Heikki Lyytinen PhD

The United Nations Educational, Scienti?c and Cultural Organization has made an agreement with the University of Jyväskylä about a UNESCO Chair on Inclusive Literacy Learning for All. The University has appointed Professor Heikki Lyytinen as UNESCO Professor to work for this global goal, and the Agora Center coordinates the actions. Recent reports on international development have revealed new crises in African schools. The number of children who can go to school has increased but the actual learning results are poor or non-existent. Globally, 130 million children have remained illiterate even after several years of school. Even graduating from a primary school does not ensure that basic literacy skills have been acquired. While there are multiple reasons for these shortcomings, it is obvious that learning results will not improve without a stronger emphasis on evidence-based policies, scientifically valid instruction methods and effective teacher training programs.