Children and COVID-19 Research Library

This report estimates the effects of Coronavirus (COVID-19) on learning and earnings in Cambodia, analyzes the country’s EdTech readiness and the extent to which EdTech access and use are correlated with learning, and discusses the policy implications of the study findings for enhancing learning and for improving system resilience through EdTech based teaching and learning. More specifically, it first analyzes the state of learning outcomes in Cambodia in the immediate post-COVID period (November 2021) using the government’s national learning assessment (NLA) data for grade six students and estimates the declines in learning outcomes experienced by students in this grade between 2016 and 2021 in Khmer and mathematics. Additionally, using a learning loss simulation model developed at the World Bank, it also estimates losses in learning adjusted years of schooling (LAYS) and future earnings of students resulting from pandemic. Second, it analyzes the relationship between the EdTech based distance learning measures implemented at the school level and learning outcomes, as well as the extent to which the country is prepared to systematically integrate and expand the use of EdTech in the education system. And third, it provides recommendations for enhancing learning recovery and learning outcomes, and for addressing gaps in policy provision and implementation to support the scaling up of EdTech for the purpose of improving system resilience.

It is estimated that 244 million children and youth between the ages of 6 and 18 worldwide were out of school in 2021. The results are based on a new, improved way of measuring, which combines administrative and survey data, following a similar approach to the one applied before in the estimation of flagship health indicators. The estimates confirm that, even before the onset of COVID-19, progress in reducing the out-of-school population had slowed down. At the same time, the results suggest a different distribution of this population by age group, while they fill gaps in the case of about 50 countries whose administrative data have been incomplete or lacking.

How do countries in sub-Saharan Africa use data from large-scale learning assessments in different phases of the educational planning cycle? What facilitates and impedes the use of the data? How can governments and development partners sustain and improve the use of learning data? The new IIEP-UNESCO publication compares data from The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Namibia, Senegal, and Zambia to answer these questions. It explores the complex dynamics of the use of learning data, examining among other factors, the interactions among the different actors.

This report provides an analysis of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on accelerated and short-term alternative education programs. The study focuses on alternative and accelerated education programs targeting out-of-school children which were in place pre-COVID and analyzes the impact of COVID-19 on such programs.This study contributes to the AEWG’s learning agenda as well as helping to strengthen learning recovery by focusing on the impact of COVID-19 on accelerated and alternative education programs. The research is intended for policymakers and education partners working in the area of accelerated and alternative education. It provides accessible summaries of best practice and aims to support efforts to strengthen program resilience in the wake of COVID-19.

This joint study by the Research, Assessment and Monitoring (RAM) Division and the School–Based Programme (SBP) Service aimed to understand how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted school–aged children and youth through a global web survey conducted across seven countries Cambodia, Colombia, Ghana, Haiti, Iraq, Kenya and Zimbabwe from May to July 2021.

Following the commitment to ensure ‘inclusive and equitable quality education’ and promote ‘lifelong learning for all’ made in 2015 in Goal 4 of   the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (UNESCO, 2016), the Asia-Pacific region made significant progress in terms of   both access to, and the quality of, education. However, as the mid-point to the 2030 deadline approaches, millions of   learners have failed to learn what they need to reach their fullest potential, producing a ‘learning crisis’ of   serious proportions. This crisis has only become more severe as a result of   COVID-19,increasing pre-existing inequalities, hindering the achievement of   equitable and inclusive education and stalling global progress towards meeting the SDG promise to ‘leave no one behind’. This learning crisis, however, does not affect all learners equally. The most vulnerable and excluded learners before the pandemic – girls; those with disabilities and living in poverty, remote areas and refugee/migrant families and those not speaking the language of   formal education – are facing increased vulnerability and exclusion compared to their more ‘included’ peers after the pandemic – in other words, even greater learning loss. Unfortunately, due to a range of   barriers, there is currently an insufficient number of   national and local policies, strategies and programmes to mitigate this loss.

This background paper outlines the scale and urgency of   financing education for SDG4 in the post-COVID Asia-Pacific  region.  The  paper  focuses  primarily  on  the  public  financing  of    education  and  it  directly addresses three main questions: (i)  What are the key issues and challenges for education finance in the Asia-Pacific?   Situating   public   education financing   within   the   broader  contexts  of     human   capital development   and  social  sector  spending;  (ii)  What  has  been  the  impact  of    COVID-19  on  education finance? From the immediate economic and education system impacts to the longer-term effects linked to  significant  and  inequitable  learning  loss;  and  finally  (iii)  What  are the  priority  areas  for  action?  The paper  proposes  five  main  recommendations  to  guide  post-COVID  recovery  and  the  financing  of    more inclusive, efficient and resilient regional education systems. The paper includes a list of   resources at the end to support the implementation of   the recommendations.

A  new  social  contract  for  education  in  the  Asia-Pacific  region  paves  the  way  for  building fairer and strengthened education systems in the post-COVID-19 era. It will repair inequalities, while transformingthe future, rebuild relationships with each other, with the planet and with technology and support full realization of   all the inter-connected Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (UNESCO, 2022).  In this new social contract, schools must continue to play a vital role in enhancing health, nutrition andthe well-being of   learners, teachers and the community. School Health and Nutrition (SHN) programmesthat  address  the  health,  nutrition  and  well-being  of    learners  and  teachers  are  not  only  essential  for maximizing every child’s life expectancy and potential as a learner; they are cost effective, with benefitsacross multiple sectors and they are a sound economic investment (Oliveira de FPSL et al., 2020).

The UNESCO Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education (UNESCO Bangkok), in partnership with the UNICEF Regional Office for South Asia (ROSA), the UNICEF East Asia and Pacific Regional Office (EAPRO)and the Ministry of   Education of   Thailand, will convene the 2nd Asia-Pacific Regional Education Ministers’ Conference  (APREMC-II)  in  June  2022 to  reflect  on  how  education  systems can  be  strengthened  and transformed to become more equitable, inclusive, responsive, relevant and resilient to better deliver on the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 commitments. This background paper has been commissioned by UNESCO Bangkok and the convening partners to facilitate discussions  on  teacher  education and  professional  development  at    the  primary  and secondary  education levels. The participating Member States will deliberate priorities and plans for teachers in their post-COVID-19 learning  recovery  and  reconstruction  efforts  during  the  conference.  Drawing  on  existing  studies  and reports, the paper focuses on the following issues in the Asia-Pacific region: 1) Overview of   the teaching profession and the impact of   the learning crisis and COVID-19pandemic on teachers; 2) Promising policies and practices to strengthen teachers’ competencies and performance for thepost-COVID-19 learning recovery and reform; 3) Teacher competencies required for learning recovery (including assessment of   learning levels,identification of   learning loss and recuperation), addressing the learning crisis, teaching in digital and hybrid environments, optimizing governance and leadership and enhancing teachers’ well-being; and; 4) Recommendations for preparing and supporting teachers for learning recovery, addressing the learning crisis and for education in the new normal and for the future.

This background paper was prepared to inform the thematic panel discussion on Learning Recovery and Addressing  the  Learning  Crisis  at  the  2nd  Asia-Pacific  Regional  Education  Ministerial  Conference  (APREMC-II) in June 2022. The  purpose  of  this  paper  is  to  provide key  recommendations  for  the  provision  and  delivery  of  school  education2  to  facilitate  post-COVID-19  learning  recovery  in  the  immediate  and  short-term.  The  recommendations  focus  on  how  education  systems  could  provide  safe  schools  and  deliver  a  more  equitable, inclusive and relevant education for all learners.

This study aimed to collect information on national or government-led distance learning programmes that were established in response to the educational disruption caused by COVID-19. The key objective is to enable reflection on these policy responses and their effectiveness in minimizing the disruption and learning loss, and maintaining continuity, quality, inclusiveness and equity. This case study is on the Republic of Korea. It is based on information and relevant documents supplied by the Korean Government for scrutiny, and reflects a centralized model where the execution of policy is devolved to 17 metropolitan and provincial offices of education.Korea was well-prepared for pandemic-related school closures in terms of infrastructure with almost 100 per cent of its population having access to high-speed broadband and an excellent mobile network. Ownership of digital devices stands at 118 per cent, and all teachers have access to devices both at home and in school (Kemp, 2021). Collaboration among teachers was widely encouraged for the production of resources. Several important lessons were learnt, which have resulted in further plans to strengthen online learning.

From its launch in 2020, and against the backdrop of the unprecedented crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Global Education Coalition (GEC) responded to education crises with new and innovative approaches, following its mandate of “acting for [the] recovery, resilience and reimagining” of education. It did so in alignment with core pillars of operation that defined the global response to these historic challenges to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4), which aims to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.”This new global model for cooperation features a methodology that matches needs at the point of education provision with local and global solutions; mobilizes the actors and resources required to develop active responses; coordinates the action to maximize impact and ensure efficiency; and provides remote learning opportunities through a variety of high-, low- and no-tech solutions. Benefits to this model include: speed, efficiency, and the ability to leverage resources normally unavailable; the ability to deliver results and yield impacts; lower investment cost of resources needed compared to traditional education development programming.

This paper presents updated simulation results of the potential effects of COVID-19-related school closures on learning outcomes globally. The simulation, which updates and extends prior work by Azevedo, Hasan et al. (2021) and Azevedo (2020), examines potential learning losses as the pandemic moves into the third year. Beyond reflecting the longer duration of the crisis, the paper extends prior work by using country-specific observed school closure information, accounts for the partial reopening of some education systems, updates the baseline Learning Poverty estimates to reflect its best estimate to date just before the pandemic (circa 2019), and uses updated June 2021 macroeconomic projections to reflect the economic magnitude of the crisis. The analysis finds that the overall learning levels are likely to fall substantially around the world. Under an “intermediate” scenario, school closures could potentially increase the share of children in Learning Poverty in low- and middle-income countries by 13 percentage points, to 70 percent. Globally, learning adjusted years of schooling could fall by 1.1 years, and the share of youth below minimum proficiency on the Programme for International Student Assessment could rise by 12.3 percentage points. Furthermore, school shutdowns could generate lifetime earning losses of $21 trillion. These results imply that decisive action is needed to recover and accelerate learning.

How can we harness the power of mobile technologies to track learning in emergencies? Identifying ways to improve assessments in emergencies is incredibly important as there remains large gaps in understanding how children are learning in crisis settings. This report aims to provide practitioners with practical guidance and resources on using mobile technology to conduct learning assessments in emergency settings. It is the second of a two-part series on uses of mobile phones for education in emergency programmes and draws from a review of the existing literature as well as feedback from education in emergencies practitioners.

In 2021, an estimated 37 million children were forcibly displaced across the globe. Ensuring these children continue their education in times of crisis is a significant challenge. One tool that can help children stay in education is basic mobile phones. Basic mobile phones can provide learning through multiple channels, such as text messages, voice calls, nudges and lessons through radio broadcasts. This report outlines, in detail, how mobile phones can be applied as a learning tool in emergency settings. It also provides practical case studies and references for how mobile phones have been used to teach students, support parents and train teachers.