That they may thrive: Reimagining purpose, agency, and breadth of skills in education through cross-country collaborative research

This is a critical time for education systems.  

Children are growing up in an economic, political, environmental, and social landscape that is changing at an unprecedented pace. With heightened levels of conflict, the rise of autocratic leadership, an accelerating climate crisis, and rapid advances in artificial intelligence (AI), labor markets are shifting, and these evolving dynamics are fundamentally altering what students learn, how they learn, and which forms of knowledge are valued.

This environment demands a transformation of education systems that creates conditions for young people to thrive by redefining what learning opportunities enable students to learn a breadth of skills, expanding who is included and granted agency in decisionmaking about learning, and rethinking how students are educated by challenging the power and mindsets that continue to shape dominant narratives across education systems.

These are some of the questions that the Network for Education Systems Transformation (NEST) is exploring through peer-to-peer learning and collaborative research to put forth meaningful evidence and solutions for policymakers.

The erosion of democracy, political polarization, and increased conflict require education systems to reimagine the purpose of education and provide students with agency and a breadth of skills for a democratic future.

A generation of children is growing up amid heightened political polarization, and in many contexts, under prolonged forms of authoritarian leadership. In contexts with access to digital technology, these conditions have been reinforced by algorithmic bubbles on digital platforms that promote rigid worldviews, distrust of pluralism, and narrow understandings of identity, power, and belonging.

In contexts with limited access to technology, children often face a different, but equally consequential, set of constraints. Under-resourced education systems in settings shaped by fragility, conflict, and enduring legacies of colonial and neo-colonial systems can weaken institutional accountability and constrain democratic participation. These challenges are compounded by the necessary prioritization of foundational literacy and numeracy, which can restrict opportunities for students to develop and practice higher-order cognitive capacities, as reflected in Bloom’s Taxonomy. An education system that focuses primarily on recall, recognition, and basic comprehension can limit students’ ability to analyze competing ideas, evaluate evidence, synthesize perspectives, and understand systemic causes—all of which are central to meaningful civic participation.  

Current education systems often position students as passive recipients of knowledge, while few create learning environments where young people can question, explore, deliberate, and connect what they learn to the realities of their lives. Preparing young people for democratic futures requires learning that develops agency, critical thinking, ethical reasoning, dialogue, collaboration, and the ability to engage with complex ideas. These capacities help students interrogate claims, weigh evidence, recognize multiple perspectives, and participate meaningfully in shaping more just and inclusive societies. 

Findings from a 2025 World Bank study indicate that teachers who effectively used pedagogies that connect instruction to students’ lives, foster exploration, and support student agency were associated with stronger student performance on literacy assessments. However, teachers tended to struggle with practices that promoted agency and exploration due to a lack of pedagogical training and support. A central challenge for education systems is to support the transformation of learning spaces so that students gain the agency and skills that they need for a just, democratic future. 

In a world where AI is shaping which knowledge is valued, students need purpose, agency, and breadth of skills to thrive.

Technology is increasingly shaping the learning experiences of children in and out of classrooms. As AI influences how ideas are generated, communicated, and valued, it is also beginning to shape human creativity and expression. A recent study from the University of Southern California found that across the world, large language models (LLMs) and AI systems embedded in classrooms, workplaces, and daily communications are homogenizing human thought, language, and reasoning by privileging dominant patterns while marginalizing diverse perspectives and knowledge. This trajectory of epistemology and knowledge-sharing through AI calls for a renewed commitment from education systems to center the needs of all learners. Education systems must build a trajectory that centers students’ contexts, validates their lived experiences, and ensures diverse perspectives are integrated into their education to meet this pivotal moment.  

Across the following three research studies, NEST is investigating how opportunity, student agency, and the purpose of education shape young people’s ability to build and thrive in a democratic future. 

Study 1: Exploring the Breadth of Learning Opportunities (BOLO) provided to learners

The first research study explores the breadth of opportunities education systems create for children and young people to learn important and relevant skills. Grounded in an analytical framework that synthesizes policies, curriculum, and practice into learning domains, this study explores the gap in education systems between the national curriculum and the learner’s experience in classrooms. Building on the original BOLO study published by Brookings in 2018, this study refreshes the earlier framework to account for the profound shifts in the global education landscape, especially with regard to rapid developments in technology and AI. 

This study is being conducted by a cohort comprising Fundación Reimagina in Chile, Dignitas Project in Kenya, Ghana National Education Campaign Coalition in Ghana, Via Educación in Mexico, and the Center for Universal Education (CUE) at Brookings in Washington, D.C. The teams have adopted a mixed-methods approach to examine alignment across an ideal framework for conceptualizing curriculum, the intended curriculum as written in national policies and standards, and the implemented curriculum as enacted in everyday classroom practice. In response to the guiding question—How well are education systems creating opportunities for children and young people to learn what matters?—the study focuses on eight learning domains: physical well-being, social and emotional learning, literacy and communication, numeracy and mathematics, culture and the arts, learning approaches and cognition, science, and technology. These domains are meant to reflect the holistic vision of education that extends beyond the narrow academic metrics on which many systems are currently evaluated. Emerging insights from this study highlight the need for policymakers and practitioners to identify and close gaps between curriculum policies and practices, strengthen teacher preparedness, and ensure every child, regardless of geography, socioeconomic background, and school type receives access to the full breadth of learning opportunities they deserve.  

Study 2: Youth Agency (YA) in the transformation of education systems

The second study explores the representation or absence of young people’s voices in the development and implementation of education policies designed primarily for them. Despite being the primary beneficiaries of education systems, youth are rarely meaningfully included in conversations about which skills matter most for their lives, or their participation is limited to tokenistic engagement. 

This study is being conducted by a cohort comprising Creative Centre for Community Mobilisation in Malawi, Queen Rania Foundation in Jordan, Society for Access to Quality Education in Pakistan, and CUE at Brookings in Washington, D.C. The teams are deploying a mixed-methods approach to explore how education systems actors including ministry officials, head teachers, teachers, parents, and students define and prioritize the skills they consider important, and the extent to which young people are included in shaping these priorities. The guiding research question is: To what extent are education systems creating opportunities for young people to exercise agency in determining and learning the skills that matter? 

Researchers of this study are using a multi-modal data collection approach to include a diversity of perspectives. A nationally representative survey of students aged 14-17 was designed to capture young people’s views on which skills are important and relevant to their lives, as well as whether they feel they have a voice in shaping their learning. Focus group discussions with teachers and parents were designed to explore perceptions of which skills children should learn and how much agency these stakeholders believe young people have in making such decisions. Key informant interviews with ministry officials and head teachers examined the institutional conditions that enable or constrain students’ participation in decisions about the skills they are learning.  

The YA study highlights the need for education systems to reorient decisionmaking processes to meaningfully include young people in shaping their education. By centering youth voice and agency, education systems can strengthen reform efforts, enhance student engagement, and ensure learning is relevant to young people’s lives

Study 3: Narratives of Change (NOC) in Shaping the Purpose of Education

The third research study interrogates the purpose of education and highlights that transforming education systems goes beyond technical reforms. Education policies and practices are shaped by deeply held assumptions or learned narratives about the purpose of education by policymakers, educators, and communities. These narratives directly influence how success, knowledge, and learning are defined in policies and pedagogical practices that shape children’s development.  

This study is being conducted by a cohort that includes Dream a Dream in India, Enseña Perú, SmartStart in South Africa, and CUE at Brookings in Washington, D.C. The teams are using a qualitative, participatory research approach to learn about how education narratives manifest in practice and how they interact with power structures and relationships to either reinforce existing inequities or create new pathways for children to thrive. The guiding research question is: How do narratives about the purpose of education shape systems transformation and influence every child’s opportunity to thrive across diverse contexts?  

Data collection coalesced education system actors, including teachers, parents, school leaders, local government officials, academics, and students, in participatory exploration circles. These participatory exploration circles sought to flatten the hierarchical structures of typical focus group discussions by designing inclusive spaces where participants surface their assumptions about the purpose of education through activities and interactive conversations. Additionally, the teams conducted key informant interviews with national and provincial officials to complement the participatory exploration circles and accurately capture the existing narratives at a systemic level.  

By examining both shared and context–specific narratives about the purpose of education across post-colonial settings, the study offers policymakers insights into what may be universally essential for children’s flourishing, while also underscoring the importance of locally grounded approaches. These findings can support policymakers in designing reforms that are not only technically sound but also culturally responsive, equity-driven, and aligned with a broader vision of education that enables every child to thrive. 

How do these three research studies fit into NEST’s shared inquiry?

These three research studies illuminate the what, who, and how of education systems transformation. The BOLO study asks what young people are being enabled to learn; the YA study examines who gets to shape those decisions and whether young people are meaningfully included; and the NOC study explores how deeply held beliefs about the purpose of education influence policy, practice, and the possibilities for reform. Together, they form the core of NEST’s shared inquiry: How well are education systems creating opportunities for children and young people to learn what matters? 

By grounding this work in cross-country collaboration and locally rooted research, NEST is generating evidence and building a stronger foundation for policymakers and practitioners to reimagine education systems that equip every child with the shared purpose, agency, and breadth of skills they need to thrive in a democratic world

We welcome engagement from policymakers, donors, educators, parents, students, and others committed to strengthening education systems worldwide. 

Learn more about NEST

The Network for Education Systems Transformation (NEST) is a global impact network co-led by CUE at the Brookings Institution, alongside ten civil society organizations across Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and South Asia.  

Learn more about NEST and explore our research here: https://www.brookings.edu/projects/network-for-education-systems-transformation/research-and-commentary/