The OECD Directorate for Education has launched the Thomas J. Alexander Fellowship Programme. Mr. Alexander (11 March 1940 – 22 January 2012) was the Director for the OECD’s Education, Employment, Labour and Social Affairs Directorate from 1989-2000. He steered the launch of the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), which he conceived as a tool for governments to build relevant skills for all children and to turn these skills into better social and economic outcomes. The programme is funded by the Open Society Institute, where Mr. Alexander launched several education initiatives after leaving the OECD in 2000.

Aims of the programme
The programme seeks to develop and support improvements in education quality and equity, particularly in emerging economies, in three ways, namely by:

• supporting quantitative research to provide evidence-based analysis relating to education policy and practice;
• strengthening the use of such analysis in policy making; and
• helping education leaders modify their practices to maximise its impact on student learning.