Biography
Dr Leslie Casely-Hayford is a social development consultant and education specialist with over 30 years of experience in research, policy, and programme implementation across Africa and Asia. As Principal Investigator and Director at Associates for Change, she leads initiatives focused on equitable education, teacher development, and innovative financing to support marginalised learners, particularly girls and children in fragile and conflict-affected contexts.
She currently leads two major multi-country research projects on education financing and scaling innovation in crisis-affected settings, and co-leads the SIHELI initiative under GPE-KIX and IDRC. Her work has also included comparative research on accelerated education and girls’ learning in West Africa, as well as programmes strengthening teacher capacity in play-based learning.
A trusted advisor to governments and multilateral organisations, she has supported Ghana’s Parliament on education sector analysis since 2012. She holds a DPhil in International Education from the University of Sussex and has worked with organisations including the World Bank, UNICEF, UNESCO, and USAID.
Sessions
-
ELA-26
SCH09
Low-Tech and Community-Driven Digital Innovation for Foundational Learning in Rural Environments
2026-06-04 11:45
“What Works in eLearning and Foundation learning in West Africa: Early-grade literacy and numeracy experiences”