COVID-19 Response

Event
  • 14.06.2021

Teaching in Times of Crisis: Learning from Educators Around the World - Webinar Series for K 12 Educators

Join us in this webinar series to learn how educators around the world have responded to the Coronavirus pandemic and other crises. Hear how teachers in varying settings have navigated extreme turbulence and uncertainty while finding creative ways to teach and support their students. Participants will have opportunities to reflect upon their experiences and contribute to this global discussion.

Please register for each session individually:

  1. Ongoing Uncertainties: Reflections on a Turbulent Year – Thursday 1 July, 10am-12pm ET – For more information and to register click here.
  2. Equity and Inclusion in the Face of Crisis – Thursday 8 July, 10am-12pm ET – For more information and to register click here.
  3. Government Support for Teachers: What do We Have and What Do We Need? - Thursday 15 July, 10am-12pm ET – For more information and to register click here.
  4. Looking Ahead: The Role of Teachers in Recovery and Preparedness - Thursday 22 July, 7pm-9pm ET – Please register here.
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Event
  • 07.06.2021

Ensuring inclusive teaching and learning for educational recovery: practical ways forward

The webinar will focus on what needs to be done to improve teaching and learning in an inclusive way, and on the contributions of teachers as schools reopen following the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, it will focus on the practice of teaching staff and how it can be supported to find ways of ensuring that marginalized and vulnerable learners are included in schools, and to adapt content, pedagogies and assessment to be truly inclusive.


For this, examples of promising innovations from different regions of the world will be presented by practitioners.


The event will take place through the Zoom platform. For more information and registration, visit the event website: Ensuring inclusive teaching and learning for educational recovery : practical ways forward.

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Event
  • 07.06.2021

Teachers as agents for change for inclusive education - Webinar

Background Information

The GEM Report, NEPCs, EASNIE and the International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030 will convene an interactive webinar on the findings and recommendations from the 2021 Central and Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia Report on inclusion and education.

The Report provides comparative analysis on inclusion and education for all learners regardless of background or ability across 30 education systems. Teachers from across the region are key agents for change when it comes to inclusion in education. In total, 17 education systems across the region have legislation or policies that support the development of learning communities to widen teachers’ professional development opportunities and share experiences and effective practices to strengthen equity and inclusion.

 

Objectives of the event

The event will spotlight the activities of teachers as change makers across the region working to ensure that every child has the right to go to school and learn regardless of who they are and where they live.

The format will include a presentation of the new 2021 regional report as well as smaller group discussions, with a particular focus on the role of teachers as change makers within the classroom, school community and the teaching profession.

  1. Teachers as change makers – will illuminate initiatives to foster an inclusive ethos in schools, including practices to elevate student voices for inclusion with a focus on engaging the most marginalized learners.
  2. Working with parents and school communities - will discuss promising practices to establish partnerships between parents, communities and teaching staff to strengthen inclusion both inside and outside the classroom.
  3. Strengthening inclusive practices within the teaching profession – will share insights into these regional learning communities and connect likeminded professionals to share experiences and effective practices to foster inclusion in education.

Please register here.

Agenda

Agenda

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Event
  • 07.06.2021

Teachers as agents for change for inclusive education - Webinar

Background Information

The GEM Report, NEPCs, EASNIE and the International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030 will convene an interactive webinar on the findings and recommendations from the 2021 Central and Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia Report on inclusion and education.

The Report provides comparative analysis on inclusion and education for all learners regardless of background or ability across 30 education systems. Teachers from across the region are key agents for change when it comes to inclusion in education. In total, 17 education systems across the region have legislation or policies that support the development of learning communities to widen teachers’ professional development opportunities and share experiences and effective practices to strengthen equity and inclusion.

 

Objectives of the event

The event will spotlight the activities of teachers as change makers across the region working to ensure that every child has the right to go to school and learn regardless of who they are and where they live.

The format will include a presentation of the new 2021 regional report as well as smaller group discussions, with a particular focus on the role of teachers as change makers within the classroom, school community and the teaching profession.

  1. Teachers as change makers – will illuminate initiatives to foster an inclusive ethos in schools, including practices to elevate student voices for inclusion with a focus on engaging the most marginalized learners.
  2. Working with parents and school communities - will discuss promising practices to establish partnerships between parents, communities and teaching staff to strengthen inclusion both inside and outside the classroom.
  3. Strengthening inclusive practices within the teaching profession – will share insights into these regional learning communities and connect likeminded professionals to share experiences and effective practices to foster inclusion in education.

Please register here.

Agenda

Agenda

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Event
  • 18.05.2021

The transforming power of e-ducation in Africa

On the occasion of Africa Day, ProFuturo is organising on 25 May the event The transforming power of e-ducation in Africa, a dialogue on the challenges and opportunities of education on the African continent. The meeting will be streamed on ProFuturo’s YouTube channel from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm (Spanish time). You will be able to enjoy the event in both Spanish and English thanks to simultaneous translation. In addition, there will be sign language translation in Spanish.

The meeting is co-organised by ProFuturo, Casa África, UNHCR, Empieza Por Educar, Entreculturas, Save the Children and World Vision, with the support of Planeta Futuro and Mundo Negro. The event will focus on Africa and the progress that has been made in the field of education in recent years. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the learning of millions of African children will also be discussed. 

The representatives of the participating organisations will analyse the challenges and opportunities for education in Africa today. Teacher training, access to education for refugee children, boosting digital education and enrolling girls in school will be among the issues on the table. 

The event will be supported by Planeta Futuro and Mundo Negro, who will reflect on how Africa is reported in Spain and how a comprehensive story, which also includes positive news, can help change our perception of the continent and contribute to its transformation. 

More info: https://profuturo.education/en/news/event-education-profuturo-africa-day-25-may/

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Event
  • 18.05.2021

The transforming power of e-ducation in Africa

On the occasion of Africa Day, ProFuturo is organising on 25 May the event The transforming power of e-ducation in Africa, a dialogue on the challenges and opportunities of education on the African continent. The meeting will be streamed on ProFuturo’s YouTube channel from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm (Spanish time). You will be able to enjoy the event in both Spanish and English thanks to simultaneous translation. In addition, there will be sign language translation in Spanish.

The meeting is co-organised by ProFuturo, Casa África, UNHCR, Empieza Por Educar, Entreculturas, Save the Children and World Vision, with the support of Planeta Futuro and Mundo Negro. The event will focus on Africa and the progress that has been made in the field of education in recent years. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the learning of millions of African children will also be discussed. 

The representatives of the participating organisations will analyse the challenges and opportunities for education in Africa today. Teacher training, access to education for refugee children, boosting digital education and enrolling girls in school will be among the issues on the table. 

The event will be supported by Planeta Futuro and Mundo Negro, who will reflect on how Africa is reported in Spain and how a comprehensive story, which also includes positive news, can help change our perception of the continent and contribute to its transformation. 

More info: https://profuturo.education/en/news/event-education-profuturo-africa-day-25-may/

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Event
  • 18.05.2021

The transforming power of e-ducation in Africa

On the occasion of Africa Day, ProFuturo is organising on 25 May the event The transforming power of e-ducation in Africa, a dialogue on the challenges and opportunities of education on the African continent. The meeting will be streamed on ProFuturo’s YouTube channel from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm (Spanish time). You will be able to enjoy the event in both Spanish and English thanks to simultaneous translation. In addition, there will be sign language translation in Spanish.

The meeting is co-organised by ProFuturo, Casa África, UNHCR, Empieza Por Educar, Entreculturas, Save the Children and World Vision, with the support of Planeta Futuro and Mundo Negro. The event will focus on Africa and the progress that has been made in the field of education in recent years. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the learning of millions of African children will also be discussed. 

The representatives of the participating organisations will analyse the challenges and opportunities for education in Africa today. Teacher training, access to education for refugee children, boosting digital education and enrolling girls in school will be among the issues on the table. 

The event will be supported by Planeta Futuro and Mundo Negro, who will reflect on how Africa is reported in Spain and how a comprehensive story, which also includes positive news, can help change our perception of the continent and contribute to its transformation. 

More info: https://profuturo.education/en/news/event-education-profuturo-africa-day-25-may/

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Blog
  • 07.04.2021

Teaching on the front line

The International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030 has released a new Fact Sheet on how teachers have been affected by COVID-19, which draws on recent survey data. The data points to significant challenges to teachers in most countries in the world, but also sheds light on the resources made available to the teaching profession and the huge divide between the world’s richest and poorest regions.  While many countries are still struggling with full or partial school closures, the experience of the past year shows us that, in most of them, governments will need to introduce effective responses to support teachers and ensure no learners are left behind.

With the rapid closure of schools, different forms of remote/distance education including high-, low- and no-tech solutions became the main vehicle for teachers to deliver or support instruction. The majority of countries reported the inclusion of remote learning in their education responses, but due to the digital divide and lack of household devices and internet, different approaches emerged. In Europe, 92% of countries asked teachers to conduct online learning, whereas teachers were encouraged to support radio- and television-based learning in 91% of countries in Central and Southern Asia and 73% in sub-Saharan Africa.  With the reopening of schools, marking a second significant shift in teaching within months, regional approaches continued to diverge as half of European countries introduced hybrid instruction with teachers juggling between online and offline components, compared to 58% of countries in sub-Saharan Africa that offered fully in-person classes with its own set of challenges.

 

How were teachers supported to cope with new learning modalities?

For most teachers the move to distance teaching resulted in heavier workloads, having to learn to deliver lessons remotely, adapt content, train themselves in new technologies and establish new working routines. To support teachers, 62% of countries globally provided teachers with instructions on distance teaching and learning and 55% provided content adapted for remote teaching such as open educational resources (OERs) and sample lesson plans (55%). While teachers can also play a greater role in the co-creation of online content, just 44% of countries, however, offered specialised training focusing in particular on the use of remote learning platforms and information and communication technology (ICT) tools.

It is also urgent to reduce the digital divide unveiled by school closures. Countries can support teachers by providing them with computers, mobile phones and free Internet. Yet globally, only 35% of countries provided teachers with devices and subsidized Internet access, and this decreased to just 12% in sub-Saharan Africa.  

 

Were teachers’ salaries protected and how were they impacted?

Protecting employment and wages and providing benefits are key to the recognition of the essential role that teachers have played to reduce the impact of COVID-19 on learning. This is critical to mitigate teacher attrition and ensure their engagement for sustaining quality education. School closures resulted in challenges for the payment of salaries in both the public and private sectors, particularly for ‘contract teachers’. Yet whereas the majority of public sector teachers were not impacted during school closures, 10% of countries globally reported not paying or reducing payments to contract teachers, increasing to 20% in sub-Saharan Africa.

 

How have governments ensured teachers’ health, safety and well-being?

The protection of teachers’ and students’ health and safety remains the priority in the return to in-person teaching. Based on national requirements to prevent the spread of COVID-19, countries have responded with a number of different measures such as the introduction of hybrid learning, imposing shift work and adding teachers to reduce class sizes. Hybrid teaching was introduced in 80% of countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, while imposing teaching in shifts occurred in two thirds of countries in Central and Southern Asia. Lastly, the addition of teachers to reduce class size occurred in 14% of countries, globally, ranging from 26% in Europe and Northern America to 8% in Latin America, and none in Oceania. More broadly, about 1 in 4 countries have reported recruiting teachers beyond the normal recruitment cycle.

Governments have also had to ensure proper sanitation in schools, including providing soap, masks and personal protective equipment. Less than two-thirds (63%) of countries around the world reported having enough resources and school infrastructure to ensure proper sanitation in schools and protect teachers and learners. This varied from 89% of countries in Europe and Northern America to fewer than 50% in Central and Southern Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, Oceania and sub-Saharan Africa.

Moreover, a comprehensive strategy for socio-emotional monitoring and support is needed to ensure teacher well-being. Globally, just 40% of countries reported providing professional and psychosocial support for teachers, ranging from two-thirds of countries (67%) in Europe to just 14% in Oceania and 4% in sub-Saharan Africa.

 

What are the policy implications?

As teachers are at the heart of ensuring learning continuity, it is critical that policy-makers and education stakeholders implement measures to mitigate the disruptions to teachers’ work. This includes offering teachers specialized training and support, safeguarding their wages and benefits, and guaranteeing their return to a safe and healthy school environment. The global disparities in support and working conditions available to teachers mean that more targeted interventions are urgently needed to design locally suitable solutions and help level the playing field.

 

In 2020 UNESCO, UNICEF and the World Bank as part of the coordinated global education response to the COVID-19 pandemic, conducted a Survey on National Education Responses to COVID-19 School Closures. The survey included two data collections during 2020: the first on school closures and the transition to remote education and the second that assessed the measures for reopening schools. This data collection was administered by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) and cover government responses to school closures from pre-primary to secondary education.

The objective of this survey was to support regions and countries with data on teacher responses to the COVID-19 crisis to inform further decision-making that fosters the conditions for teaching and learning to continue successfully during further school closures and during the preparation and return to school. It also has implications for general education crisis management and for building more resilient education systems to mitigate learning loss and avoid a generational catastrophe in education.

 

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