Education is key to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and is a fundamental force for social and economic progress. Founded in 2016, the Yidan Prize has become known as the world’s highest education accolade. Each year, it awards two prizes: one for education research and one for education development.
“Often educators consider their practice more an individual craft or an art [rather] than an evidence-based profession,” said Andreas Schleicher, head of the judging panel for the Yidan Prize for Education Research, and director for the Directorate of Education and Skills at the OECD.
“I don't want to see education become less of an art,” said Schleicher, adding that it needs to become more of a science if we want to support good educational practice that’s scalable, and create a sustainable education culture.
Schleicher leads the judging panel for the education research prize. Judges rigorously assess nominations from around the world, and nominees are evaluated based on how future-oriented, innovative, transformative, and sustainable their work is. “We are looking for work that has the potential to create the kind of long-lasting changes that will make the world a better place,” said Schleicher.
“And you can see how the Yidan Prize laureates have actually changed the type of data that we now use in education, the types of analysis that we see being made, and the kind of questions that policymakers and researchers are asking.”
Speaking with Devex, Schleicher shares why a prize recognizing world-leading education research is important, what the judges are looking for in a strong nomination, as well as his advice to anyone considering making a nomination for the Yidan Prize.
Do you know a change-maker in education research? Nominations for the 2023 Yidan Prize are open and will close on March 31. Learn more at https://yidanprize.org/
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