Category Archives: New Year

What’s Next for Schools in 2025? Scanning the Headlines for Predictions about Education in the New Year

AI, cellphones, and security – those are a few of the issues highlighted in this IEN’s scan of the predictions about education in 2025. To see the predictions for previous years, review the scans of the “looking ahead” headlines from 2024, 2023, 20222021 part 12021 part 2, and 2020. To discuss the trends and possibilities for education in the new year join Getting Smart’s annual town hall What’s Next in Learning 2025.

The education sources we follow in the US often provide predictions for schools, students, and teachers in the new year, but it’s been harder to find articles looking ahead from other parts of the world. The Ministry of Education in New Zealand, however, did offer a summary of What’s new for 2025 and the Education Review Office produced a series of best practice guides “to help educators effectively implement incoming changes for 2025.” In the US, to put developments in the new year in context, back in 2017, the National Center for Education Statistics shared Projections of Education Statistics 2025 which can be compared to their Report on the Condition of Education 2024

Education predication from the US and around the world

The education revolution: What Nigerian teachers must know for 2025, Business Day

Cleaner and better public schools in 2025 in the Philippines, Sun Star

“As we look forward to 2025, we hope that public schools will be a lot more conducive for learning. This means cleaner and properly ventilated classrooms, better classroom materials, and improved facilities for both teachers and students.

VAT, small firms, workers, education: Changes in France in 2025, The Connexion

“After disappointing results in maths and French tests at the 2024 rentrée, the Education Ministry announced there would be a “complete overhaul” of the curriculums for these subjects in 2025, ranging from maternelle to troisième (infant school to the fourth year of secondary).”

11 Critical Issues Facing Education at Home and Abroad in 2025, Education Week

5 education stories to watch in 2025, Chalkbeat

A girl watches during an immigrant rights workshop at Academia Avance charter school in Los Angeles in 2017.

Education leaders should focus on integrating AI literacy, civic education, and work-based learning to equip students for future challenges and opportunities.

Building social capital and personalized learning environments will be crucial for student success in a world increasingly influenced by AI and decentralized power structures.”


4 K-12 predictions to help you lead effectively in 2025, District Administration

K-12 trends to watch in 2025 amid budget, policy shifts, K-12 Dive

“K-12 schools are likely to face several challenges in 2025, including strained budgets due to the expiration of federal aid, cybersecurity threats and staffing shortages, particularly in special education. Additionally, the influx of AI in classrooms and the rise of book bans and curriculum restrictions are key trends to watch for in the upcoming year.”

What Should K-12 Education Focus On in 2025 and Beyond?, US Chamber of Commerce Foundation

Brown Center scholars look ahead to education in 2025, Brookings

Larry Ferlazzo’s 9 Education Predictions for 2025, Education Week

6 Predictions For Education And Workforce In 2025, Michael B. Horn, Forbes

6 Top Education Stories for 2025, Peter Green, Forbes

Five Education Predictions For 2025, Derek Newton, Forbes

 5 education innovation trends to watch in 2025, Julia Freeland Fisher, Christensen Institute

Key Trends to Watch in the Education Market in 2025, Education Week

What 2025 Could Bring for English Learners, Education Week

What’s In, What’s Out for AI, Cellphones, Cybersecurity, and Other Ed-Tech Stuff, Education Week

50 predictions about what 2025 will bring to edtech, innovation, and everything in between, eSchool News

Starring AI, VR, Microlearning and more: ETIH’s 10 predictions for edtech in 2025, EITH

Campuses will also further embrace AI, the cloud, and mobile credentials to improve effectiveness of lockdowns and guest management efforts.

Social Media Issues for Kids Shaping Up to Be ‘Unpredictable’ in 2025, Education Week

2025 Predictions for Video Surveillance in Education and Healthcare, Campus Safety

2025 Campus Lockdown, Visitor Management Predictions: More Installations, Integrations, Campus Safety

Driving Change: 5 Predictions Shaping the Future of Student Transportation in 2025, School Transportation News

2025 food trends shaping K-12 cafeterias, Food Service Director

“Chartwells K12 has identified 10 emerging food trends for school cafeterias in 2025, highlighting a shift toward diverse and nutritious options that align with the preferences of younger generations. Customizable bowls, inclusivity in the form of allergen-friendly and plant-based options and crunchy items are a few of the listed trends.”

25 Philanthropy Predictions for 2025, Inside Philanthropy

Seven Chicago education stories to watch in 2025, Chalkbeat

Five bold predictions for Ohio education policy in 2025, Aaron Churchill, Thomas B. Fordham Institute

New year starts in California with new laws impacting education, EdSource

“New California state laws will protect the privacy of LGBTQ+ students, ensure that the history of Native Americans is accurately taught and make it more difficult to discriminate against people of color based on their hairstyles.”

As lawmakers return to Albany, the fate of New York school funding looms, Chalkbeat

Banning Books and Cellphones but not Conflict: Scanning the Headlines for Reviews of Education in 2024

IEN’s annual roundup of the end-of-the-year education headlines features stories about efforts to ban books and cellphones in the US, while some of the international stories emphasize the conflicts and crises affecting children around the world. To see how education in 2024 compared to previous years, take a look at IEN’s scans from the end of the year of 2023, 2022202120202019 part 1, and 2019 part 2

Although relatively few of the international education media IEN follows reviewed the biggest stories from 2024, organizations focusing on children highlighted the crises affecting many young people, particularly those caught up in conflicts. In the US, many journalists and educators noted the impact of AI and other technologies and Education Week highlighted the efforts to limit technology use by declaring that “cellphone ban” was the word/phrase of the year (The education word of 2024 is…) Given the number of articles that discussed efforts to ban books and regulate curriculum and other aspects of schooling, just “ban” may have been a more appropriate choice. To get a sense of the extent of book banning, the American Library Association tracked books banned in 2024 and The Guardian reported on a survey rom PEN America showing that more than 10,000 books were banned in US public schools from 2023 to 2024. That same survey suggested that bans of books nearly tripled in the US from 3,362 the previous year (US public schools banned 10,000 books in most recent academic year). But bans were not limited to books or cellphones. The California legislature also passed a number of laws in 2024 banning or restricting a variety of practices including limiting libraries abilities to ban “books based on subject matter focused on race, gender identity, sexual orientation or other characteristics.” The California legislature also banned legacy admissions in private universities in California, and school districts can no longer institute policies requiring teachers or staff to disclose a child’s gender identity to the child’s parent or guardians (Ten things California is banning in 2025).  

Headlines from around the world

2024 in Review – One in three children in conflict and fragile countries out of school, Africa.com

‘Not the new normal’ – 2024 ‘one of the worst years in UNICEF’s history’ for children in conflict, Unicef

More than 52 million children in countries affected by conflict are estimated to be out of school. Children in the Gaza Strip, and a significant portion of children in Sudan, have missed out on more than a year of school, while in countries such as Ukraine, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Syria, schools have been damaged, destroyed or repurposed, leaving millions of children without access to learning.

The Top 15 Education For All Blogs of 2024, GPE

2024 Review of the Year in Comparative International Education: Some reflection on the past year – Gaza, Genocide, Higher Education Crisis and much more, The FreshEdPodcast

Kenya’s 2024 academic year marred by multiple crises, The Eastleigh Voice

Isiolo Secondary school teachers during a strike earlier this year.

“The 2024 academic year in Kenya faced significant disruptions, stemming from funding delays, natural disasters, industrial action, and social unrest, severely affecting learning activities across the country.”

Seven major events in Education Sector in Ghana in 2024, Ghana Web

2024 Review: Major events, reforms that shaped Nigeria’s education sector, Premium Times

Looking back 2024: Education sector in Bangladesh remains neglected, New Age 

Learning losses to the students of all levels [in Bangladesh] were caused by not only the mass uprising, which began with the student movement against government job quotas, but also natural calamities of cold wave, heatwave and flood that caused the closure of educational institutions several times in 2024.

The year of interrupted learning in Pakistan, T Magazine

How Crises Affect Students and Teachers, T Magazine

2024 wrapped: The biggest education stories of the year in Singapore, and what’s next, The Straits Times

Norway, IQ Tests and Child Care Deregulation: Our Favorite Early Ed Stories This Year, The Hechinger Report

In the UK From recruitment crisis to class war: 2024 in review, School Management Plus

Headlines from the US

Public Schools by the Numbers: How Enrollment, Funding, and More Changed in 2024, Education Week

The Year in Education: Our Top 24 Stories About Schools, Students and Learning, the 74

Federal Funds Lifted Learning — But Not Enough, The 74 (source: Calder Center)

2024 in Review, From Your Point of View, Edutopia

Pandemic, Politics, Pre-K & More: 12 Charts That Defined Education in 2024, the 74

The 10 Most Significant Education Studies of 2024, Edutopia

“Warm demanders are teachers who insist on the highest standards but remain sensitive to a student’s need to belong—and to succeed. By bracketing the most frustrating lessons with work that elicits a child’s feelings of competence, teachers can “bolster students’ math motivation and engagement” in a way that does not “involve reducing the rigor of the material that students learn.'”

Jealousy List: 16 Education Articles We Wish We Had Written in 2024, The 74

2024 Must-Reads: 9 Stories About Early Care and Education That We Can’t Stop Thinking About, The 74

A dozen of the best opinion pieces on education that we read in 2024, Michael Petrilli, Thomas B. Fordham Institute

The Best and Worst Education News of 2024, Larry Ferlazzo, Education Week

The best and worst of ed reform in 2024, Thomas B. Fordham Institute

2024 Year-in-Review: Reforming K-12 Education, Hoover Institution

Philanthropy Awards, 2024, Inside Philanthropy

7 Curriculum Trends That Defined 2024, Education Week

How AI Is Changing Education: The Year’s Top 5 Stories

The Best in K-12 EdTech—Last Year and Next, eSchool News

Cellphones in the Classroom: The Year’s Top 5 Stories, Education Week

School Shootings in 2024: More Than Last Year, But Fewer Deaths, Education Week

Local Education News You May Have Missed in 2024 (and Why It Matters), Education Week

Trump’s Education Priorities, Foundation Aid, and Mayoral Control: 2024 in ReviewNew York Focus

Schools continue to rebound, thanks to influx of funding: 2024 year in review, Cal Matters

Next week: What’s Next for Schools in 2025? Scanning the Headlines for Predictions about Education in the New Year

2023 in Review: Scanning the End-Of-The-Year Education Headlines

To look back on some of the key education issues and stories from 2023, Thomas Hatch shares IEN’s annual roundup of the end-of-the-year headlines from many of the sources on education news and research that we follow. For comparison, take a look at IEN’s scans of the headlines looking back in 202120202019 part 1, and 2019 part 2. The next post will look to 2024 by pulling together some of the education predictions for the coming year.

Reviews of education stories in 2023 highlighted:

  • The continuing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on student achievement, student absences, teacher shortages, and other aspects of student and teachers’ health and well-being
  • Pandemic recovery initiatives and concerns about a “fiscal cliff” that may cut off funding for those initiatives.
  • Developments in education technology and particularly the potential impact of artificial intelligence following the launch of ChatGPT in 2022
  • Advocacy for the “science of reading” and foundational learning in literacy and numeracy
  • Persistent concerns including inadequate education funding, inequities in educational performance and opportunities, and the challenges of innovation in assessment and instruction.

A Capture of Moments, Danna Ramirez, New York Times

What High School Is Like in 2023: 25 Essays, Poems, Videos, Photos, a Graph, a GIF, and a Diorama That
Reflect Students and Teachers’ Lives in School
, New York Times

Our Top Photos of the Year, Education Week

Key issues and trends

Funding, free school meals, education choice and student loan debt were among the policy topics lawmakers tackled in this year’s legislative sessions

The Top 10 Education Trends for 2023, National Conference of State Legislators

an unusual early childhood experiment up close; wrestling with large datasets to better understand education trends; getting over a fear of math to cover efforts to revolutionize the teaching of calculus; and, yes, talks with professors struggling with adjusting teaching to the presence of AI chatbots

Looking back on the biggest education trends of 2023, EdSurge

The 7 most memorable education stories of 2023, The Grade

from what AI can (and can’t) do to the neuroscience of brain synchrony

17 Articles About Students & Schools We Wish We Had Published in 2023, The74

The 10 Most Significant Education Studies of 2023, Edutopia

10 Education Studies You Should Know From 2023: new insights on social media, ChatGPT, math, and other topics, Education Week

These are some of the education questions Chalkbeat answered through data in 2023, Chalkbeat

Six Problems Philanthropy Barely Tried to Solve in 2023, Inside Philanthropy

2023 in education charts!

“School absenteeism is out of control” & “Catch up learning hit a wall,” The74

14 Charts that Changed the Way We Looked at America’s Schools in 2023, The74

The Teaching Profession in 2023 (in Charts), Education Week

Global and local reviews

Our top 5 education result stories of 2023, Global Partnership for Education

“changes range from advanced technical programs to revamped school initiatives and innovative examination methods”

Year in review: Five Key Changes In The Education Sector In Rwanda in 2023 , The New Times

“The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) announced significant changes in 2023, including updated marking-schemes and increased number of exams that candidates can take.”

5 Important Changes Announced By The Central Board Of Secondary Education In India This Year, The Times of India

The top education issues in Massachusetts that captured our attention in 2023, WBUR

New Leaders, COVID Spending, Bus Troubles: 6 Chalkbeat Chicago Stories That Defined 2023, Chalkbeat Chicago

Chronic absenteeism, Democratic control, a fiscal cliff: These were Michigan’s big education themes of 2023, Chalkbeat Detroit

Students meeting state remediation-free standards on the ACT or SAT, class of 2017 to 2022, Thomas B. Fordham Institute

Ohio’s sluggish pandemic recovery in 2023 as seen through six charts, Thomas B. Fordham Institute

— Thomas Hatch