Fernando Reimers

Reimers was born in Venezuela to immigrant parents.^[4] He graduated magna cum laude in psychology from the Central University of Venezuela (Universidad Central de Venezuela). His undergraduate thesis, examining the educational implications of learning theories, was approved with distinction and recommended for publication by the university press.^[5]

After graduation he taught experimental psychology at the Central University of Venezuela before relocating to Cambridge, Massachusetts, to pursue master’s and doctoral studies in educational planning and social policy at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.^[5] He obtained an Ed.M. and an Ed.D. in education from Harvard University. His doctoral dissertation, which examined the impact of the external debt crisis on education finance in Latin America, was published by UNESCO.^[5]

Upon completing his doctoral studies, Reimers joined the Harvard Institute for International Development (HIID), where he conducted research and education policy advisory work in Pakistan, Egypt, Jordan, Honduras, El Salvador, Colombia and Paraguay. He conducted a large study of the effectiveness of elementary schools in Pakistan based on a probabilistic sample of 500 schools and designed similar studies in Egypt and Jordan. He also conducted a study of the determinants of repetition and dropout in rural schools in Honduras and carried out sector assessments in El Salvador and Paraguay, where he led a large advisory project for a national education reform.^[5]

In 1996, after reaching the level of Fellow of the Institute at HIID, he took a leave of absence to join the World Bank as Senior Education Specialist. There he led the design of a large education reform assistance program in Mexico and oversaw education portfolios in Mexico and Peru.^[5]

In 1998, Reimers was appointed Associate Professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where he created the International Education Policy (IEP) master’s program.^[6] In 2006 he was named Ford Foundation Professor of the Practice of International Education.^[5] He co-chairs the concentration in Global, International and Comparative Education, which cuts across HGSE master’s programs, and co-chairs the master’s program in International Education Policy and Management.^[7]

Reimers is the founding director of the Global Education Innovation Initiative, a cross-national collaborative focused on education innovation and the development of twenty-first-century skills in K–12 education.^[8]

Reimers’ research agenda focuses on the advancement of educational opportunity for disadvantaged children, on the purposes of education in a rapidly changing world, and on the system-level conditions that allow schools to cultivate “whole” learners (cognitive, civic, ethical, and social).^[5] The Global Education Innovation Initiative, which he created and directs, has studied K–12 programs that develop twenty-first-century skills and later examined the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on education systems and options to “build back better”.^[9]

A distinctive element of his policy work is his effort to connect global goals—especially the SDGs—to curriculum, instructional practice, and education reform. Reimers was invited in 2019 to join UNESCO’s Commission on the Futures of Education, tasked with preparing a global report on the purposes of education under conditions of rapid social and technological change; the Commission produced the report Reimagining Our Futures Together: A New Social Contract for Education.^[10]

During the COVID-19 crisis, his public-facing work included policy frameworks and comparative studies of education systems’ responses to disruption. He co-authored with Andreas Schleicher the report A Framework to Guide an Education Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic of 2020, hosted by the OECD, to support education decision-makers.^[11]

He has also examined the relationship between education and climate change. His book (with Margaret Wang-Aghania) Education for a Climate Changed World proposes a systemic framework for understanding first- and second-order effects of climate change in and through education.^[12]

Reimers has developed signature pedagogical approaches that emphasize practice-facing teaching by engaging students in applied problem-solving. HGSE coverage of his teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic described how his courses engaged students in comparative analysis across countries and direct work with “clients” to mitigate negative impacts—an approach he frames as teaching students that they can “be part of the solution” rather than being overwhelmed by problems.^[13] He often invites students to extend course-based work on complex educational challenges into co-authored publications.^[5]

His edited open-access volume Education and Climate Change: The Role of Universities positions higher education institutions as partners in climate change education and curricular innovation and demonstrates an approach to teaching about climate change by engaging students in developing place-based climate education curricula in jurisdictions around the world.^[14]

Beyond academic writing, Reimers has written for general audiences and for children, including books designed to foster intergenerational conversations about inclusive values. His children’s book The Story of Filomena launched a series focused on empathy, diversity and global citizenship.^[15]

Reimers has written or edited a large body of work on global citizenship education, comparative education policy, instructional improvement, system reform during crisis, artificial intelligence and education, and climate change and education.^[16]

Reimers has received academic honors, professional awards and recognitions including election to the U.S. National Academy of Education (2023), fellowship in the International Academy of Education (since 2006), an honorary doctorate from Emerson College (2009) for work related to global education and international human rights, the Institute of International Education’s Centennial Medal Award (2019), and the Committee on Teaching About the United Nations’ Global Citizenship Award (2017).^[5] In 2025 he received the Enrique Anderson-Imbert Award from the North American Academy of the Spanish Language for his contributions to the promotion of Spanish culture and language.^[5]

In 2019 he was invited to join UNESCO’s Commission on the Futures of Education, which produced the report Reimagining Our Futures Together: A New Social Contract for Education.^[17] His service includes governance and advisory roles with education organizations and international programs, and extensive advisory work across countries and international development agencies.^[5]

Reimers is married to Eleonora Villegas-Reimers, Clinical Professor of Education at Boston University. They have two sons: Tomas Reimers, a technology entrepreneur, and Pablo Reimers, a neuroscientist.^[18]