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Svetlana Poleschuk

Education Researcher (Digital Learning)

Svetlana joined UNICEF Office of Research – Innocenti in October 2021. She is working to support the Education Team with qualitative research on digital learning. Svetlana holds a Ph.D. in Political and Social Sciences from the European University Institute (Italy), and a M.A. in Sociology and Social Anthropology from the Central European University (Hungary). Prior to joining Innocenti, Svetlana worked as a lecturer at the European Humanities University (Lithuania). Svetlana’s interests encompass education, career development, high-skilled migration, post-Soviet transformations, social class and inequality.

Publications

Digital Learning Landscape: A policy analysis in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, and North Macedonia
Publication

Digital Learning Landscape: A policy analysis in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, and North Macedonia

This policy analysis examines regional and national policy and normative documents, and existing literature related to digital learning in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo1, Montenegro, and North Macedonia. The report captures the state of the education recovery after the COVID-19 school closures and explores trends, promising practices, challenges, and gaps in digital learning systems and policies. The purpose of the report is to support government partners in the development of national digital learning policies, plans and roadmaps. The preliminary findings from this research have been instrumental in shaping the UNICEF Europe and Central Asia Digital Learning Strategy for 2022-2025.
Nuovi orizzonti per l’apprendimento: L’uso della tecnologia educativa per supportare l’apprendimento della lingua e l’inclusione sociale dei bambini svantaggiati in Italia
Publication

Nuovi orizzonti per l’apprendimento: L’uso della tecnologia educativa per supportare l’apprendimento della lingua e l’inclusione sociale dei bambini svantaggiati in Italia

Tra il 2014 e il 2020 più di 700.000 richiedenti asilo e migranti sono arrivati in Italia. Fornire competenze di lingua italiana a bambini con un background migratorio, come i bambini rifugiati e migranti, è riconosciuta come una priorità nazionale, in quanto è essenziale per garantire a questi bambini il diritto all’istruzione e per facilitare la loro inclusione e partecipazione nella società italiana. Per rispondere a questa esigenza, la piattaforma per l’apprendimento digitale Akelius è stata introdotta a Bologna e Roma per l'apprendimento dell'italiano e dell'inglese nell'anno scolastico 2021/22. Questo rapporto presenta i risultati del primo anno di implementazione della piattaforma digitale Akelius in Italia. I risultati mostrano che l'uso della piattaforma digitale ha accelerato l'apprendimento autonomo, ha aumentato la motivazione degli studenti ed è stata particolarmente vantaggiosa per i bambini appena arrivati e per i bambini con disabilità. L’obiettivo del rapporto è costruire evidenze sull’efficacia della piattaforma digitale, oltre alle relative sfide e buone pratiche, in diversi contesti scolastici, in modo da informare i piani di scalabilità per l’apprendimento digitale in Italia e non solo.
Unlocking Learning: The use of education technology to support disadvantaged children’s language learning and social inclusion in Italy
Publication

Unlocking Learning: The use of education technology to support disadvantaged children’s language learning and social inclusion in Italy

In Italy, more than 700,000 asylum seekers and migrants arrived in the country between 2014-2020. Newly arrived children including refugees and migrants need to quickly acquire Italian skills to succeed in school and society. To help address this urgent need, the Akelius digital learning application was introduced in Bologna and Rome for Italian and English language learning in the 2021/22 school year. This research presents findings from the first year of implementation of the Akelius digital learning application in Italy. Results show the use of the application supported self-paced learning, boosted students’ motivation and confidence and the use of the tool was especially beneficial for newly arrived children and children with disabilities. The report also explores challenges and good practices to inform improvements in the use of digital learning in classrooms.
Unlocking Learning: The use of digital learning to support the education and inclusion of refugees and migrant children in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Publication

Unlocking Learning: The use of digital learning to support the education and inclusion of refugees and migrant children in Bosnia and Herzegovina

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the number of refugees and migrants arriving in the country has increased from just a few dozen arrivals annually prior to 2017 to 95,000 between 2018 and 2022. This increase has put incredible strain on the country’s education systems.

Articles

A group of children sit at a table that has different pictures and art materials on it.
Article

Through the Eyes of Children

As part of UNICEF’s research on the Akelius language learning platform across primary schools in Italy, our researchers conducted visual storytelling workshops that captured children's stories through collage making. To understand students’ perspectives on childhood, school, and learning, we held workshops with children enrolled in Italian classes across 2 different schools. The participating students were between the ages of 7-10, and included migrants, refugees, and Italian-born children with disabilities.