Every child deserves an education: Karen Mundy takes her vision to Washington

As Canadian families settle in to a new school year, millions of children around the world still lack access to what Karen Mundy calls a fundamental human right – the right to an education.

The associate dean of research, international and innovation at U of T’s Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), Mundy hopes to help change that when she takes up a new position this fall as chief technical officer at the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) in Washington, DC.

Mundy, who has a master’s degree from OISE, began her professional career as a teacher in rural Zimbabwe, and later taught international and comparative education at Stanford University before coming back to OISE in 2002. She spoke with U of T News writer Terry Lavender about her new appointment.

What does your new role entail?

The Global Partnership for Education is a partnership among donor governments, international organizations, NGOs, teachers’ organizations, the private sector and developing country governments, which works to ensure that all children in low-income and conflict-affected countries get the chance to go to school and learn. In my new role I will be the organization’s “thought leader." I will be helping the organization to leverage the very best evidence on how to improve educational systems and looking for innovations that allow us to reach the most marginalized children in the world. 

What do you hope to accomplish at GPE?

The goal may sound lofty – getting every child into school – but it’s a good one and if I can make even a small difference to global capacity to support this goal, I will be immensely proud. I want to help our partners marry great ideas and good evidence to increased financing – and I want to focus in particular on some of the most intractable problems, like how to build back educational systems in countries affected by conflict, and how to ensure that family poverty does not limit a child’s educational life chances. The GPE is a partnership and as such it has a special role to play in sparking cross-national learning, and spurring new approaches to old challenges among its member governments.

How do you see your new role leading on from your current position at OISE?

For years I have been writing about global governance and global public goods in education. As I see it, this is my chance to put my research into practice. Working at University of Toronto – with some of the best thinkers on global institutions around – has given me a healthy understanding of the “limits of the possible” in international relations and global institutions.  But I remain an optimist. This role is my vote of confidence that global level actions and institutions can make a difference when it comes to ensuring that the fundamental right of all children to an education is realized.

You’ve been at OISE for 12 years. What are the highlights of your time here?

I have to say that it has been a fabulous 12 years, and I am definitely coming back to U of T after my three-year term at the GPE is over. We moved back to U of T from Stanford, and for me and our family Toronto is home. At OISE I have been able to help build one of North America’s best graduate programs in international and comparative education; I work with some of the smartest thinkers on education in the world; and as OISE’s associate dean of research, I have been able to support research and educational development in all corners of the globe. There is a reason OISE is ranked in the top 10 faculties of education, and I’ve been proud to be a part of that. 

Why is it important to foster education in developing countries?

We all know that learning can transform a life, empower an individual, fuel an economy, build a nation. Most families and developing country governments know this too – but they face critical barriers and bottlenecks in their efforts to realize a good quality education system for their children. International support – financing, technical advice – can help bridge these barriers. But even more importantly – international partnerships like the GPE can help countries learn from one another.