Ongoing policy discussions concerning the post-2015 future of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals are providing the basis for renewed efforts to understand and improve learning and literacy in a global perspective. Aiming for a pathway towards better scientific understanding, this paper asks a central question: What research would be necessary over the coming decade to realise the goal of improving learning and literacy in poor communities in low-income countries? The joint topics of learning and literacy development, and the factors which influence outcomes, are complex and intertwined--which is one reason why universal literacy has still not been achieved in spite of major investments over the years. Research will play a crucial part in addressing this challenge, and this paper proposes and reviews ten major areas of learning and literacy research. Designing and responding to an appropriate set of research priorities will be one of the crucial ways of addressing the question of how to improve learning, literacy and educational quality in the post-2015 period.