Knowledge-sharing

Peer learning: Networks and communities of practice

The Center for Universal Education (CUE) at Brookings fosters collaboration and peer learning across jurisdictions and borders. Working closely with a range of partners across government, civil society, academia, and the private sector, CUE facilitates multiple networks, communities of practice, and peer-learning exchanges.

Global Family Engagement in Education Network

The Global Family Engagement in Education Network (FEEN) is a peer-learning network and community of practice that includes representatives from civil society and community organizations, government and education leaders, and research and higher education institutions from six continents. Civil society organizations include a range of parent and teacher organizations, international and national nongovernmental organizations, and community-based organizations. Some members of philanthropic or private sector institutions working on FSCE are also part of the FEEN. The FEEN convenes virtually every quarter to discuss ongoing research and topics on FSCE and to collectively elevate strategies that tackle barriers to engagement. Members share insights from their schools and communities and collaborate with each other on various FSCE efforts in their communities.

Brazil Family Engagement in Education Network

The Brazil Family Engagement in Education Network (Rede de Engajamento Famílias e Comunidades na Educação) is a regional network within the Global FEEN. The Brazil FEEN is a vibrant peer-learning space for organizations and education institutions with varying expertise and missions within the Brazilian education landscape and that have a shared goal for promoting social transformation and quality education. The Brazil FEEN co-leads collective activities and actions, such as collective research, developing and documenting FSCE strategies, and discussing and promoting knowledge and practices on FSCE in Brazil.

Communities of practice and working groups

FSCE communities of practice and working groups are made up of representatives from organizations and learning institutions that convene around a common interest and topical area in family, school, and community engagement. Examples of communities of practice and working groups include:

• Global School Rubrics Development Working Group. Representatives from six countries spent six months co-developing the Global Family, School, and Community Engagement Rubrics (forthcoming) and testing the tools in their contexts.
• Conversation Starter Tools Community of Practice. Civil society organizations and education institutions that have used the Conversation Starter Tools (forthcoming) in their community support each other in their efforts to strengthen their research and FSCE policies and practices.

Collective action and public engagement

CUE is committed to bringing collaborators and actors together toward common activities and goals to further FSCE policies and practices and education system transformation efforts in and between communities, countries, and global actors. Collective action includes:

• Workshops and convenings. CUE hosts and participates in many convenings and workshops to disseminate research and contribute to conversations around FSCE practices. Through events and interactive workshops, CUE engages with a wide variety of actors in the education landscape, including decisionmakers at local, regional, and national levels, civil society organizations, educators, school networks, families, student groups, and more.
• Public engagement. CUE works to help inform and catalyze public awareness and dialogue about the importance of FSCE. For example, in September 2022, the Big Education Conversation was launched at the United Nations General Assembly’s Transforming Education Summit as a collaboration between CUE, Big Change, and other education organizations. The Big Education Conversation is an initiative to promote intergenerational conversations consisting of different stakeholders (families, educators, youth, community members, and government leaders) about the purpose of education and how education can be transformed. The Big Education Conversation’s open-source tools and resources are built on CUE’s research on families’ and educators’ beliefs on the purpose of education and its Conversation Starter Tools.
• Change Champions Coalition. The growing FSCE Change Champions Coalition includes current leaders in FSCE work who are dedicated to advancing progress on FSCE in their respective jurisdictions from across the world.