COVID-19 Response

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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Event
  • 01.04.2021

First KIX LAC International Conference - Teaching professional development in times of COVID: opportunities from innovation

Watch the replay here.

One of the principles of KIX LAC is responding to countries' needs and demands. On this ground, teacher professional development has been one of the topics that representatives have defined as a priority in the agenda for the next years. Therefore, KIX LAC has been organizing several activities that approach the topic from different perspectives, including a conversation led by one of the representatives aimed at analyzing the challenges from a practitioner's point of view, a webinar led by academicians and a workshop for teachers´unions leaders. It is also preparing a policy brief which digs into the topic in the region and a systematic review that will collect lessons and good practices in the field that are relevant for KIX LAC countries. This International Conference has the goal of discussing findings and mobilizing evidence with a broader public.

Format

The event will feature a presentation of high-level authorities and experts. The presentations will be followed by discussion with key actors from the region as Dr. Michael Fullan, the Global Leadership Director, New Pedagogies for Deep Learning.

Speakers

  • Dr. Michael Fullan, the Global Leadership Director, New Pedagogies for Deep Learning.
  • Ministers of Education of Latin America and the Caribbean.
  • Representatives from International Organizations implementing initiatives on teacher professional development.

The event will be broadcast in English, Spanish and French.

The agenda will be available shortly.

For more information about KIX LAC click here

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Event
  • 23.03.2021

Teacher unions and (education) crises: Effectiveness of social dialogue in Francophone Africa

Join us for a panel discussion on Teacher unions and (education) crises: Effectiveness of social dialogue in Francophone Africa at CIES Conference 2021. The discussion will be held in Zoom Room 128.

Please register here. The event is open to CIES members only. 

The discussion will be held in English and French with live transcript and automatic closed caption in English. 

*

This panel will explore various forms of social dialogue and the involvement of teachers’ unions in the development of education policies in Francophone African countries. By drawing lessons from different cases, this panel aims to problematise social dialogue while identifying issues on teacher participation in different countries and its relation to the different political economies. Additionally, the variety of cases may bring a sub-regional perspective of the context and aims to invite researches to deepen into this little-explored topic.

The different viewpoints and experiences include three complementary presentations. First, insights from an on-going research carried out by the International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030 that will shed light on social dialogue in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Second, the FORSYNC project highlights practical approaches to foster unions technical capacities in six countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Third, a critical empirical case study from the Democratic Republic of Congo brings nuance to both lessons learned and innovative approaches by discussing the reality in a challenging policy context.

 

General presentation of the Panel

Rarely have education systems been subjected to such upheavals. The COVID pandemic has shutdown schools for many months, exams have been postponed, and many children, especially girls, will not be returning to school. The pandemic will most likely have long-term negative consequences for educational achievements and children’s well-being.

Teachers have acted as true leaders (UNESCO, 2020). From one moment to another, their work routine was interrupted, yet they were tasked with upholding education systems . and ensuring learning continuity. Where technologically possible, this happened in the form of distance education. Yet many teachers were also involved by helping to contribute to self-learning materials, radio programs and returning to school under very difficult circumstances to finalize the school year.

Under these conditions, dialogue between education authorities, teachers and parents is crucial in developing a consensual response in health and education to the pandemic and its impact.

Unions are the representative bodies for teachers that ought to advocate and fight for teachers’ rights. However, they are not always included in policy-making processes. The COVID pandemic offers a possibility to analyze to what extent teachers' unions are involved in the development of education policies in this particular crisis context? This panel will explore this question, focusing on various forms of social dialogue in Francophone African countries.

Education sector monitoring processes have been formalized since the inception of the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) in 2002, but the degrees of effective involvement of teachers' unions vary (Global Partnership for Education, 2017). For example, teacher unions are usually not sufficiently involved in joint sector reviews. The Civil Society Fund for Education (CSEF) facilitated an increased and more regular participation of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), in sectoral dialogue mechanisms (Universalia, 2018).

The UNESCO and Education International project “Improving support for teachers and their participation in local education groups” has enabled teacher unions to participate more effectively in social dialogue with some national governments. More recently, civil society actors, trade unionists and experts are also organized into a network to develop a teachers’ union training project (FORSNYC).

What is social dialogue?

As defined by the International Labor Organization (ILO), social dialogue includes all types of negotiation, consultation or simply exchange of information between representatives of governments, employers and workers, in various ways, on questions relating to policy, economic and social issues of common interest. In particular, the ILO (2020) stipulates that social dialogue aims to encourage the formulation of a consensus between the main actors of the world of work as well as their democratic participation. In education, effective social dialogue can meaningfully improve the education policy process and increase the effectiveness of education and the quality of education.

Magagi (2020) makes several points that are relevant for a discussion of teacher unions’ role in policy-making in Francophone Africa during and after COVID. First, unions have been strongly linked to the political/decolonization struggle. Second, in the wake of democratization in the 1990s, unions have been created and functioned in the shadow of political parties. Third, as a result, the number of unions has proliferated. In taking the example of Niger, Magagi argues that unions in Niger would need to distance themselves clearly from political parties to regain independence.

Indeed, many unions were created only to serve as a bridgehead for political parties to the labor movement. Personal interests and the disproportionate political ambitions of union leaders in political parties have done a lot of damage and created several divisions in the ranks of African trade unions. Offering one possible solution, several national trade union centers have succeeded in redefining the objective boundaries between trade unionism and political parties (BIT 2010).

Social dialogue during the pandemic 

Regarding the management of the pandemic, social dialogue has taken place, but many of the unions have expressed dissatisfaction with its outcomes. At the time of writing this article, little to no information has been collected in relation to this topic, except Education International undertook a survey of unions in 34 African countries. Indeed, despite 71% of unions having been consulted according to the COVID-19 and education survey (Education International Research, 2020), only 9% say their views have been fully taken into account. For 51%, their opinion was taken into account a few times while 11% said their opinion was ignored. A significant proportion of unions (28%) claim that they have not been consulted at all.

In addition to the dialogue with governments around the management of the pandemic, almost all unions (92%) have sensitized members around the pandemic. A significant portion (38%) invested in the development of tools for their members.

It is clear that in general (62% of cases) no measures have been taken to support teachers according to the Education International survey. Only 13% of governments have recruited more qualified teachers, posing the problem of managing additional classrooms, following the reduction in class sizes for the application of barrier measures. Note that 28% of governments have invested in the training and professional development of their teachers.

Given this background, this panel brings together different viewpoints and experiences to discuss policy and practice with regard to social dialogue between teacher unions, governments and other stakeholders in Francophone African countries.

Three complementary presentations come together to achieve this objective.

  • First, insights from past and on-going research carried out by UNESCO and by the International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030 will shed light on a variety of experiences and lessons learned.
  • Second, the aforementioned FORSYNC project highlights practical approaches to foster unions technical capacities.
  • Third, a critical empirical case study from the Democratic Republic of Congo brings nuance to both lessons learned and innovative approaches by discussing the reality in a challenging policy context.


The panel will be chaired by Education International, and the international association of teachers’ union.

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Blog
  • 22.02.2021

A reflection on teachers’ experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic: Where do we go from here?

This blog has been written by Lisa E. Kim & Kathryn Asbury from the Department of Education, University of York, UK.

As schools around the world continue to adapt to and move on from COVID-19 we consider how teachers can best be supported.

The content of this blog is based a series of interviews we conducted with 24 primary and secondary teachers in England as part of a longitudinal research project “Being a teacher in England during the COVID-19 pandemic” funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. 

“Like a rug had been pulled from under you”.

Several of the teachers in our study used this analogy to describe their experience of an initial shock, and of being thrown into disarray, when the COVID-19 pandemic suddenly and unforeseeably affected their lives as teachers.

In England, teachers have worked through partial school closures in March 2020, re-openings for some year groups by mid-June 2020, full re-openings in September 2020, partial closures in January 2021, and are now preparing for possible phased re-openings in March 2021. We share some reflections on the stories teachers have told us about their experiences of being a teacher during the pandemic.

 

Teachers are overloaded and exhausted

Working under increased demands and with limited resources during the pandemic has taken a toll on the teachers in our study. One secondary teacher said to us in November:

“I feel like I'm on overload. My brain feels like a browser with 100 tabs open. There is so much to think about all the time.”

Part of this overload seemed to be associated with not knowing what lies ahead and how to prepare students for an uncertain future, including the handling of high-stakes national assessments.

Moreover, many teachers reported being physically and emotionally exhausted, which are well-known symptoms of burnout. Burnout is a consequence of prolonged experience of stress, and can have negative consequences for teachers, students, and educational systems, such as greater intention to quit the profession and poorer student outcomes. It is noteworthy that school leaders have reported more anxiety during 2020 than class teachers, which raises particular concern for this group and for the potential effects on leadership it could have.

 

Teachers are concerned for their pupils

The teaching profession is inherently a social one, involving interacting with pupils and their families. However, the pandemic has caused communication barriers, especially with some pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds who may have limited access to technology and broadband. As one primary teacher described:

“...some of those families, they're just incredibly hard to get hold of”.

Teachers told us that this lack of access to some pupils, especially those known to be vulnerable in some way, caused them significant concern for their pupils’ learning and wellbeing.

That said, teachers have shown themselves to be resilient and adaptive. To ensure pupils’ immediate learning and nutrition needs are addressed, some teachers reported delivering work packs, laptops, and food packs, where financially and logistically possible. They also told us that they called pupils and their families regularly, and created new communication channels through which they were most likely to engage with families, such as Facebook. As one primary school leader said: “As teachers we want to connect and we want to be there for the kids that we teach. And we want to keep those relationships going even when that's really tricky.”

 

Policy and practice recommendations

A recurring theme that emerged from the interviews was a need for clear direction on how to move forward. In light of all that has occurred in the last year, policy-makers, schools, and teachers are called to work together to collaboratively pave a path forward from the COVID-19 experience. These recommendations are in line with the Teacher Task Force’s Call for Action to support teachers.

 

  1. Government and the teaching community will both benefit from collaborative dialogues

    With a pressing need to respond rapidly to the ever-changing pandemic, governments have had to make difficult decisions quickly. However, participants told us that teachers have often felt excluded from contributing to decisions that directly affect them, making them feel less valued as a profession than before the pandemic. Creating channels whereby representative members of the teaching community can contribute to decision-making processes will be beneficial both for policy-makers — ensuring plans are practically feasible on the ground — and teachers — ensuring that their views are considered in decisions that affect them.
     
  2. Schools and parents will benefit from working together

    The importance of working together with families has been particularly highlighted in this pandemic. As one secondary school leader put it: “It's got to be... a partnership where you're in communication with parents on a regular basis. The parents know what you're trying to do, [but] they know their kids better than you do, and they can support you in trying to get the best for the children”. In the early months of the pandemic, we saw evidence of increased effort and success in establishing and strengthening school–parent relationships, and a feeling among teachers that parents appreciated them, even when they felt that the wider society didn’t. Schools and parents can benefit from sustaining this relationship to achieve the common goal of healthy development and wellbeing for their pupils and children.
     
  3. Teachers must support one another

    Social support is an important job resource that can buffer the effects of job demands, and providing this for one another can be beneficial. Teachers told us that it has been difficult not being able to meet each other, such as through corridor conversations and lunchtime breaks in staff rooms. In light of this, some teachers seemed to be finding alternative ways to connect with colleagues, such as via departmental virtual platforms and social media channels. Finding and using adaptive ways to receive social support, while still protecting work–life boundaries, is likely to help teachers manage stress.
     
  4. The general public needs to recognise teachers’ contributions

    In England, teachers are classed as critical workers and have worked throughout the pandemic. However, a common media portrayal of teachers has been that they are lazy and not working. Images and beliefs such as this must be corrected, as there is evidence that they can negatively affect teachers’ quality of instruction. As a society we must fully appreciate teachers, as they continue work to support the learning and welfare of pupils in their country during the pandemic.

    Teachers are foundational to our educational systems and it is vital that we listen to their experiences and support them as we move forward.

 

Here are some extra resources for policy-makers and school leaders supporting hybrid learning and the return to school:

NB.: The content of this blog does not reflect the views of the University of York or the ESRC but only that of the authors. Most project findings are currently published as preprints and may therefore change during the peer review process.

The authors thank the participants who generously shared their stories with them and the research assistants (Suzanna Dundas, Diana Fields, Rowena Leary, and Laura Oxley) for their contributions to the project.

Photo credit: Annie Spratt/Unsplash

 

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    Event
    • 05.02.2021

    Teachers on the frontline: lessons from COVID-19

    As the world continues to wrestle with COVID-19, teachers remain on the frontline to respond to education’s biggest disruption in history. From the start of the pandemic, teachers mobilized for their students to allow learning to go on. Yet, little is still known on how the pandemic has affected the education workforce and what will be long-term implications. Will the pandemic exacerbate pre-existing challenges facing the teaching profession? What needs to change for the education workforce to be better prepared and supported during crisis?

    Join us on 16 February 2021, 10am-12pm UTC for the next IIEP-UNESCO Strategic Debate with:  

    • David Edwards, Head of Education International,
    • Quenita Walrond-Lewis, Head of the Directorate of the National Centre for Education Resource Development, Guyana,
    • Swarnali Das, District lead from Dilshad Garden District Institute for Education and Training, New Delhi, India,
    • Moti Ram Phuyal, Senior Vice-President, Institutional School Teachers Union, Nepal.

    Barbara Tournier, Programme Specialist, IIEP-UNESCO, will moderate the debate. It will be accessible via streaming. 

    REGISTER TO ATTEND THE MEETING

    This event will be held in English with simultaneous interpretation into French. Follow the debate on Twitter with #StrategicDebate and @IIEP_UNESCO. 

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