Getting Schools Ready for Reopening: Implications of Educational Transition

It has been more than seven months since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has infected more than 11 million people in Latin America and the Caribbean and has claimed more than 400,000 lives, after Brazil reported the first case in the region.

This crisis has produced multiple and devastating effects, impacting all dimensions of development and the well-being of our nations, including the right of children and young people to receive education and comprehensive care for their development. According to UNESCO estimates, at the most critical time of this period, more than 160 million students were out of school, and by late October at least 137 million were still not receiving face-to-face education.

In other words, between mid-February and late September, schools in the region were closed for an average of 20 weeks, i.e. nearly three-quarters of a regular school year (38 weeks on average). Compared with other regions, school closures in LAC have been longer than for example in Europe (45%), Africa (57%) or Asia (61%).

School non-attendance in our countries is already one of the main barriers to learning, and closures affect all students, especially those who have fewer opportunities due to socioeconomic conditions, or because they live in rural areas, among other reasons. In addition, this emergency put many at risk of permanent dropout, and limited their access to other programs offered by schools such as meals and extracurricular activities, among others.

Latin American governments have implemented multiple plans to address this educational emergency, which seek to ensure continued teaching, mitigate learning loss, and ensure that students have access to learning and protection strategies provided through schools.

There are multiple approaches to implementing these responses. A very important strategy is, for example, adapting school infrastructure, to ensure not only social distancing, basic water, sanitation and hygiene conditions, but also the technological infrastructure and connectivity that enable academic activities in and out of school.

But perhaps the greatest challenge in terms of education is adjusting academic management, school organization, and a proper curriculum and pedagogical transition, to enable uninterrupted learning in a context in which schools will remain (fully or partially) closed for the coming months, as well as design back-to-school plans, under uncertain conditions regarding virus behavior, where staggered and gradual processes and physical distancing will remain essential.

This adjustment in school organization implies a careful definition of criteria for an organized and progressive back-to-school process taking into account, for example, educational stages (more students in primary school demand more attention from parents, helping students finish high school, etc.), the geographic location of schools according to pandemic evolution (rural areas with low contagion rates, no extensive use of public transport, and available water supply), and the design of alternate groups by shifts or days (to avoid overcrowding and allow for proper disinfection of schools); and, of course, the opinion of teachers, principals and parents, who should be actively involved in this process.

Similarly, a pedagogical and curricular transition that ensures uninterrupted learning in this new educational context requires the implementation of strategies that facilitate distance learning activities, which implies understanding that the face-to-face format cannot be replicated online, and that the materials are useless by themselves (unless they are designed for self-learning). Furthermore, we should acknowledge the diversity in characteristics of families (in access to materials, internet, their ability to use ICTs) and, of course, the institutional capacities of schools and teachers.

This also involves designing prioritized or emergency curricula—a long overdue discussion in the sector—, which challenges us to collaborate with communities on how we can resume programs, how to incorporate socio-emotional support to students in such interactions, what kind of playful activities can favor learning, how to arrange more flexible school times, among others. The decision about which lessons should be prioritized should be made from an inclusive and intercultural approach, and should be based on the recognition of the specific needs of students (diagnosis), starting with basic (essential) minimum learnings and propose knowledge consolidation and contextualization activities (inclusive and meaningful approach).

As expected, the implementation of this pedagogical and curriculum transition has accelerated the development of distance learning initiatives based on internet and other media, and virtually every country in the region has been strengthening or developing distance learning platforms and new educational content. 

The progress to be made in this area and the combination of these tools in the coming months will largely determine the “new normal” in education. A critical task, therefore, is to design and implement these initiatives with a focus on the transfer of learning resources and comprehensive support to teachers and families, and thus, ensure the development of teaching training and support processes, and the distribution of support materials for parents.

Lastly, the transition also involves adjusting other components of academic management in addition to curricula and content, such as evaluation and promotion systems, and preparing remedial and leveling plans for students most affected by school closures, as well as developing strategies to ensure that the largest number of students remain engaged in educational activities and come back to school.