Cambridge Partnership for Education Your partner in education reform
TRANSFORMING SOCIETIES THROUGH EDUCATION
About us Cambridge Partnership for Education works with ministries of education and international development organisations to improve the quality of education systems – so everyone has the skills they need to achieve their goals and find their place in the society. We are a department of Cambridge University Press & Assessment and part of the University of Cambridge. Our mission is to transform societies through education; drawing on the knowledge, research and networks from across the university and our 50 offices around the world. Cambridge Partnership for Education delivers education expertise from every angle – from needs analysis and policy recommendations, to curriculum, assessment, teacher training, learning materials and much more.
Why Cambridge? A team dedicated to working in the education reform sector Direct access to the University of Cambridge knowledge, research and networks Decades of experience in developing education from every angle
Our services At Cambridge, we understand the critical role education plays in human capital development, to create stronger, prosperous and more equitable societies. Informed by the latest research, we develop customised solutions to suit your country’s individual context, need and vision. We work in partnership and focus on developing capacity for your teams to ensure sustainability in the long term. Together, we are committed to harnessing the true potential of education systems, equipping learners with the necessary skills and knowledge needed for the future.
Needs Analysis:
We work with you to carry out system analysis to produce evidence-based policy recommendations for education improvement.
Assessment design and development:
Using our world-class expertise, we review and improve your existing assessments, and support the implementation and delivery of new assessment systems.
English language learning and skills:
Curriculum design and development:
Publishing teaching and learning resources:
Teacher and school leader professional development:
We work with you to help improve English language learning, teaching and assessment.
We work with leading teachers, researchers, and content creators to produce teaching and learning materials that are trusted in classrooms in more than 170 countries around the world.
Stakeholder communications:
Working with you we create clear, consistent and engaging messages that communicate your education agenda, encouraging stakeholders to become partners in the education mission, and mobilising wider society to participate in the reforms.
We analyse curriculum frameworks internationally to establish the model of curriculum design and implementation that will work best in your context.
We have a long history of training and developing teachers, administrators and senior management teams through courses, building professional and personal development skills.
A Cambridge Approach to Improving Education Our research-based diagnostic framework helps us explore each part of an education system and their interactions, so you can design and deliver policy that successfully improves education. Education systems are made up of multiple, connected elements. Evidence shows that successful education systems can be very different to one another, but their common feature is that these factors and the relationships between them are well-understood and managed. We can better understand the performance of education systems by considering two distinct kinds of factors that make up and influence an education system:
Control factors
elements of an education system that education policy can directly impact.
Explanatory factors
factors which influence an education system but are out of the direct scope of education policy.
Coherence across all these factors improves your chances of positively impacting education. You do not have to reform your whole system. Change to a single aspect, for example in curriculum or teacher support, can be highly successful if designed with awareness of how that part influences other elements of the education system.
System coherence
is when multiple connected factors such as national curriculum objectives, assessment, textbooks and digital content align and reinforce one another. We know from the big international surveys such as PISA that this is a key to high performance and improvement of education.
–Your system is unique -– your solution should recognise this Copying education solutions from other countries is unlikely to be successful because your context is unique. The factors in your education system and the relationships between them are different. Together, we can analyse your system using our framework before taking action. This will help you make and enact policy in a highly targeted way, increasing the impact of invested effort and resources.
Cambridge Partnership for Education Impact Framework Newly designed, the Cambridge Partnership for Education Impact Framework is an evidencebased tool that measures the impact of our education reform programmes. The framework provides a mechanism to examine how the programmes we partner together on contribute to: systemic improvement, capacity development, sustainable practices, and policy planning and design. These four areas are the main ‘domains’ of the framework. Underneath each domain, is a set of indicators which align to our technical solutions, e.g. professional development of teachers and curriculum coherence. We record performance of the appropriate indicators for your programme, and track from immediate to long term impact.
Benefits to you The strong data gathered will help you assess the effectiveness of our solutions, demonstrate the results of your work and inform your future decision making. • Make it easier to demonstrate your results • Provide evidence of the impact of our work • Continually improve the support we offer you • Contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goals
Case study: Kazakhstan Leveraging the power of research to inform education transformation
Background In 2000, Kazakhstan announced an ambitious goal to be among the world’s top 30 developed nations by 2050. To achieve this goal, the government embarked on a programme of education reform
which included raising the national education system to international standards to give Kazakhstan a strong skills base for the future.
Cambridge’s response to the challenge Cambridge Faculty of Education has been undertaking research in Kazakhstan since the early 2000s and has worked closely with Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools (NIS) and Nazarbayev University Graduate School of Education (NUGSE) to provide evidence and recommendations to support the development of the Kazakh education system. Building on this, the Faculty of Education was commissioned in 2014 by Kazakhstan’s Minister of Education to assess which problems and issues it should prioritise during a phase of development from 2015-2020.
This study directly informed a five-year development plan for the country, which included: • The professional development and training of teachers • The development of a new 12-year curriculum and assessment • Changes to the working week for schools and other school practices
Impact Kazakhstan has risen in international league tables for teaching and learning outcomes. The new curriculum led to an average increase of +38.5 in pilot schools’ test scores, including language and science achievement. The Trends in International
Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) also shows significant increases in results for maths and science in primary and secondary schools.
“Cambridge introduced several initiatives that have impacted substantial reforming of the education system in Kazakhstan. Cambridge’s engagement in such spheres as teacher training and development, curriculum and student learning and wellbeing has produced substantial improvements in outcomes.” The NIS reports
Case study: Malaysia Evidence-based reform of English language education from pre-school to pre-university
Background In 2011, the Malaysian Ministry of Education (MoE) launched a review of the education system to develop the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-
2025. Reforming English language education was identified as a priority.
Cambridge’s response to the challenge In 2013, the MoE commissioned Cambridge to undertake a comprehensive evaluation of English education, from pre-school to pre-university, to establish an evidence-based baseline. The findings of this research informed the framework for the proposed changes adopted in English Language Education Reform in Malaysia: the Roadmap 2015-2025. The MoE and Cambridge went on to sign and implement the Cambridge-Malaysia 5-year Collaboration Plan, which included a comprehensive programme of English language transformation. Critical considerations in the programme included:
• CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) development and adoption • Curriculum evaluation, revision and rollout • Learning materials • Assessment evaluation, development and capacity building • Teacher development programme evaluation • Evaluation studies in 2017 and 2019 and collaborating with the MoE to showcase the changes and their impact
Impact The coherent multi-stranded approach to English language education transformation positively impacted pupils’ language ability across year groups, showing a gradual progression in language ability across grades. Regular evaluation studies have ensured close monitoring and provided a framework to continuously identify areas for improvement. The MoE and Cambridge have presented the Malaysia transformation programme at international
conferences, including in 2019 at the 6th Annual International Conference of the Asian Association for Language Assessment and the 45th International Association for Educational Assessment Annual Conference in Azerbaijan. Data-driven reforms have put Malaysia at the forefront of countries looking to reform their English language education system.
Case study: Uzbekistan Working with the Presidential Schools team to transform education
Background Since 2016, the Uzbekistan government has been establishing an education system which equips the next generation with the skills and knowledge needed to play an active role in ‘New Uzbekistan’ – the nation’s vision for a brighter future.
A series of Presidential Schools were established, giving students from across the country access to an internationally competitive education and aiming to establish modern methods of teaching and assessment.
Cambridge’s response to the challenge The Presidential Schools educate students from 11-18 years old. Students are selected on a competitive basis and are tested on their critical thinking, problem solving and English language skills. Any child was eligible to apply in the regions where a school was opening, regardless of their background – 28,500 students applied for the 480 places available in the first year. Cambridge supported the Ministry of Education in ensuring fair, valid and reliable methods were used to select the first cohort of students. Selected students were provided with free general secondary education and boarding. Cambridge supported the Presidential Schools team to design a
broad and balanced curriculum which combined the Cambridge curriculum in STEM subjects and Uzbek curriculum in other subjects. They also delivered an intensive teacher professional development programme and provided school leadership consultancy. The government of Uzbekistan recognised Cambridge’s contribution to the successful establishment of the Presidential Schools by rewarding Cambridge Senior Education Adviser, Steve King, with the Uzbek public service medal ‘Xalq Ta’limi Fidoyisi’ for ‘selfless work in the development of public education’.
Impact The first cohort of students at the Presidential Schools sat Cambridge exams in 2021 and applied to universities. Of the 96 students, 68% achieved A* to B in their Cambridge A levels after just two years studying the new curriculum in a new environment, and for many in a new language, amid a pandemic. These same students had achieved leading places at International Olympiads in 2020. Of the first graduate, 100% were admitted to university, 25 of them to universities overseas, and 63 to internationally
affiliated universities in Uzbekistan. The impact of the Presidential Schools is intended to extend beyond the lives of the children and young people accepted to the schools; it hopes to inspire education ambition across the country, and to extend modern methods of teaching, learning and assessment to the wider public education system.
Case study: Oman Combining international standards with local relevance to raise standards in mathematics and science
Background The Oman Ministry of Education (MoE) aims to transform the teaching and learning of mathematics and science in state schools by incorporating
international best practices and modern pedagogy, while reflecting Oman’s distinct culture and values.
Cambridge’s response to the challenge Cambridge worked closely with specialists from the MoE, tackling multiple areas of reform, including:
coordinating and quality-assuring the writing of test papers
• Adapting the Cambridge Primary, Lower Secondary, and IGCSE curriculum for science and mathematics
• Providing professional development for the MoE’s team of supervisors to change the approach in classroom practice, embedding active learning and promoting the development of scientific inquiry skills and mathematical problem-solving skills
Teaching and learning materials:
Assessment:
Curriculum:
• Adapting the student books, workbooks and teacher’s guides to the new curriculum and translating them into Arabic, to embed the Omani context, culture and values • Designing test specifications and developing sample test papers based on the curriculum, teaching and learning materials
Teacher training:
• Providing capacity development training for the MoE’s assessment team to support them in
• Designing test specifications and developing sample test papers based on the curriculum, teaching and learning materials
Stakeholder engagement:
• Designing a multi-channel communications strategy and providing content for a website hosted by the MoE to help explain the rationale for the change and answer common questions from students, teachers and parents
Impact The new curriculum was launched in 1,125 schools in August 2017, with new grades coming on stream each subsequent year. The adoption of the Cambridge curriculum by Oman was highlighted in TIMSS 2019, where there had been an improvement in performance from TIMSS 2015 after just one year of the adoption of the Cambridge curriculum at Grade 4.
The first cohort of Grade 10 students began in late August 2021. The reform has reached around 500,000 students to date.
Case study: Qatar Bringing policy ambitions to life in the classroom
Background Qatar aims to build an education system that embeds modern international standards and is comparable with the best education systems in the world - while preserving Islamic values and Qatari culture. The Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MoEHE) frames this ambition as a paradigm shift, with students developing skills and competencies alongside subject knowledge.
In 2016, the MoEHE developed the general framework for the national education curriculum, bringing together the strategies for national development and the training and education sector. Following the integrated strategy development, the science curriculum was revised in 2018.
Cambridge’s response to the challenge In 2019, Cambridge began to develop student books, teacher’s guides and assessment guides. Cambridge provided teacher training to support teachers in understanding the new pedagogical approach and textbooks. This was initially face-toface but pivoted to online during the pandemic. Cambridge assembled a team of experienced authors for a period of rapid development followed by a cycle of review, feedback and iteration to agree on a prototype unit with the MoEHE. We then entered a develop-at-scale phase to produce the new teaching and learning materials. Our expanded team of experts worked with
regional specialists to achieve the balance of international standards and local relevance. The MoEHE sees the textbooks as a living curriculum. Cambridge has worked with the MoEHE to revise the books to create second editions. Cambridge’s approach has been for the full ownership of the materials to pass to the MoEHE, so iterative updates can be made locally to further embed and strengthen effective practice in the classroom.
Impact Feedback from the new teaching, learning materials and training provided has been positive. “The strategies and methods teachers have learned through [the training sessions with Cambridge to support the new materials] had a great impact on communicating educational materials to students.
New teaching sources and modern training methods have developed students’ inquisitive and research capabilities, and their abilities to take part in international research and competitions.” Tarek Zuainat, Curriculum Expert, MoEHE Qatar
Case study: Ethiopia Supporting the development and implementation of an Ethiopiandesigned curriculum
Background The Ethiopian Ministry of Education (MoE) wanted to develop a new curriculum, to modernise the way subjects were taught in classrooms while enhancing and promoting indigenous knowledge.
This was to be an Ethiopian curriculum, designed by and for Ethiopians. Inclusion, gender, access and minority rights were central to the reform.
Cambridge’s response to the challenge Cambridge worked with a local partner, Elixir, to bring together international experience and local expertise. Cambridge also collaborated with Unicef to integrate our technical work with the broader programme activity coordinated by the donor community in Ethiopia. • Cambridge gathered information and evidence to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the 2009 curriculum and provide recommendations for the new curriculum • Cambridge trained 30 staff to develop the new curriculum and reviewed 186 curriculum documents, providing feedback to the curriculum developers
• Cambridge developed TLM quality guidelines and evaluation frameworks, trained 3,200 textbook authors, editors, designers and reviewers, and provided feedback on 56 draft TLMs • Cambridge developed monitoring and evaluation tools and will provide capacity development support to help the MoE evaluate the impact of the reform during a pilot period • Cambridge and the MoE are discussing plans for next phase when professional development training to implement the reform programme will be delivered to teachers
Impact In total, 94.5% of delegates felt very prepared to start putting the quality guidelines and evaluation frameworks into practice after receiving training. Education reform is a long-term programme and the first phase began in selected schools in early 2022.
Cambridge’s work in the first phase has been instrumental in shaping the subsequent plan and design of the reform.
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