What is the initiative and where is it implemented (city or country, for example)?
The following case study focuses on global initiatives implemented to support teachers teaching remotely during COVID-19. UNESCO, UNICEF, World Bank and OECD reported that most countries across all income groups were providing teachers with different modes of support (UNESCO, et al., 2021); nevertheless, significant differences can be observed between low- and high-income countries.
How was the initiative established? How was it implemented?
The most common types of support offered to teachers were instructions on how to deliver online lessons and professional emotional support. Among other modes of support provided were virtual platforms for teachers, WhatsApp groups and social media to build and sustain teacher networks and hotlines with technical support.
Nevertheless, GSCA (Gender and School Closures Analysis) identified no specific initiative to address the needs of female teachers to reduce the gendered impacts of the pandemic. Female teachers often found themselves responsible for household duties and childcare in addition to their increased workload (UNESCO, 2021).
Which stakeholders are involved in the design and/or implementation of the initiative? Which sectors do they represent?
UNESCO’s Global Education Coalition supported numerous teachers through Teachers Flagship and Global Teacher Campus projects. With the support of partners, the Global Education Coalition organized workshops on remote learning solutions with a focus on gender quality and teacher empowerment.
What are the impacts of the initiative in terms of facilitating lifelong learning? Who does it benefit and how?
The study reports limited evidence in efforts to support female teachers. There is a lack of gender-responsible instruction during school closures to address the emerging disparities and inequalities.
The existing infrastructure should be modified to involve cross-sectoral collaboration to reduce gendered impacts of the pandemic and sustain efficient initiatives. Various initiatives discussed in the case study suggest that the support for teachers and learners should bear a holistic nature, be it providing necessary training in online teaching methodology or technical support for conducting classes online. In addition to institutional support, the increased mental load should be considered, ideally providing teachers with counselling and other health and well-being services.
Teachers in Rwanda were trained on how to deliver remote classes. Internet routers were distributed among educational facilities to facilitate online engagement.
In West Africa, the Francophone African regional online learning platform, Imaginécole, supports over 200,000 teachers with over 600 educational resources across ten countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo.
Initiated prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, CapED in Uganda provided trainings to build teachers’ capacities to deliver tech-enhanced learning. The initiative trained teachers in delivering content online, transitioning lessons to digital platforms and assessing learning progress. It also assessed teachers’ ICT skills and training needs. The government also drew on this experience while developing a national strategy to support teachers’ development of ICT skills and uses of technology-enabled learning.
While these programmes to support teachers are considered promising, they need to be scaled up for significant impact.
References
UNESCO. 2021. When schools shut. Gendered impacts of COVID-19 school closures. Paris, UNESCO.