The global health pandemic has shined a harsh light on the vulnerabilities and challenges
humanity faces. It has provided a clear picture of existing inequalities—and a clearer picture
of what steps forward we need to take, chief among them addressing the education of more
than 1.5 billion students whose learning has been hampered due to school closures.
School closures have clear negative impacts on child health, education and development, family income, and the overall economy.
The coronavirus pandemic is reshaping education
- The coronavirus pandemic has changed how millions around the globe are educated.
- New education solutions could bring much-needed innovation.
- Given the digital divide, new shifts in education approaches could widen equality gaps.
The decision to reopen schools should include consideration of the following benefits:
- Allowing students to complete their studies and continue to the next level
- Essential services, access to nutrition, child welfare, such as preventing violence against children
- Social and psychological well-being
- Access to reliable information on how to keep themselves and others safe
- Reducing the risk of non-return to school
- A benefit to society, such as allowing parents to work
The digital divide could widen.
Most schools in affected areas are finding stop-gap solutions to continue teaching, but the quality of learning is heavily dependent on the level and quality of digital access. After all, only around 60% of the globe’s population is online. While virtual classes on personal tablets may be the norm in Hong Kong, many students in less developed economies rely on lessons and assignments sent via WhatsApp or email.
Moreover, the less affluent and digitally savvy individual families are, the further their students are left behind. When classes transition online, these children lose out because of the cost of digital devices and data plans.
Unless access costs decrease and quality of access increase in all countries, the gap in education quality, and thus socioeconomic equality will be further exacerbated. The digital divide could become more extreme if educational access is dictated by access to the latest technologies.
Extra student support is needed.
Support will be needed for our weakest learners and most vulnerable children to settle down and catch up.
After weeks or months at home, students will have lost their teachers’ face-to-face support. Many young people will have experienced poverty and stress. They may have seen family members become ill, or worse. They might have had little chance to play outside.
Prioritizing well-being
Well-being will no longer be dismissed as a fad. Before this crisis, there were murmurings that student well-being was a distraction from proper learning basics. No more.
It’s now clear that it’s hard for many young people to stay well and focused without their teachers' care and support. Being well, we’ll appreciate, isn’t an alternative to being successful. It’s an essential precondition for achievement, especially among our most vulnerable children.
More gratitude for teachers
Teacher Angie Stringer, with a ‘Stringer, loves her students,’ at a car parade in March 2020 in Suwanee, Ga. Teachers are among the unsung heroes of COVID-19: preparing resources and guidance for remote learning, dropping off school supplies in plastic boxes, connecting with kids and their parents to make sure they’re OK — even while many have kids of their own at home.
Vocational skills and training
Trades before social distancing: Instructor Jeff Mitchell left, guides students with the construction trades program at Berrien Springs High School, in Benton Harbor, Mich., in November 2019.
The dignity and importance of vocational education, skills, and training will be reflected in what we teach.
The pandemic has exposed the vulnerability of the global economy to collapses in essential supplies. So Canada will look to bring some of its essential manufacturing back home
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More and less tech for education
During COVID-19, there’s been a mad scramble to find technology to support learning at home. But in our ARC Education project network, the deputy minister of education in one province informed us that upwards of 30 percent of students don’t have internet access or digital devices at home.
As money gets tighter, families on the edge of poverty may also have to choose between maintaining internet services or putting food on the table.
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