PAL Network

ICAN-ICAR Spotlight #4 series shows that having children’s books at home has one of the most consistent positive associations with reaching minimum proficiency in reading and mathematics, even after accounting for child and household characteristics. Yet, in 7 of the 11 countries surveyed, fewer than one-third of children had books at home. The findings raise an important policy question: how can education systems, governments and development partners make reading materials more accessible to children beyond the classroom? Explore the findings in the ICAN-ICAR Report 2025, Spotlight #4. tinyurl.com/spotlight4-homef… #FoundationalLearning #EducationPolicy #LearningForAll #PALNetwor

Welcome aboard, Saira Salman! Saira is a PhD student in Comparative and International Development Education at the University of Minnesota and a Fellow at the Interdisciplinary Center for the Study of Global Change. Her research explores the intersections of education, language, migration and inequality, using quantitative and mixed-methods approaches. She will examine how differences between children’s home languages and assessment languages influence measured learning proficiency across 11 countries, contributing evidence to support more equitable learning assessments. We look forward to collaborating with Saira to advance inclusive, evidence-informed approaches to foundational learning. #PALNetwork #ResearchCohort2026 #FoundationalLearning #EducationResearch

At the launch of the 2026 Africa Foundational Learning Action Tracker (FLAT) in Nairobi, PAL Network’s Muhammad Usman joined partners to discuss how population-level data can strengthen education policy. School-based assessments often miss out-of-school, irregularly attending and displaced children. PAL’s household-based ICAN–ICAR model captures learning directly within communities. Analysis linking FLAT policy scores with ICAN–ICAR data highlights how policy reach, population-wide evidence and disaggregated data can help governments track SDG 4.1.1(a) and target interventions, including Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL). ICAN–ICAR microdata and codebooks are publicly available through DataFirst at the University of Cape Town. Read the report tinyurl.com/4z3ux9dp #FLAT2026 #PALNetwork #FoundationalLearning #SDG4

Celebrating Dashain, Tihar and Chhath! We join communities across #Nepal in celebrating #Dashain, #Tihar and #Chhath, festivals that bring families together, honour cultural traditions and strengthen community bonds. We recognise our member in Nepal, @AserNepal, and celebrate the rich cultural heritage of the communities it serves. May this festive season bring joy, peace and togetherness to all those celebrating in Nepal and beyond. Happy Dashain, Tihar and Chhath! #Nepal #Dashain #Tihar #Chhath

🚨 HAPPENING TODAY! Don’t miss PAL Network Learning Session 4! How can citizen-led assessments translate into real action to improve children’s learning? Join us as PAL Network members from Mali, Nicaragua and Nigeria share practical insights from their work. Meet our presenters: 🇲🇱 Paul Marie Dembélé – @OMAES/Beekungo Development specialist with 15+ years of experience in education, local governance and community development in Mali. 🇳🇮 Carla Caballero – ÁBACOenRed Coordinadora General, sharing insights from Nicaragua. 🇳🇬 Daniel Ayala – The Education Partnership (TEP) Centre Senior Programme Officer, Assessment and Learning Programmes. 🕓 Today | 4:00–5:30 p.m. EAT 💻 Virtual ⏳ Still time to join us! Register now: tinyurl.com/598j47z2 #FoundationalLearning #CitizenLedAssessment #LearningRecovery #EducationInnovation

Mashujaa Day celebrates the heroes and heroines, past and present, whose courage and contributions have shaped Kenya. Happy Mashujaa Day to all Kenyans, at home and around the world! 🇰🇪

PAL Network Learning Session 4 is here! Explore how citizen-led assessments translate into action for foundational learning. Featuring 🇲🇱 Adama Danioko | @OMAES /Beekungo 🇳🇮 Carla Caballero | @ABACOenRed 🇳🇬 Daniel Ayala | @TEPCentre 📅 22 October | 🕓 4:00–5:30 p.m. EAT | 💻 Virtual 🔗 Register: lnkd.in/ej9-ZFK8 #FoundationalLearning #CitizenLedAssessment #LearningRecovery

Which kind of support at home is most strongly associated with learning? Our #ICANICAR Spotlight 4 examines 5 factors together using household data from 89,000+ children in 11 countries, accounting for child and household differences: 📚 Children’s books 📱 Smartphone availability 🎓 Paid tuition 🤝 Homework help 🗣️ Storytelling Explore the findings and let us know what you think: EN - tinyurl.com/spotlight4-homef… ESP - tinyurl.com/spotlight4-facto… FR - tinyurl.com/spotlight4-facte… PR - tinyurl.com/spotlight4-fator… #FoundationalLearning #EducationData #ICANICAR #PALNetwork

Yesterday, on the #InternationalDayoftheGirlChild, we were reminded that every #girl deserves the opportunity to #learn, thrive and shape her future. But making this a reality requires more than getting girls into classrooms. It means understanding whether they are learning, identifying the barriers they face and using evidence to inform better decisions. We work with member organisations across countries in the Global South to generate citizen-led evidence on children’s foundational #reading and #numeracy skills. This evidence helps make learning gaps visible and supports more informed action to improve learning outcomes for all children, including girls. Learn more about our work: palnetwork.org/ #DayOfTheGirl #FoundationalLearning #EducationForAll #LearningForAll #PALNetwork

Every child’s learning journey is about more than reading and maths. It’s also about building confidence, resilience, empathy and the ability to navigate challenges. We just completed fieldwork for the pilot of the ICASES in #refugee and host communities in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, implemented by @iidbd with Young Power in Social Action (YPSA). Piloted alongside ICAN and ICAR, the assessment helps us better understand the whole child and the support they need. A heartfelt thank you to the teams, citizen volunteers, children and families making this work possible. #FoundationalLearning #SEL #EducationInEmergencies

On World Teachers’ Day, we celebrate teachers as the driving force behind educational change. PAL Network’s KAPB Study found that teachers across #Tanzania and #Senegal held a strong belief in children’s potential to learn. With the right strategies and support, they were also able to turn that conviction into action. Teachers trained in structured remedial approaches increasingly viewed learning delays as instructional challenges, rather than inherent limitations. They adapted their teaching to children’s needs through diagnostic assessment, level-based grouping, peer learning, games, visual aids, and other engaging activities focused on foundational literacy and numeracy. Today, we celebrate teachers’ ingenuity, care, and determination. We must also listen to them, trust their professional judgment, and ensure they have the tools and conditions they need to help every child succeed. Happy World Teachers’ Day! Read and share our KAPB Study tinyurl.com/28j929s6 #WorldTeachersDay #Teachers #FoundationalLearning #PALNetwork

On 16 September, at the #WWHGE2026 Conference in Oxford, PAL Network CEO Armando Ali moderated a thought-provoking session on Better Measurement and Use of Student Learning Data. The meeting brought together education researchers and practitioners to explore how better use of learning and assessment data can strengthen education policy, evaluation, and effective teaching practice. Watch the full session: youtu.be/hii1Jg5aRjk?is=_Md9… #WWHGE2026 #EducationData #LearningOutcomes #GlobalEducation

What does foundational learning look like across the Global South? PAL's ICAN–ICAR data helps answer that with evidence from communities- not assumptions. Across countries, the data reveals substantial differences in children's ability to meet foundational learning benchmarks. And PAL makes this evidence accessible through its Learning Data Dashboard, allowing users to explore findings across countries, ages and learning outcomes. From household responses to regional evidence—learning becomes visible. Explore the data. Understand the gaps dashboard.palnetwork.org/ #GlobalGoalsWeek #MakeLearningVisible #ICANICAR #EducationData #PALNetwork

The 2025 ICAN–ICAR findings show the scale of the challenge: in most of the 11 countries assessed, fewer than half of 10-year-olds reached the MPL in both #reading and #maths. Maths performance was generally stronger than reading, while learning trajectories remained slow or stagnant in many countries. We’re helping make these gaps visible. Through household-based ICAN–ICAR assessments, 89,185 children across 11 countries were directly assessed, including children both in and out of school. The assessment provides nationally representative evidence aligned with SDG 4.1.1(a). This Global Goals Week, explore the evidence, make learning visible and use it to drive action for every child palnetwork.org/assessment/ #GlobalGoalsWeek #QualityEducation #SDG4 #ICANICAR #Foundationa

We’re in New York this week for the #UNGA81. Baela Jamil, CEO of ITA and PAL Network Board Member and Gonzalo Almeyda, PAL’s Advocacy & Communications Manager, are in New York and looking forward to connecting with colleagues, partners and friends working across education, learning and development. If you’re attending UNGA, come say hello! 👋 #PALNetwork #UNGA81 #UNGA2026 #Education #FoundationalLearning #LearningForAll #GlobalEducation #EvidenceForLearning

It was great to officially welcome the 2026 cohort of PAL Network Research Fellows, who will be developing research proposals using data from the 2025 ICAN-ICAR assessment. Their work will build on our ongoing efforts to explore some of the most important questions behind differences in children’s learning, including language mismatch, age-for-grade, learning differences among children within the same household, disability, and other factors shaping foundational learning outcomes. We’re excited to see how these analyses deepen our understanding of who is learning, who is being left behind, and why, and help turn citizen-led assessment data into evidence for action. #ICANICAR #FoundationalLearning #EducationResearch #CitizenLedAssessment

Are you a researcher, policymaker or education practitioner working on foundational learning? Our ICAN–ICAR 2025 microdata is publicly available through the @DataFirstAtUCT Open Research Portal, giving you access to anonymised data for deeper analysis and further exploration. The dataset covers 89,185 children, 56,913 households and 2,917 enumeration areas across 11 countries, with supporting documentation and metadata. Use the data to conduct your own analysis, explore new research areas, and strengthen the evidence base for foundational learning. Access the ICAN–ICAR 2025 microdata: tinyurl.com/2rktr3f4 Access 2025 ICAN-ICAR report: tinyurl.com/mz5k6hd6 #PALNetwork #ICANICAR #OpenData #EducationResearch #FoundationalLearning

We’ll be in Oxford this week for the What Works Hub for Global Education Conference 2026, taking place on 15–16 September at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford. Armando Ali, CEO of PAL Network, and Maurits Spoelder, Education Specialist, will be in Oxford and looking forward to connecting with colleagues, partners and friends working across education. If you’re attending the conference, come say hello! 👋 We’d love to meet, exchange ideas, hear what you’re working on, and explore opportunities to strengthen the use of evidence for better learning outcomes. See you in Oxford! #PALNetwork #WWGHE2026 #Education #EvidenceForLearning #Oxford #BetterLearning

Only 19.9% of children in Uganda and 16.6% in Mozambique have storybooks at home, compared with 51.6% in Kenya. Language and geography matter too. In Kenya, children who speak the assessment language at home show a 25-point advantage in combined proficiency. If we want every child to learn, we have to address the barriers both inside and outside the classroom. Read full report tinyurl.com/56zvbn8b #ICANICAR #EducationEquity #FoundationalLearning #LearningOutcomes