevant and equitable education. The paper is available here in all INEE languages.

Meeting Minutes and Reports 

• November 2020 Working Group Meeting EPWG Report, Virtual
• May 2020 Working Group Meeting EPWG Report, Virtual
• November 2019 Working Group Meeting EPWG Report, Virtual
• May 2019 Working Group Meeting EPWG Report, Helsinki, Finland 
• October 2018 Working Group Meeting EPWG Report, Nairobi, Kenya
• May 2018 Working Group meeting EPWG Report, Oslo, Norway (first meeting of the newly constituted 2018-2020 EPWG)

Key Resources 

• Towards Safer and More Resilient Schools in Contexts of Armed Conflict and Insecurity (Mapping and Policy Brief, 2021)
• Humanitarian-Development Coherence in Education: working together in crisis contexts (Background Paper, 2021)
• Academic Learning and PSS and SEL Measurement and Assessment Tools in Education in Emergencies - Findings from a Mapping Exercise and Webinar (2020)
• Thematic Paper: An introduction to education and preventing violent extremism
• Whiteboard Video: Preventing Violent Extremism  
• Catalogue of Resources on Preventing Violent Extremism  
• Guidance Note on Psychosocial Support 
• Background Paper on Psychosocial Support and Social and Emotional Learning
• Conflict Sensitive Education Pack  
• HEART Topic Guide: Education for refugees and IDPs in low- and middle-income countries: identifying challenges and opportunities  

History

Over the last ten years, there have been three iterations of the INEE Working Groups on Policy and Fragility. Every iteration has supported building evidence, fostering dialogue, and influencing policies on multiple and diverse areas and topics relating to the provision of education for children and youth in fragile and crisis-affected contexts:

• In 2014-2017, the Education & Fragility Working Group changed its name to Education Policy, and continued to build on EFWG’s achievements by facilitating learning and capacity-building on conflict-sensitive education approaches. It also chartered new ground in building evidence on psychosocial support and social-emotional learning, promoting knowledge-sharing on policies governing education for forcibly displaced persons, and enabling dialogue and evidence-building on the role of education in preventing violent extremism and urban violence.
• In 2011, the EFWG was renewed for a second term with a focus on facilitating learning and dialogue on education’s role in state- and peace-building, as well as promoting conflict-sensitive approaches to education in fragile contexts.
• In 2008, the Working Group on Education and Fragility (EFWG) was established as an inter-agency mechanism to engage with national and regional stakeholders to strengthen the evidence base on Education and Fragility, to determine effective modalities of financing education in fragile contexts, and to advocate for policy change.
• Click these links to read more in detail about the areas of work and concrete outcomes of the previous working groups: EPWG 2014-2017; EFWG 2011-2014; EFWG 2008-2011