Rebecca Winthrop

Rebecca Winthrop
Education	Swarthmore College (BA) Columbia University (MA, PhD)
Occupation	Professor
Employer	Brookings Institution

Rebecca Winthrop is an American expert on global education. ^[1] She is currently the director of the Center for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution and an adjunct professor at Georgetown University's Walsh School of Foreign Service. ^{[2] [3]}

Winthrop served as a technical adviser and education expert at the International Rescue Committee from 2001 to 2009, overseeing education programs in twenty crisis-affected countries. In 2009, President Obama invited her to serve as an advisor to The White House Council on Women and Girls, and in 2012, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed her chair of the Global Education First Initiative's Technical Advisory Group formed to raise the political profile of global education.

Winthrop is a contributor to several periodicals and an author of books examining topics related to global education, humanitarian aid, sustainable development, and global citizenship, especially in India and Africa. ^{[4] [5] [6] [7] [8]} Her most recent book is The Disengaged Teen: Helping Kids Learn Better, Feel Better, and Live Better (Penguin, 2024). ^{[9] [10]}

Education

Winthrop obtained a BA from Swarthmore College in 1996, an MA from the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University in 2001, and a PhD. in 2008 from Teachers College, Columbia University. ^{[11] [12]}

Career

From 2001 to 2009, Winthrop served as a senior technical advisor for education at the International Rescue Committee in New York. As the concurrent chair of the Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies, Winthrop developed an agenda designed to ensure education is not left off the global agenda, ^[13] and was involved in implementing the first global standards for education in emergencies used in over one hundred countries. ^[14] In 2009, Winthrop joined the Brookings Institution as a senior fellow. ^[15]

At Brookings, Winthrop worked with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's Office of Global Women's Issues to design a girls’ education collaborative focused on next generation gender equality. ^{[16] [17]} She also worked with President Obama's Office of Women and Girls’ and with the Office of the First Lady on the global girls’ education initiative. ^{[18] [19]} In 2014, Winthrop convened with UNESCO Institute of Statistics a global task force with participation from over one hundred countries to develop a shared agenda around prioritizing and measuring learning outcomes. ^[20] The report contributed to the development of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. ^[21] In 2019, Winthrop was appointed director of the Center for Universal Education. ^[2]

Selected bibliography

Books

• Anderson, J. and Winthrop, R. (2025). The Disengaged Teen: Helping Kids Learn Better, Feel Better, and Live Better. New York: Random House. ISBN   9780593727072 , 059372707X
• Winthrop, R. (2018). Leapfrogging Inequality: Remaking Education to Help Young People Thrive. Washington DC: Brookings Institution Press. ISBN   9780815735717 , 0815735715
• Sperling, G. and Winthrop, R. (2015). What Works in Girls’ Education: Evidence for the World’s Best Investment. Washington DC: Brookings Institution Press. ISBN   9780815728610 , 0815728611

Journal articles

• Winthrop, R. (2016). How Can We “Leapfrog” Educational Outcomes? Stanford Social Innovation Review.
• Winthrop, R., and McGivney, E. (2016). Rethinking education in a changing world. Stanford Social Innovation Review, September 12.
• Winthrop, R., Anderson, L. and Cruzalegui, I. (2015). A review of policy debates around learning in the post-2015 education and development agenda. International Journal of Education Development, vol. 40.
• Winthrop, R. and Anderson Simons, K. (2013). Can International Large-Scale Assessments Inform a Global Learning Goal? Research in Comparative and International Education, vol. 8, issue 3.
• Winthrop, R. (2011). Education in Africa—The Story isn't Over. Current History, vol. 110.
• Winthrop, R. and Kirk. J. (2008). Learning for a Bright Future: Schooling, Armed conflict, and Children's Well-being. Comparative Education Review, vol. 52.
• Kirk, J. and Winthrop, R. (2008). Teaching for 'Tarbia': Home-based School Teachers in Afghanistan Teaching and Teacher Education. Teaching and Teacher Education, vol. 24.
• Kirk, J. and Winthrop, R. (2007). Promoting Quality Education in Refugee Contexts: Supporting Teacher Development in Northern Ethiopia. International Review of Education, Special Issue on Quality Education in Africa: Challenges & Prospects, vol. 53.
• Winthrop, R. (2006). Emergencies, education and innovation. Forced Migration Review, July.
• Kirk, J. and Winthrop, R. (2006). Home-based Schooling: Access to Quality Education for Afghan Girls. Journal of Education for International Development. 2:2.
• Kirk, J. and Winthrop, R. (2005). Addressing Gender-based Exclusion in Afghanistan: Home Schooling for Girls. Critical Half, Journal of Women for Women International, Fall.
• Winthrop, R. and Kirk, J. (2004). Teacher Development and Student Well-being. Forced Migration Review.
• Winthrop, R. (2003). Reflections on Working in Post-Conflict Afghanistan: Local versus International Perspectives of Gender Relations. Women's Studies Quarterly, Fall/Winter.
• Stichick, T., Winthrop, R., Smith, W., and Dunn, G. (2002). Emergency Education and Psychosocial Adjustment: Displaced Chechen Youth in Ingushetia. Forced Migration Review, October.

Policy reports

• Vegas, E., and Winthrop, R. (2020). “Global education: How to transform school systems?” In Reimagining the global economy: Building back better in a post-COVID-19 world. Report. The Brookings Institution.
• Winthrop, R., Ershadi, M., Angrist, N., and Matsheng, M. (2020). A historic shock to parental engagement in education: Parent perspectives in Botswana during COVID-19. Report. The Brookings Institution.
• Vegas, E., and Winthrop, R. (2020). Beyond reopening schools: How education can emerge stronger than before COVID-19. Report. The Brookings Institution.
• Winthrop, R. (2020) The need for civic education in 21st-century schools. Report. The Brookings Institution.
• Istance, D., Paniagua, A., Winthrop, R., and Ziegler, L. (2019). Learning to Leapfrog: Innovative pedagogies to transform education. Report. The Brookings Institution.
• Istance, D., R., Mackay, A., and Winthrop, R. (2019). Measuring Transformational Pedagogies Across G20 Countries to Achieve Breakthrough Learning: The Case for Collaboration. Report. G20 Japan 2019.
• Landscapes; Can urban planning and the learning sciences work together to help children? Report. The Brookings Institution.
• Winthrop, R. and Barton, A. (2018) The Potential to Leapfrog in Education: The Role of Innovation in Addressing Children’s Learning Needs in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Report. IPAG.
• Winthrop, R. and Steer, L. (2014). Is the Global Partnership for Education Ready for Takeoff? Report. The Brookings Institution.
• Winthrop, R. and McGivney, E. (2014) Raising the Global Ambition for Girls’ Education. Report. The Brookings Institution.
• Winthrop, R., and Matsui, E. (2013). A New Agenda for Education in Fragile States. Report. The Brookings Institution.
• Winthrop, R., Dolan, J., Golden, A., and Ndaruhutse, S. (2012). Building Effective Teacher Salary Systems in Fragile and Conflict-Affected States. Report. The Brookings Institution and CfBT Education Trust.
• Winthrop, R. and Ferris, E. (2011). Education and Displacement: Assessing Conditions for Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons Affected by Conflict. Report. The Brookings Institution.
• Winthrop, R. Punching Below Its Weight: The U.S. Government Approach to Education in the Developing World. Report. The Brookings Institution.
• Klees, S.,Winthrop, R., and Adams, A. Many Paths to Universal Primary Education: Time to Replace the Indicative Framework with a Real Country Driven Approach. Report. The Brookings Institution, 2010.
• Winthrop, R. Education, Conflict, and Fragility: Past Developments and Future Challenges. UNESCO Background Paper, Education for All Global Monitoring Report 2011. November 2009.

See also

• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Center for Universal Education

References

1. "Improving Access to Quality Public Education in Africa". House Foreign Affairs Committee. 2022-02-08. Retrieved 2025-01-14.
2. "Rebecca Winthrop". Brookings. Retrieved 2025-01-14.
3. "Rebecca Winthrop". GHD. Retrieved 2025-01-14.
4. "Developing countries face growing secondary education challenge". the Guardian. 2011-10-25. Retrieved 2025-01-14.
5. "'India among countries using innovative teaching techniques'". The Times of India. 2016-03-13. ISSN   0971-8257 . Retrieved 2025-01-14.
6. Winthrop, Rebecca; Ackerman, Xanthe (2016-11-15). "How to Revolutionize Education in India". Newsweek. Retrieved 2025-01-14.
7. "More students in school but still not all". Africa Renewal. 2015-11-13. Retrieved 2025-01-14.
8. "Millions of girls remain out of school". Africa Renewal. 2015-03-30. Retrieved 2025-01-14.
9. Anderson, Jenny; Winthrop, Rebecca (2025-01-02). "Opinion | Giving Kids Some Autonomy Has Surprising Results". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2025-01-14.
10. "Rebecca Winthrop and Jenny Anderson - The Disengaged Teen - in conversation with David Leonhardt - at Union Market | Politics and Prose Bookstore". politics-prose.com. Retrieved 2025-01-14.
11. "REBECCA WINTHROP". righttoplay.com. Retrieved 2025-01-14.
12. "Alumni - Doctoral Program | People | Philosophy & Education | Arts & Humanities | Teachers College, Columbia University". Teachers College - Columbia University. Retrieved 2025-01-14.
13. "Dr Rebecca Winthrop 'In Conversation With' Carl Ward – FED Education" . Retrieved 2025-01-14.
14. Mendizabal, Enrique; Hearn, Simon; Anderson, Allison; Hodgkin, Marian (2011). "Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies: a community of practice, a catalyst for change". unesdoc.unesco.org. Paris. Retrieved 2025-01-14.
15. "Global Ed Talks with Anthony Mackay: An Interview with Rebecca Winthrop". NCEE. Retrieved 2025-01-14.
16. "A Commitment to Raise the Global Ambition for Girls' Education". Brookings. Retrieved 2025-01-14.
17. Winthrop, Rebecca (2016-10-06). "The Next Debate Must Address Women's Issues". TIME. Retrieved 2025-01-14.
18. Foundation, Obama. "Michelle Obama Announces Global Girls Alliance to Support Adolescent Girls Education Around the World". Obama Foundation. Retrieved 2025-01-14.
19. "Education for Girls Worldwide | Video | C-SPAN.org". www.c-span.org. Retrieved 2025-01-14.
20. "Dr. Rebecca Winthrop". Luminos Fund. Retrieved 2025-01-14.
21. "Rebecca Winthrop | World Economic Forum". World Economic Forum. Archived from the original on 2016-09-27. Retrieved 2025-01-14.