BRAD OLSEN
Senior fellow, Brookings Institution, Washington DC
Professor of education emeritus, University of California - Santa Cruz
Email: Bolsen@brookings.edu
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Read Olsen's recent (2026) Brookings commentary: Will AI in education succeed?
"Many people are currently either for or against generative artificial intelligence (AI) in education—a stark binary that misses the complexity and inevitability of the current technological revolution. The success or failure of using technology for education (EdTech) is only partly about the technology itself. What matters more are the conditions underlying EdTech. EdTech is a tool, not a standalone solution, and without a proper support system in place, it will not succeed."
Public lecture (April, 2025): Scaling Promising Education Initiatives Locally & Around the World
Had the pleasure of visiting Brookings Mountain West/University of Las Vegas, Nevada, recently. Amid a busy week of discussions about education policy, scaling, and the teaching profession, I had the opportunity to give a talk, drawing from the GPE-KIX, Brookings-ROSIE research.
Check out the talk and the great Q&A here.Read (December, 2025) research report on Unlocking the potential of middle-tier education governance for scaling impact in low- and middle-income countries. Olsen B. et al (2025). Washington DC: Brookings Institution.
Most recent book: Teaching for Success (2016, 2nd ed.)
Olsen's book, Teaching for Success: Developing your Teacher Identity in Today's Classroom, 2nd edition (2016, Routledge Publishers) provides a professional learning experience for prospective, new, and experienced educators on how to recognize, adjust, and maximize the many ways your personal self and professional self become integrated in your teaching identity.
FreshEd podcast episode (2026) with Brad Olsen and Molly Wyss on how governments choose EdTech innovations in South and Southeast Asia.
Will Brehm: "Today we explore the adoption and scaling of education technology across South and Southeast Asia. My guests are Molly Wyss and Brad Olsen..." Find the episode hereAnd click here for the accompanying research report: From access to impact: Government decisionmaking and scaling of EdTech in South and Southeast Asia
Will Brehm: "Today we explore the adoption and scaling of education technology across South and Southeast Asia. My guests are Molly Wyss and Brad Olsen..." Find the episode hereAnd click here for the accompanying research report: From access to impact: Government decisionmaking and scaling of EdTech in South and Southeast Asia
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