Learning at a Distance
Children’s remote learning experiences in Italy during the COVID-19 pandemic
Publication series:
Innocenti Research Report
Download the report
(PDF, 1.65 MB)(PDF, 1.69 MB)
Related Project(s):
Abstract
Italy was the first country in Europe to implement a nationwide lockdown. Children and their families lived in nearly complete isolation for almost two months. Students missed 65 days of school compared to an average of 27 missed days among high-income countries worldwide. This prolonged break is of concern, as even short breaks in schooling can cause significant loss of learning for children and lead to educational inequalities over time. At least 3 million Italian students may not have been reached by remote learning due to a lack of internet connectivity or devices at home.
This report explores children’s and parents’ experiences of remote learning during the lockdown in Italy, drawing on data collected from 11 European countries (and coordinated by the European Commission’s Joint Research Center). It explores how children's access and use of digital technologies changed during the pandemic; highlights how existing inequalities might undermine remote learning opportunities, even among those with internet access; and provides insights on how to support children’s remote learning in the future.
La didattica a distanza durante l’emergenza COVID-19: l’esperienza italiana
L'Italia e’ stata il primo paese in Europa ad aver applicato la misura del lockdown su tutto il territorio. I bambini e le loro famiglie hanno vissuto in quasi completo isolamento per circa due mesi. Gli studenti hanno perduto 65 giorni di scuola rispetto ad una media di 27 negli altri paesi ad alto reddito del mondo. Questa interruzione prolungata rappresenta motivo di preoccupazione, in quanto persino interruzioni piu’ brevi nella didattica possono causare significative perdite nel livello di istruzione dei ragazzi e portare col tempo a diseguaglianze educative. Almeno 3 milioni di studenti in Italia non sono stati coinvolti nella didattica a distanza a causa d una mancanza di connessione ad internet o di dispositivi adeguati a casa.
Questo rapporto analizza l’esperienza della didattica a distanza di ragazzi e genitori in Italia durante il lockdown, sulla base dei dati raccolti in 11 paesi europei (e coordinati dal Centro comune di ricerca della Commissione Europea). Studia il cambiamento nell’accesso e nell’uso delle tecnologie digitali dei bambini e ragazzi durante la pandemia; mette in evidenza come le diseguaglianze esistenti possano diminuire le opportunità offerte dalla didattica a distanza, anche tra coloro che hanno accesso ad internet; e fornisce approfondimenti su come sostenere la didattica a distanza di bambini e ragazzi in futuro.
Related Topics
Tags
More in this series: Innocenti Research Report
Publication
Data Must Speak: Unpacking Factors Influencing School Performance
To address the challenges facing its education system, Côte d’Ivoire needs to go beyond a traditional sector analysis and analyse existing data in greater depth to find innovative solutions. To do so, Côte d’Ivoire has requested UNICEF’s support, as part of the global Data Must Speak initiative, to identify positive deviant practices and behaviours.
What resources and contextual factors are associated with good school performances in Côte d’Ivoire? By merging and analyzing existing administrative datasets in Côte d’Ivoire, this report helps to identify positive deviant schools – those that outperform other schools despite sharing similar contexts and resources.
Data Must Speak – a global initiative implemented since 2014 – aims to address the evidence gaps to mitigate the learning crisis using existing data. The DMS Positive Deviance research is co-created and co-implemented with Ministries of Education and key partners. DMS research relies on mixed methods and innovative approaches (i.e., positive deviance approach, behavioural sciences, implementation research and scaling science) to generate knowledge and practical lessons about ‘what works’, ‘why’ and ‘how’ to scale grassroots solutions for national policymakers and the broader international community of education stakeholders.
DMS research is currently implemented in 14 countries: Brazil, Burkina Faso, Chad, Cote d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Madagascar, Mali, Nepal, Niger, the United Republic of Tanzania, Togo and Zambia.
Publication
As they move: Child and Youth Experiences of Migration, Displacement and Return in Afghanistan
The experience children and young people who migrated from their homes in Afghanistan – especially those who have been forced to return – can be described as a spiral of harm and neglect. For many, poverty and a desire to help their families drives them from their homes. Far too often, the journey exposes them to harm and economic exploitation. Many are forced to return, where re-entry into Afghanistan communities brings discontentment.
These are among the findings of As They Move: Child and Youth Experiences of Migration, Displacement and Return in Afghanistan. The evidence-based research report is uses surveys and interviews of more than 1,500 children and young people in Afghanistan. The study was conducted by UNICEF Afghanistan Country Office, in partnership with UNICEF Innocenti – Global Office of Research and Foresight with the support of UNICEF Netherland.
Publication
Data Must Speak: Unpacking Factors Influencing School Performance in Madagascar
Improving access to quality education for all school-age children is one of the priorities of the Government of Madagascar. The 2018-2022 Education Sector Plan sets ambitious goals in this direction, but significant challenges remain to improve learning and retention.
Publication
Data Must Speak: What can we learn about the practices and behaviours of highly effective schools in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic?
While the Lao People’s Democratic Republic has made steady progress in expanding access to quality education, many children still leave primary school with difficulties in reading and writing for their age. Despite this, there are ‘positive deviant’ schools that outperform other schools located in similar contexts and with an equivalent level of resources.