Robyn Read
PhD
Assistant Professor
Faculty of Education
Contact information
Charles Hall
- Room 332
Downtown Oshawa
61 Charles Street
Oshawa, ON L1H 4X8
905.721.8668
Bio
Robyn Read is a comparative and international education scholar and knowledge mobilization specialist with more than 20 years of experience bridging research, policy, and practice. She holds a PhD in Comparative and International Development Policy and Leadership in Education from the University of Toronto. Her work is grounded in a central comparative question: who holds the power to shape education globally?
Through comparative, applied, and bibliometric research, Robyn examines how knowledge, evidence, and financing move through education systems, whose expertise influences decision-making, and how more inclusive approaches to knowledge production can contribute to educational change.
Before joining Ontario Tech, Robyn spent nearly seven years at the Mastercard Foundation, serving as Head of Strategy and Planning for Strategic Programs and Innovation and as Lead, Research and Evidence Mobilization. She has also undertaken research and knowledge mobilization work for the Global Partnership for Education and the Comparative and International Education Society, and contributed to research commissioned by the Brookings Institution, the European Commission, and Aga Khan Foundation Canada.
For more information:
Research and expertise
Gabhi, M. K., Read, R., Adugna, M.B., Kassie, M., Tebekie, T., Ahmed, A. N., Ayele, D. B., Jemal, M., Mekonen, A. A, Tadese, G. G., Aldersey, H., Araya, B. M., Emirie, A. M., Melak, M. F., Mzinganjira, A., Adera, A. G., Debele, T. Z., Ayele, M. H., & Abebe, B. (2026). The knowledge into action toolkit: A field guide for inclusive knowledge mobilization. University of Gondar and Queen’s University, in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation.
Read, R., & Imoka, C. (2025). Bibliometrics. In M. A. M. Thomas, M. Schweisfurth, R. Shields, & T. D. Jules (Eds.), The Bloomsbury Handbook of Method in Comparative and International Education. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Read, R., & Benavot, A. (2023). Global Education Monitoring Report. In R. J. Tierney, F. Rizvi, & K. Ercikan (Eds.), International Encyclopedia of Education (4th ed.). Elsevier.
Iyengar, R., & Read, R. (2021). Beyond paperless programs and reusable totes: A report on the CIES Ad Hoc Committee on more equitable and sustainable conferences and considerations for moving forward. Report commissioned by the Comparative and International Education Society.
Goebel, J., Manion, C., Millei, Z., Read, R., & Silova, I. (2020). Academic conferencing in the age of COVID-19 and climate crisis: The case of the Comparative and International Education Society. International Review of Education. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11159-020-09873-8
Srivastava, P., & Read, R. (2020). New education finance: Exploring impact investment, networks, and market-making in South Asia. In P. M. Sarangapani & R. Pappu (Eds.), Handbook of Education Systems in South Asia. Springer.
Read, R. (2019). Knowledge counts: Influential actors in the Education for All Global Monitoring Report knowledge network. International Journal of Educational Development, 64, 96–105. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2017.11.006
Srivastava, P., & Read, R. (2019). Philanthropic and impact investors: Private-sector engagement, hybridity, and the problem of definition. In N. Ridge & A. Terway (Eds.), Philanthropy in Education: Diverse Perspectives and Global Trends. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Cooper, A., Rodway, J., & Read, R. (2018). Knowledge mobilization practices of educational researchers across Canada. Canadian Journal of Higher Education, 48(1), 1–21.
Bickmore, K., Hayhoe, R., Manion, C., Mundy, K., & Read, R. (Eds.). (2017). Comparative and International Education: Issues for Teachers. Canadian Scholars.
Menashy, F., & Read, R. (2016). Knowledge banking in global education policy: A bibliometric analysis of World Bank publications on public-private partnerships. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 24(95). https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.24.2523
Read, R., Fernandez-Hermosilla, M., Anderson, S., & Mundy, K. (2016). Identifying research priorities for school improvement in the developing world. Current Issues in Comparative Education, 18(1), 55–67.