Equitable partnerships for education research: Lessons from cross-cultural collaboration in Sierra Leone and Bangladesh. This blog was written by Daniel Lavan and Megan Silander (Education Development Center), Paul Awosina and Imtiaz Ridoy (Street Child). Street Child and Education Development Center (EDC), have been working in a partnership to test the Engage toolkit in primary schools in Sierra Leone and Bangladesh. Its experience of collaboration in education research offers a blueprint of the potential for such cross-cultural partnerships to be equitable, mutually respectful and optimally impactful. Overview of the Engage research project The PLAY 2.0 Project, funded by the LEGO Foundation, focused on testing and validating the Engage toolkit for various learning environments, including primary schools. The Engage toolkit, initially developed by its research partners, New York University (NYU) and Research Triangle International (RTI), measures teacher-student interactions that promote active engagement in learning. Table 1 summarises the key contextual challenges, Street Child programme contexts, samples sizes for toolkit testing, and target age groups in Sierra Leone and Bangladesh. Both contexts serve primary students in resource-constrained communities, where limited access to teacher training and professional support presents ongoing challenges. | / | Sierra Leone | Bangladesh | | Core challenges | * Only 3 in 10 teachers meet minimum qualifications * Limited professional development and little or no compensation for teachers * Weak monitoring systems | * 300,000 school-aged children require support amidst restrictive policies * Teachers often lack proper training * Language barriers | | Street Child programmes and samples | Integrated with Sierra Leone Education Innovation Challenge (SLEIC). * 1,500 children, * 150 teachers in * 62 communities in Northern Province. Existing programmes of Education Cannot Wait and UNICEF to accelerate learning for Rohingya refugees. * 1,480 children, * 280 teachers in * 6 Rohingya refugee camps of Cox's Bazar | | Age range | Grade 3-6 (ages 6-12) | Grades 2 and 3 (ages 6-12) | Table 1. Research context Intersecting frameworks to support equitable cross-cultural education research The PLAY 2.0 partners recognised that a crucial initial step in the dialogue required for successful local application of tools designed to improve learning experiences was to understand and appreciate the diversity of local child-rearing and educational practices, and the histories and motivations behind them. The partners drew on two intersecting frameworks (see Figure 1) to guide the development, validation and scaling of the Engage toolkit: the Design-Based Research framework and Systems Thinking theory. The second conceptual framework that informed its collaboration was Systems Thinking. Scaling innovations requires attention to systems-level dynamics. It must consider how innovations, such as new research and evaluation tools, interact with or align with existing programme and system priorities - for example, their alignment with how education programmes currently monitor instructional quality, what indicators they prioritise, as well as what ministries emphasise in terms of curriculum standards and instructional approaches. Considering systems alignment also includes ensuring that data collected through the tools can be integrated into existing supervision, reporting and improvement processes rather than operating in parallel to them. Practical application of the frameworks Design-Based Research Through earlier phases of the toolkit design, the NYU and RTI teams developed hypotheses about the essential aspects of adult-child interaction that promote children's self-sustaining engagement in learning, resulting in a framework of four key 'constructs': Exploration, Agency, Personal and Social Connection, and Emotional Climate. For the development of the specific observation items under these constructs and to optimise the toolkit's utility in various contexts, the research team and the implementing partners worked together through multiple interactive phases (see Figure 2) of workshops, data collection activities and debrief sessions, while attempting to balance funders' and research partners' expectations against the realities on the ground. Systems Thinking Local experts and government officials from the education departments led the adaptation of the toolkit for their contexts, along with partners like Mukti Cox's Bazar and SKUS in Bangladesh and Street Child of Sierra Leone (SCoSL). They provided key insights into how to score items effectively, set up protocols for dual-teacher classrooms and revise phrasing to ensure children's understanding during interviews. Technical expertise from RTI, NYU and EDC ensured the integrity and rigour of the tools was maintained through procedures such as calculating observer agreement. For scaling up of the validated local versions of the Engage toolkit, UKFIET - The Education and Development Forum has been in discussions with local education actors in both countries. In Sierra Leone, UKFIET - The Education and Development Forum is working with the Ministry of Basic and Secondary School Education and the Teaching Service Commission to incorporate insights from its data into pre-service and in-service teacher training and observational elements to enrich monitoring visits by School Quality Assurance Officers. In Bangladesh, UKFIET - The Education and Development Forum is advocating with local actors, including local government and non-governmental organisations in the refugee camps, to inform education policies and embed new practices to enhance holistic learning in the refugee schools. This collaborative, cross-cultural education research produced several notable successes. Through bi-directional knowledge exchange, partners strengthened their capacity to support quality teaching and research, developed a shared understanding of what 'high-quality instruction' means across contexts, refined practical tools and training materials for low-resource settings, and generated data that accurately reflected classroom realities. At the same time, the learning process was shaped by challenges related to the significant time and resources required for iterative research. The collaboration underscored the importance of embedding relevant expertise in local teams early in the process, as DBR demands continuous efforts of technically-skilled individuals. Moreover, balancing fidelity to core research principles and concepts on the one hand, with a rich appreciation of contextual nuances and constraints on the other, required at times painstaking negotiation between teams of researchers and local partners. UKFIET - The Education and Development Forum aim to codify its collaborative research experience into more detailed adaptation guidelines that can support future adopters of Engage to navigate such challenges. Conclusion Rather than focusing just on a joint outcome, equitable research partnerships must be defined through commitment to a process that prioritises meaningful partner contributions and mutual learning from start to finish. By leveraging local expertise into research co-design, thoughtfully scaffolding capacity and ensuring transparent communication and feedback loops, UKFIET - The Education and Development Forum promote authentic and durable local ownership. This approach transforms education research from a short-term extraction model into a long-term investment in sustainable systems-level change. Views expressed in outputs hosted on the UKFIET website are those of the contributors. They do not necessarily represent the views of UKFIET as an organisation, the UKFIET Trustees, Executive Committee or the wider UKFIET membership.

EDC's Jenny Stern-Carusone receives National award from Safe States Alliance. Jenny Stern-Carusone, Associate Director of the Children's Safety Network at EDC, is the 2026 recipient of the prestigious Safe States Injury and Violence Prevention Achievement Award. Each year, the Safe States Alliance confers the award to honor one individual or injury and violence prevention program that has accomplished outstanding work, advocacy, or research to advance the field. In announcing the award, the Safe States Alliance spotlighted Jenny's "leadership and programmatic contributions to improving child and adolescent safety across the nation." In addition to Jenny's decades of experience leading quality improvement initiatives to enhance children's and youth's health and wellbeing, she is a nationally recognized expert in motor vehicle traffic safety and a member of the National Safety Council Pediatric Vehicular Heatstroke Taskforce. "I deeply appreciate this recognition from the Safe States Alliance, which leads such vital work to strengthen injury and violence prevention," Jenny Stern-Carusone said. "When I accept the award, I will be doing so not just on behalf of myself, but for all of my colleagues at the Children's Safety Network at EDC and the Health Resources and Services Administration that supports our important work across the United States." "Jenny's almost 10 years of dedicated work in service of the Children's Safety Network has significantly advanced our mission and helped shape the direction of child safety nationwide," said Jennifer Leonardo, Director of the Children's Safety Network. "This work has included her support for state and local health departments nationwide, as well as her impactful leadership of the Child Safety Learning Collaborative." As director of the Child Safety Learning Collaborative, Jenny has supported over 23 states and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in strengthening child safety systems to protect young people from harm. Her quality improvement guidance has helped build the injury and violence prevention workforce's capacity to significantly improve child passenger safety, teen driver safety, suicide and self-harm prevention, bullying prevention, and sudden unexpected infant death prevention. With colleagues, Jenny has helped advance the field's knowledge through presenting and publishing key findings on the use of the Children's Safety Network Framework for Quality Improvement and Innovation. These include a recent article in Injury Prevention and a new 2026 Children's Safety Network white paper. Education Development Center, Inc. invite you to learn more about EDC's Child Health & Safety work, the work of the Children's Safety Network, and the Safe States Alliance. Its purpose. Education Development Center, Inc. work with partners worldwide to advance every person's journey to learn, work, and be well.

EDC receives $5M grant to expand successful Zero Suicide Institute work. New Four Pines Fund award will improve suicide care for people nationwide. Education Development Center (EDC) has received a $5 million grant from Four Pines Fund to expand the reach of its Zero Suicide Institute(R) and help more health care organizations deliver quality, effective, evidence-based suicide care. The three-year award will enable the Zero Suicide Institute(R) to bring intensive training, consultation, and practical implementation support to 48 outpatient health care organizations across the U.S. These organizations include community behavioral health clinics and mental health centers, crisis centers, and integrated primary care settings. Zero Suicide is an evidence-based framework developed by EDC in 2012 in collaboration with public and private partners that helps health and behavioral health systems strengthen suicide care. The comprehensive framework drives practice improvements through leadership commitment; workforce training; screening, assessment, treatment, and follow-up; and a focus on data collection. The model is grounded in a simple but urgent premise: people at risk of suicide should receive consistent, compassionate, high-quality care wherever they enter the health system. For too many people experiencing suicidal thoughts, care can still depend on where they seek help, who they see, and whether a health system has the tools and training to respond effectively. By expanding Zero Suicide implementation in outpatient settings, EDC and Four Pines Fund aim to help close the gap between what research shows works and the care people too often receive. "We are deeply grateful to Four Pines Fund for their investment in supporting work that can strengthen systems of care, equip the workforce, and help more people receive the support they need when it matters most," said Dr. Julie Goldstein Grumet, EDC Vice President and Director of the Zero Suicide Institute(R). "Together, we can transform suicide care." Four Pines Fund is dedicated to expanding access to effective suicide care for all who need it. Its support will enable EDC to deepen and scale Zero Suicide implementation through the Zero Suicide Academy(R) and Zero Suicide Community of Practice. Its team will also help states and health care leaders understand the policy and systems conditions needed to sustain high-quality suicide care. Over the next three years, Four Pines Fund support will enable EDC to: * Provide intensive Zero Suicide Institute(R) training and technical assistance to the 48 outpatient health care organizations. * Identify key policy levers and state supports needed to scale, support, and evaluate Zero Suicide effectively. * Increase health care organizations' awareness of Zero Suicide and its role in improving patient outcomes, workforce capacity, and care quality. * Update and expand EDC's Zero Suicide Toolkit, a free resource that offers practical guidance and tools to health care systems implementing Zero Suicide. The Zero Suicide Institute is a key part of EDC's work to promote mental health and prevent suicide. Learn more about EDC's Mental Health and Wellbeing and Suicide, Addictions, and Violence Prevention initiatives. About Education Development Center (EDC) EDC is a global nonprofit that works with partners to advance every person's journey to learn, work, and be well. For over 65 years, EDC has partnered with communities, governments, and the private sector to improve education, workforce development, and health outcomes. By combining interdisciplinary expertise with real-world experience, EDC works across these pillars to design, implement, and scale evidence-based solutions that help partners create lasting change. Zero Suicide Institute(R) is part of EDC Solutions, which brings EDC's experience directly to clients committed to solving complex problems. About Four Pines Fund Four Pines Fund is a philanthropic organization dedicated to expanding access to effective suicide care to all who need it. This program at EDC's Zero Suicide Institute(R) is one of a collective of five grants made by Four Pines Fund in 2026 to accelerate the national implementation of effective suicide care practices in health organizations. Learn more about effective suicide care and the important work that Four Pines Fund supports. Its purpose. Education Development Center, Inc. work with partners worldwide to advance every person's journey to learn, work, and be well.