Localizing the education development research agenda in the Global South: The case of GPE KIX

Abstract

Recent efforts in decolonization and localization have been influential in reshaping the long-standing norms of international development, whereby large-scale funders and actors in the Global North have shaped education development research agendas in low- and middle-income countries. This influence often stems from decision-making processes that appear opaque and mono-directional, flowing from North to South. Adopting a localization perspective, this article examines the attempts of a large-scale international development program—the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) Knowledge and Innovation Exchange (KIX)—to reverse this trend by engaging education stakeholders in over 60 low- and middle-income countries to inform its research and implementation activities and thereby localize the education development research agenda. It draws on reflections from key project implementers and details the process undertaken to ensure that the countries involved had opportunities to shape the GPE KIX research agenda and implementation activities, based on their national education priorities. The article explores practical challenges encountered in the effort to localize the program’s agenda, including conducting online, participatory data collection while navigating diverse language needs, time zones constraints and budget limitations. It addresses methodological dilemmas encountered, examining power dynamics, researcher and institutional positionality, the role of gatekeepers, tensions related to participant identities and biases, spaces of pushback, the use of research evidence and features of project design. Drawing on the experience of GPE KIX, the article discusses implications for future efforts to localize education development research agendas in the Global South.