Personalized learning

Project | Analyzing tech-enabled personalized learning solutions in developing country contexts

Sitting next to a girl child, a teacher, assists a girl child with her tablet, at the UNICEF supported Debate e-Learning Centre in a village in Sudan.
UNICEF/UNI232357/Noorani

For years, educators have advocated the transformative potential of personalized learning, which can be broadly defined as an approach centred on the individual learner. Flexible and responsive to their needs, its promise lies in the ability of tech to tailor learning based on the needs and performances of individuals.

So in the last decade, advancements in information and communications technology, data science and machine learning have led to an explosion in the development of tech-enabled solutions, helping to boost the popularity of personalized learning.

These solutions have shown some evidence in improving learning outcomes in developing countries, especially in terms of closing the education gap for lower-attaining students. However, evidence from developing countries is still emerging, and research remains thin.

Students use tablet to learn in a classroom
UNICEF/UN0299590/Herwig
Children at school using tablets as part of a multimedia learning programme to promote literacy and social cohesion in Jordan.

UNICEF Innocenti wanted to dig deeper, so began a landscape analysis of personalized learning solutions in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

The objective of the analysis is to:

  • Build understanding of how tech-enabled personalized learning solutions are being operationalized in LMICs, including positive trends, promising practices, and gaps.
     
  • Cut through the hype and provide balanced insights to inform policy discourse and markets on personalized learning design and implementation.

Analysis and insight

Understand more about personalized learning with our informative series of analyses and other key resources

Reference group

We are grateful for the ongoing input of these experts who are helping to guide the development, execution and dissemination of the project
Tom KayeEdTech Hub, Global Country Engagement Lead
Louis MajorUniversity of Cambridge / EdTech Hub, Senior Research Associate
Gouri GuptaCentral Square Foundation, Project Director (EdTech)
Juan Pablo Giraldo OspinoUNICEF Programme Division, Education Specialist
Sunita GroteUNICEF Office of Innovation, Innovation Manager
Carlos Vargas TamezUNESCO, Chief of Section on Teacher Development & Head of the Secretariat for the International Taskforce on Teachers for Education 2030
Steven Edwin VoslooUNICEF OGIP, Policy Specialist (Digital)
Asyia KazmiGates Foundation, Policy Lead–Global Education
Eliza BergMIT Solve, Lead, Learning and University Communities
Meg HamelISTE, Director of Learning Initiatives, EdSurge Research
Nora MarketosJacobs Foundation, Co-Lead, Learning Schools
John SoleanicovJacobs Foundation, Co-Lead, Learning Schools
Rose SagunConsultant–High Touch High Tech for All, The Education Commission
Amy BellingerHead of Programs, Education Workforce Initiative and High Touch High Tech Initiative, The Education Commission

Project team

Led by Andaleeb Alam and Dr. Nathan Castillo, supported by others from within and outside UNICEF at various stages of the project

From UNICEF:

Andaleeb AlamUNICEF Innocenti, Policy Specialist / UNICEF Personalized Learning Project Lead
Thomas DreesenUNICEF Innocenti, Education Manager–Research
Priyamvada TiwariUNICEF Innocenti Research Analyst
Mathu Shalini SivanandanUNICEF Innocenti, Research Analyst
Marta Carnelli UNICEF Innocenti, Education Consultant

External:

Nathan CastilloUniversity of Illinois, Assistant Professor of Global Studies in Education / Lead Consultant, Personalized Learning Project
Taskeen AdamOpen Development and Education, Associate Manager
Ghaida AlrawashdehUniversity of Illinois, Doctoral Researcher in Global Studies in Education
Tingting RuiUniversity of Pennsylvania, Master’s degree candidate in International Education Development
Thaer Al-Sheikh TheebOpen Development and Education, Analyst
Yomna El-SerafyOpen Development and Education, Analyst