Fernando Reimers

Fernando M. Reimers is the Ford Foundation Professor of the Practice of International Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He is the principal investigator and director of the Global Education Innovation Initiative, co-chair of the International Education Policy and Management Master’s Program, and co-chair of the Global, Comparative and International Education Concentration at HGSE. He is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Education and the Council on Foreign Relations, and a fellow and elected president of the International Academy of Education.

An expert in global education, education policy, and educational innovation, his research and teaching focus on how education systems can help children and youth develop the competencies necessary to thrive in the twenty-first century and contribute to more just, democratic, peaceful, and sustainable societies. His work addresses global citizenship education, civic education, teacher development, educational equity, climate change education, artificial intelligence and education, and the alignment of education systems with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. He is currently writing a textbook on comparative education policy analysis.

Reimers was a member of UNESCO’s Commission on the Futures of Education, which authored Reimagining Our Futures Together: A New Social Contract for Education. He also serves on the Governing Board of UNESCO’s International Institute for Educational Planning and on the advisory board of the Organization of Ibero-American States. He has developed curriculum aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals that is used in schools around the world. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he led numerous comparative studies examining the educational consequences of the pandemic, identifying options to sustain educational opportunity, and exploring how education systems could build back better.

At HGSE, Reimers has developed a signature pedagogical approach that integrates teaching with addressing policy and societal challenges faced by governments, international organizations, universities, foundations, and education organizations. He teaches and has taught graduate courses on education policy analysis, education and climate change, educational innovation and social entrepreneurship, education and inequality in Latin America, and the implementation of educational change in marginalized settings. He also teaches in professional development institutes for education leaders and has chaired and directed programs that connect research, policy, and practice in international education.

He directs the Global Education Innovation Initiative, a cross-national research and practice collaborative launched in 2013 to study and support K–12 educational programs that help students develop twenty-first-century skills. The initiative has examined the role of education in preparing students for civic participation, work, and life; the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on educational opportunity; and the ways education systems can be redesigned to address contemporary global challenges. With colleagues around the world, he is currently working on the two-way relationship between education and climate change.

Reimers has authored, co-authored, and edited numerous books and articles on international education policy, global citizenship, educational equity, curriculum reform, teacher education, climate change education, the Sustainable Development Goals, artificial intelligence in education, and educational responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. His recent books include Education for a Climate Changed Future, Artificial Intelligence and Education in the Global South: A Systems Perspective, Educating Students to Improve the World, Schools and Society During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Primary and Secondary Education During COVID-19, Implementing Deeper Learning and Twenty-First Century Reforms, Education and Climate Change: The Role of Universities, Audacious Education Purposes, and Empowering Teachers to Build a Better World. Many of his books have been translated into Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Chinese, Turkish, and other languages. He has also authored children’s books focused on inclusive values and global citizenship.

As part of his commitment to advancing educational opportunity and international education, Reimers has advised governments, international development organizations, foundations, universities, and education organizations across Latin America, North America, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Europe. His advisory experience includes work with UNESCO, OECD, UNICEF, UNDP, USAID, the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Organization of American States, the Organization of Ibero-American States, and other international institutions.

At Harvard, he serves on multiple committees and boards that advance the university’s global mission, international engagement, and work on climate change. He has served on Harvard’s University Committee on International Projects and Sites, on the executive boards of the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies and the Center for African Studies, and as a faculty associate of the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs and the Center for International Development. Beyond Harvard, he serves or has served on the boards or advisory boards of numerous education organizations focused on improving education and promoting peace, inclusion, equity, and sustainability, including Facing History and Ourselves, Teach for All, the Fulbright Scholar Program, and Phalen Leadership Academies.

Reimers has served on the Harvard faculty since 1998. Earlier in his career, he worked at the Universidad Central de Venezuela, the Harvard Institute for International Development, and the World Bank. His honors include the National Award “Enrique Imbert” from the North American Academy of the Spanish Language, the Centennial Medal Award from the Institute of International Education, the Global Citizenship Award from the Committee for Teaching about the United Nations, the C.J. Koh Visiting Professorship at the National Institute of Education in Singapore, and an honorary doctorate in humane letters from Emerson College for his work in global education and international human rights.