New: a "Database of best practices in educational facilities investment"

The OECD Centre for Effective Learning Environments (CELE) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) launched the “Database of Best Practices in Educational Facilities Investment” on 29 September 2011. It seeks to inform the planning, design, construction, management and evaluation of educational spaces, combining resources for strategic investment in educational infrastructure, with exemplary school and university facilities from all over the world.

Drawing on the output of a joint CELE/European Investment Bank project on “Strategic Investment Planning for Educational Infrastructure” and more than 60 exemplary schools and universities featured in CELE’s flagship publication, “Designing for Education: Compendium of Exemplary Educational Facilities 2011”, this database is a unique international resource for educators, designers, policymakers and researchers alike.

Users of the database are encouraged to add their own resource material, or submit new completed university or school projects for publication on the database.

Global Children's Survey Finds What Children Want Is An Education

Give them a dollar or make them president and what would they do? Most children across the world say their first order of business would be to improve education by building schools, providing school supplies and increasing access to education for all children. Their next priority would be providing food and water. Almost half said they would spend their dollar on food or water, ahead of clothes, toys and sports.

These findings are taken from the ChildFund Alliance global children's survey, Small Voices, Big Dreams*, released this week in recognition of Universal Children's Day (20 November). The survey polled 3,000 children aged 10 to 12 from 30 developing countries across the world - from Afghanistan to Zambia - as well as 300 children from New Zealand, Australia and the United States.