Daniel Wagner, UNESCO Chair in Learning and Literacy at Penn GSE, has been named an Honorary Fellow by the Comparative & International Education Society.

The honor reflects Dr. Wagner’s career-long dedication to improving educational opportunities around the world, in both his research and his work with UNESCO, and his service to CIES. As CIES noted in its announcement, Dr. Wagner’s work continues to shape the conversation around how education can be transformed across the global south.

“Recently, Dan’s book on Learning as Development has been influential in helping to move our field forward,” said the CIES announcement. “His body of work around smaller, quicker and cheaper measures contributed to increasing the evidence base regarding the learning crisis in low- and middle-income countries. This work was foundational in the decisions that many funders made to invest deeply in learning outcomes and the quality of education. Finally, Dan’s work on technology in education has consistently pushed the envelope on what is possible in improving outcomes through technology.”

The Honorary Fellows award was established by CIES in 1987 to honor senior members of the society who have advanced the field qualitatively and significantly, through life-long service and contribution to the field of comparative and international education as evidenced by scholarship, teaching, research, and technical service. The award recognizes those scholars who have made the most marked contributions to growth in the field.

CIES also lauded Dr. Wagner for “serving as a chair or discussant on countless panels at CIES.” It also mentioned that Dr. Wagner “has grown CIES’s relationships with other researchers, NGOs, and international organizations worldwide such as UNESCO, World Bank, USAID and others.”

Dr. Wagner will receive his Honorary Fellowship at an upcoming CIES conference.