Rebecca Winthrop is an American expert on

global education Global education is a mental development program that seeks to improve global human development based on the understanding of global dynamics, through the various sectors of human development delivery. In formal education, as a mode of human devel ...

. She is currently the director of the Center for Universal Education at the

Brookings Institution The Brookings Institution, often stylized as Brookings, is an American think tank that conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics (and tax policy), metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, global econo ...

and an adjunct professor at Georgetown University's

Walsh School of Foreign Service The Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service (SFS) is the school of international relations at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. It grants degrees at both Undergraduate education, undergraduate and Postgraduate education, graduate lev ...

. Winthrop served as a

technical adviser In film production, a technical advisor is someone who advises the film director, director on the convincing portrayal of a subject. The advisor's expertise adds realism both to the acting and to the setting of a movie. Nipo T. Strongheart was a n ...

and education expert at the

International Rescue Committee The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is a global humanitarian aid, relief, and development nongovernmental organization. Founded in 1933 as the International Relief Association, at the request of Albert Einstein, and changing its name in 1 ...

from 2001 to 2009, overseeing education programs in twenty crisis-affected countries. In 2009,

President Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. Ob ...

invited her to serve as an advisor to The White House Council on Women and Girls, and in 2012,

Secretary-General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...

Ban Ki-moon Ban Ki-moon (born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was the South Korean minister ...

appointed her chair of the Global Education First Initiative's Technical Advisory Group formed to raise the political profile of

. Winthrop is a contributor to several periodicals and an author of books examining topics related to

humanitarian aid Humanitarian aid is material and Humanitarian Logistics, logistic assistance, usually in the short-term, to people in need. Among the people in need are the homelessness, homeless, refugees, and victims of natural disasters, wars, and famines. Th ...

sustainable development Sustainable development is an approach to growth and Human development (economics), human development that aims to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.United Nations General ...

, and

global citizenship Global citizenship is a form of transnationality, specifically the idea that one's identity transcends geography or political borders and that responsibilities or rights are derived from membership in a broader global class of "humanity". This do ...

, especially in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

. Her most recent book is ''The Disengaged Teen: Helping Kids Learn Better, Feel Better, and Live Better'' (Penguin, 2024).

Education

Winthrop obtained a BA from

Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the e ...

in 1996, an MA from the

School of International and Public Affairs The School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) is the List of schools of international relations in the United States, international affairs and public policy school, public policy school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League univers ...

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in 2001, and a PhD. in 2008 from

Teachers College, Columbia University Teachers College, Columbia University (TC) is the graduate school of education affiliated with Columbia University, a private research university in New York City. Founded in 1887, Teachers College has been a part of Columbia University since ...

Career

From 2001 to 2009, Winthrop served as a senior technical advisor for education at the

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. As the concurrent chair of the Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies, Winthrop developed an agenda designed to ensure education is not left off the global agenda, and was involved in implementing the first global standards for education in emergencies used in over one hundred countries. In 2009, Winthrop joined the

as a senior fellow. At Brookings, Winthrop worked with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's

Office of Global Women's Issues The Secretary's Office of Global Women's Issues is located within the United States Department of State. In 2009, Melanne Verveer was appointed to be the first Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues. From September 2013 to May, 2017, Ca ...

to design a girls’ education collaborative focused on next generation gender equality. She also worked with President Obama's Office of Women and Girls’ and with the

Office of the First Lady The Office of the First Lady (OFL) is the staff accountable to the first lady of the United States. The office and its responsibilities, while not constitutionally mandated, have grown as the role of the first lady has grown and formalized throug ...

on the global girls’ education initiative. In 2014, Winthrop convened with UNESCO Institute of Statistics a global task force with participation from over one hundred countries to develop a shared agenda around prioritizing and measuring learning outcomes. The report contributed to the development of the

United Nations Sustainable Development Goals The ''2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development'', adopted by all United Nations (UN) members in 2015, created 17 world Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The aim of these global goals is "peace and prosperity for people and the planet" – wh ...

. In 2019, Winthrop was appointed director of the Center for Universal Education.

Selected bibliography

Books

* Anderson, J. and Winthrop, R. (2025). ''The Disengaged Teen: Helping Kids Learn Better, Feel Better, and Live Better''. New York: Random House. * Winthrop, R. (2018). ''Leapfrogging Inequality: Remaking Education to Help Young People Thrive''. Washington DC: Brookings Institution Press. * Sperling, G. and Winthrop, R. (2015). ''What Works in Girls’ Education: Evidence for the World’s Best Investment''. Washington DC: Brookings Institution Press.

Journal articles

* Winthrop, R. (2016). How Can We “Leapfrog” Educational Outcomes? Stanford Social Innovation Review. * Winthrop, R., and McGivney, E. (2016). Rethinking education in a changing world. Stanford Social Innovation Review, September 12. * Winthrop, R., Anderson, L. and Cruzalegui, I. (2015). A review of policy debates around learning in the post-2015 education and development agenda. International Journal of Education Development, vol. 40. * Winthrop, R. and Anderson Simons, K. (2013). Can International Large-Scale Assessments Inform a Global Learning Goal? Research in Comparative and International Education, vol. 8, issue 3. * Winthrop, R. (2011). Education in Africa—The Story isn't Over. Current History, vol. 110. * Winthrop, R. and Kirk. J. (2008). Learning for a Bright Future: Schooling, Armed conflict, and Children's Well-being. Comparative Education Review, vol. 52. * Kirk, J. and Winthrop, R. (2008). Teaching for 'Tarbia': Home-based School Teachers in Afghanistan Teaching and Teacher Education. Teaching and Teacher Education, vol. 24. * Kirk, J. and Winthrop, R. (2007). Promoting Quality Education in Refugee Contexts: Supporting Teacher Development in Northern Ethiopia. International Review of Education, Special Issue on Quality Education in Africa: Challenges & Prospects, vol. 53. * Winthrop, R. (2006). Emergencies, education and innovation. Forced Migration Review, July. * Kirk, J. and Winthrop, R. (2006). Home-based Schooling: Access to Quality Education for Afghan Girls. Journal of Education for International Development. 2:2. * Kirk, J. and Winthrop, R. (2005). Addressing Gender-based Exclusion in Afghanistan: Home Schooling for Girls. Critical Half, Journal of Women for Women International, Fall. * Winthrop, R. and Kirk, J. (2004). Teacher Development and Student Well-being. Forced Migration Review. * Winthrop, R. (2003). Reflections on Working in Post-Conflict Afghanistan: Local versus International Perspectives of Gender Relations. Women's Studies Quarterly, Fall/Winter. * Stichick, T., Winthrop, R., Smith, W., and Dunn, G. (2002). Emergency Education and Psychosocial Adjustment: Displaced Chechen Youth in Ingushetia. Forced Migration Review, October.

Policy reports

* Vegas, E., and Winthrop, R. (2020). “''Global education: How to transform school systems''?” In Reimagining the global economy: Building back better in a post-COVID-19 world. Report. The Brookings Institution. * Winthrop, R., Ershadi, M., Angrist, N., and Matsheng, M. (2020). ''A historic shock to parental engagement in education: Parent perspectives in Botswana during COVID-19''. Report. The Brookings Institution. * Vegas, E., and Winthrop, R. (2020). ''Beyond reopening schools: How education can emerge stronger than before COVID-19.'' Report. The Brookings Institution. * Winthrop, R. (2020) ''The need for civic education in 21st-century schools.'' Report. The Brookings Institution. * Istance, D., Paniagua, A., Winthrop, R., and Ziegler, L. (2019). ''Learning to Leapfrog: Innovative pedagogies to transform education''. Report. The Brookings Institution. * Istance, D., R., Mackay, A., and Winthrop, R. (2019). ''Measuring Transformational Pedagogies Across G20 Countries to Achieve Breakthrough Learning: The Case for Collaboration.'' Report. G20 Japan 2019. * ''Landscapes; Can urban planning and the learning sciences work together to help children?'' Report. The Brookings Institution. * Winthrop, R. and Barton, A. (2018) ''The Potential to Leapfrog in Education: The Role of Innovation in Addressing Children’s Learning Needs in the Fourth Industrial Revolution''. Report. IPAG. * Winthrop, R. and Steer, L. (2014). ''Is the Global Partnership for Education Ready for Takeoff?'' Report. The Brookings Institution. * Winthrop, R. and McGivney, E. (2014) ''Raising the Global Ambition for Girls’ Education.'' Report. The Brookings Institution. * Winthrop, R., and Matsui, E. (2013). ''A New Agenda for Education in Fragile States''. Report. The Brookings Institution. * Winthrop, R., Dolan, J., Golden, A., and Ndaruhutse, S. (2012). ''Building Effective Teacher Salary Systems in Fragile and Conflict-Affected States''. Report. The Brookings Institution and CfBT Education Trust. * Winthrop, R. and Ferris, E. (2011). ''Education and Displacement: Assessing Conditions for Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons Affected by Conflict''. Report. The Brookings Institution. * Winthrop, R. ''Punching Below Its Weight: The U.S. Government Approach to Education in the Developing World.'' Report. The Brookings Institution. * Klees, S.,Winthrop, R., and Adams, A. ''Many Paths to Universal Primary Education: Time to Replace the Indicative Framework with a Real Country Driven Approach''. Report. The Brookings Institution, 2010. * Winthrop, R. ''Education, Conflict, and Fragility: Past Developments and Future Challenges''. UNESCO Background Paper, Education for All Global Monitoring Report 2011. November 2009.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Winthrop, Rebecca Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) American educational theorists