THE PUGGLE
SHARING WITH OTHERS TO MAKE
FASTER PROGRESS FOR ALL
Out in the bush, you’ll have to go into the pouch of a mama echidna to pet her baby puggle. Our Puggle is easier to find, showing up every month to share what we’re learning about emerging issues in girls’ education. Other posts provide our analysis of recent research and events and feature stories from our grantees. Explore more below, including a link to our resource library.

The Puggle: May 2019 edition
Dana Schmidt | June 13, 2019

Over the course of May one of Echidna Giving’s advisors, Ruth Levine, wrote a series of six reflections as she approached the end of her eight-year tenure at the Hewlett Foundation. In Strength in numbers: Taking a field-level view and All happy grantees are alike: They focus on ideas, interactions, and important details, Ruth peels back the curtains on how (some) foundations think about their work. It’s not easy to find transparent reflections on the inner workings of philanthropy, so we thought you might find these of interest. The ideas certainly resonated with the way the Echidna Giving team thinks about much of its work.

When it comes to inner workings of other development donors, Oxfam wants to see more work on Feminist Aid, and put out a call for G7 leaders to beat inequality. The report argues that “A feminist approach to aid has the power to transform societies…It follows a rights-based, transformative approach to strengthen women’s and girls’ capacity to mobilize their own power, and that of other stakeholders, to shape their own futures.” It goes on to ask G7 leaders to commit to four approaches at their August summit: (1) “Make gender-based analysis mandatory across all aid strategies” (a mainstreaming approach); (2) Invest in stand-alone programming that addresses the structural causes of gender inequality” (a specific focus on advancing gender equality); (3) “Invest in women’s rights and feminist organizations;” and (4) “Ensure feminist implementation that fosters women’s agency.”

The 10 countries with the greatest gaps in girls’ education get just 10% of global aid to education.

Canada recently took action on the third with the recent launch of a $300 million Equality Fund that will fund women’s rights organizations in developing countries.

Given the role education plays in promoting economic and gender equality for this generation and the next, it can be key in feminist aid policy. The Malala Fund argues that G20 and G7 leaders could be doing more to address the education crisis. New analysis in Financing at Full Force shows that “donor funding remains short of the financing required to reach global goals, does not reach countries where girls’ education challenges are highest and does not adequately integrate a gender focus.” For example, the 10 countries with the greatest gaps in girls’ education get just 10% of global aid to education. The paper asks the G20 and G7 to provide additional funding to poorer countries in support of national education sector plans that help ensure all girls learn and earn.

For an insightful read on what it would take for politicians to take on these asks, Barbara Bruns offers an analysis of The Politics of Education in Developing Countries: From Schooling to Learning. In this book, Hickey and Hossain theorize that places where political “power is strongly consolidated, can be good for education reform because leaders have the political space to focus on longer-term development outcomes.”

When it comes to one specific policy recommendation, Are Female Teachers Better for Girls’ Education? “The fact that several studies show positive impacts of female teachers suggest that this area merits further exploration, especially as we follow the impacts across all aspects of girls’ well-being.”

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    • FEBRUARY

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      This month we’re diving deep on a topic related to

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      April marked the first full month of a new season

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    • MARCH

      In this update from March, we celebrate the march of progress

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    • FEBRUARY

      This month brought encouraging news on aid to education.

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    • JANUARY

      This month, champions spoke up for girls: Oprah made a rousing

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    • DECEMBER

      This month we are keeping it short and sweet. In

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    • NOVEMBER

      This month we are excited to share a piece we published

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    • DECEMBER

      The latest World Development Report focuses exclusively on education for the first

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    • OCTOBER

      Echidna Giving team highlights emerging issues and findings related to

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    • SEPTEMBER

      This month the World Bank released the World Development Report (WDR). For

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    • AUGUST

      August offered plenty of great material, including a collection of essays from

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    • JULY

      There is a notion that things slow down during the

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    • JUNE

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    • MAY

      In May, the Center For Universal Education (CUE) and the

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    • APRIL

      In April, the World Bank and IMF Spring Meetings served

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    • MARCH

      March 8th marked International Women’s Day. This month we were

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    • FEBRUARY

      Even if every single girl completed at least 6 grades

      Dana Schmidt

    • JANUARY

      News in January seemed to be dominated by the new

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    • DECEMBER

      In 2016, the Echidna Giving team reviewed literature related to

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    • DECEMBER

      Welcome to the end-of-year installment of The Puggle. In this

      Dana Schmidt

    • NOVEMBER

      In September, the Echidna Giving team joined the masses of

      Dana Schmidt

    • OCTOBER

      In case you missed it, on October 11 the world celebrated

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    • SEPTEMBER

      It turns out September was a busy month for

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    • AUGUST

      This August we couldn’t help but be inspired by the Olympics!

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    • JULY

      Echidna Giving is delighted to launch our blog, a space

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    • The Puggle: May 2019 edition
    Dana Schmidt | June 13, 2019

    Over the course of May one of Echidna Giving’s advisors, Ruth Levine, wrote a series of six reflections as she approached the end of her eight-year tenure at the Hewlett Foundation. In Strength in numbers: Taking a field-level view and All happy grantees are alike: They focus on ideas, interactions, and important details, Ruth peels back the curtains on how (some) foundations think about their work. It’s not easy to find transparent reflections on the inner workings of philanthropy, so we thought you might find these of interest. The ideas certainly resonated with the way the Echidna Giving team thinks about much of its work.

    When it comes to inner workings of other development donors, Oxfam wants to see more work on Feminist Aid, and put out a call for G7 leaders to beat inequality. The report argues that “A feminist approach to aid has the power to transform societies…It follows a rights-based, transformative approach to strengthen women’s and girls’ capacity to mobilize their own power, and that of other stakeholders, to shape their own futures.” It goes on to ask G7 leaders to commit to four approaches at their August summit: (1) “Make gender-based analysis mandatory across all aid strategies” (a mainstreaming approach); (2) Invest in stand-alone programming that addresses the structural causes of gender inequality” (a specific focus on advancing gender equality); (3) “Invest in women’s rights and feminist organizations;” and (4) “Ensure feminist implementation that fosters women’s agency.”

    The 10 countries with the greatest gaps in girls’ education get just 10% of global aid to education.

    Canada recently took action on the third with the recent launch of a $300 million Equality Fund that will fund women’s rights organizations in developing countries.

    Given the role education plays in promoting economic and gender equality for this generation and the next, it can be key in feminist aid policy. The Malala Fund argues that G20 and G7 leaders could be doing more to address the education crisis. New analysis in Financing at Full Force shows that “donor funding remains short of the financing required to reach global goals, does not reach countries where girls’ education challenges are highest and does not adequately integrate a gender focus.” For example, the 10 countries with the greatest gaps in girls’ education get just 10% of global aid to education. The paper asks the G20 and G7 to provide additional funding to poorer countries in support of national education sector plans that help ensure all girls learn and earn.

    For an insightful read on what it would take for politicians to take on these asks, Barbara Bruns offers an analysis of The Politics of Education in Developing Countries: From Schooling to Learning. In this book, Hickey and Hossain theorize that places where political “power is strongly consolidated, can be good for education reform because leaders have the political space to focus on longer-term development outcomes.”

    When it comes to one specific policy recommendation, Are Female Teachers Better for Girls’ Education? “The fact that several studies show positive impacts of female teachers suggest that this area merits further exploration, especially as we follow the impacts across all aspects of girls’ well-being.”

  • Recent posts

    Load Older Posts

    Older posts

    • FEBRUARY

      Dana Schmidt

    • JANUARY

      Ed quality in 3 charts, a new teacher observation tool,

      Dana Schmidt

    • DECEMBER

      In 2019, our team will spend considerable time and effort

      Dana Schmidt

    • DECEMBER

      2018 Is A (W)rap

      Dana Schmidt

    • NOVEMBER

      What's social and emotional learning got to do with it?

      Dana Schmidt

    • OCTOBER

      Obama's Global Girls Alliance, The Human Campital Index, and India's

      Dana Schmidt

    • SEPTEMBER

      Three themes on girls' education from UNGA

      Dana Schmidt

    • AUGUST

      Before we get to our usual Puggle updates, we have

      Dana Schmidt

    • JULY

      We’re at the peak of vacation season in the Northern

      Dana Schmidt

    • JUNE

      The G7 summit in Canada in early June catalyzed a $3

      Dana Schmidt

    • MAY

      This month we’re diving deep on a topic related to

      Dana Schmidt

    • APRIL

      April marked the first full month of a new season

      Dana Schmidt

    • MARCH

      In this update from March, we celebrate the march of progress

      Dana Schmidt

    • FEBRUARY

      This month brought encouraging news on aid to education.

      Dana Schmidt

    • JANUARY

      This month, champions spoke up for girls: Oprah made a rousing

      Dana Schmidt

    • DECEMBER

      This month we are keeping it short and sweet. In

      Dana Schmidt

    • NOVEMBER

      This month we are excited to share a piece we published

      Dana Schmidt

    • DECEMBER

      The latest World Development Report focuses exclusively on education for the first

      Dana Schmidt

    • OCTOBER

      Echidna Giving team highlights emerging issues and findings related to

      Dana Schmidt

    • SEPTEMBER

      This month the World Bank released the World Development Report (WDR). For

      Dana Schmidt

    • AUGUST

      August offered plenty of great material, including a collection of essays from

      Dana Schmidt

    • JULY

      There is a notion that things slow down during the

      Lexie Wagner

    • JUNE

      Lexie Wagner

    • MAY

      In May, the Center For Universal Education (CUE) and the

      Lexie Wagner

    • APRIL

      In April, the World Bank and IMF Spring Meetings served

      Dana Schmidt

    • MARCH

      March 8th marked International Women’s Day. This month we were

      Dana Schmidt

    • FEBRUARY

      Even if every single girl completed at least 6 grades

      Dana Schmidt

    • JANUARY

      News in January seemed to be dominated by the new

      Dana Schmidt

    • DECEMBER

      In 2016, the Echidna Giving team reviewed literature related to

      Dana Schmidt

    • DECEMBER

      Welcome to the end-of-year installment of The Puggle. In this

      Dana Schmidt

    • NOVEMBER

      In September, the Echidna Giving team joined the masses of

      Dana Schmidt

    • OCTOBER

      In case you missed it, on October 11 the world celebrated

      Dana Schmidt

    • SEPTEMBER

      It turns out September was a busy month for

      Dana Schmidt

    • AUGUST

      This August we couldn’t help but be inspired by the Olympics!

      Dana Schmidt

    • JULY

      Echidna Giving is delighted to launch our blog, a space

      Dana Schmidt

    • LIBRARY
    We believe in exchanging ideas and sharing knowledge. Here’s some of what we’ve been reading to inform our thinking on girls’ education. Feel free to suggest additional resources for us to read and feature!