challenges in education post pandemic

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Bridget Long, dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, addresses the impact of the COVID-19 crisis in the field of education.

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Post-pandemic challenges for schools

Harvard Staff Writer

Ed School dean says flexibility, more hours key to avoid learning loss

With the closing of schools, the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed many of the injustices facing schoolchildren across the country, from inadequate internet access to housing instability to food insecurity. The Gazette interviewed Bridget Long, A.M. ’97, Ph.D. ’00, dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education and Saris Professor of Education and Economics, regarding her views on the impact the public health crisis has had on schools, the lessons learned from the pandemic, and the challenges ahead.

Bridget Long

GAZETTE:   The pandemic exposed many inequities that already existed in the education landscape. Which ones concern you the most?

LONG:   Persistent inequities in education have always been a concern, but with the speed and magnitude of the changes brought on by the pandemic, it underscored several major problems. First of all, we often think about education as being solely an academic enterprise, but our schools really do so much more. Immediately, we saw children and families struggling with basic needs, such as access to food and health care, which our schools provide but all of a sudden were removed. We also shifted our focus, once we had to be in lockdown, to the differences in students’ home environments, whether it was lack of access to technology and the other commitments and demands on their time in terms of family situations, space, basic needs, and so forth. The focus had to shift from leveling the playing field within school or within college to instead what are the differences in inequities inside students’ homes and neighborhoods and the differences in the quality and rigor and supports available to students of different backgrounds. All of this was just exacerbated with the pandemic. There are concerns about learning loss and how that will vary across different income groups, communities, and neighborhoods. But there are also concerns about trauma and the mental health strain of the pandemic and how the strain of racial injustice and political turmoil has also been experienced — no doubt differently by different parts of population. And all of that has impacted students’ well-being and academic performance. The inequities we have long seen have become worse this year.

GAZETTE:   Now that those inequities have been exposed, what can leaders in education do to navigate those issues? Are there any specific lessons learned?

LONG:   Something that many educators already understood is that one size does not fit all. This is why education is so complex and why it has been so challenging to bring about improvements because there’s no silver bullet. The solution depends on the individual, the community, and the classroom.

At first, the public health crisis underscored that we needed to meet students where they are. This has been a long-held lesson among experienced education professionals, but it became even more important. In many respects, it butted up against some of our systems, which tried to come up with across-the-board approaches when instead what we needed was a bit of nimbleness depending on the context of the particular school or classroom and the individual needs of students.

Where you have seen some success and progress is where principals and teachers have been proactive and creative in how they can meet the needs of their students. What’s underneath all of this, regardless of whether we’re face-to-face or on technology, is the importance of people and personal connections. Education is a labor-intensive industry. Technology can help us in many respects to supplement or complement what we do, but the key has always been individual personal connection. Some teachers have been able to connect with their students, whether by phone or on Zoom, or schools, where they put concerted effort into doing outreach in the community to check on families to make sure they had basic needs. Some schools were able to understand what challenges their students were facing and were somewhat flexible and proactive to address those challenges, especially if they already had strong parental engagement. That’s where you have continued to see progress and growth.

“In many respects, this crisis forced the entire field to rethink our teaching in a way that I don’t know has happened before.”

GAZETTE:   You spoke about concerns about learning loss. What can we do to avoid a lost year?

LONG:   One of the difficulties is that the experience has differed tremendously. For some students, their parents have been able to supplement or their schools have been able to react. The hope is that they will not lose much learning time, while other students effectively haven’t been in school for almost a year; they have lost quite a bit of ground. As a teacher, you can imagine your students come back to school, and all of a sudden, students of the same chronological age are actually in very different places, depending on their individual family situation and what accommodations were able to be made. I think there’s a great deal we can do to try to address that. First of all, we have to have some understanding of what gains students have made as well as things they haven’t learned yet. That means taking a moment to see where a student is in their learning. The second thing is to make sure we’re capturing the lessons learned from this pandemic by identifying places where teachers and schools used a combination of technology, outreach, personal instruction, and tutors and mentors, and helped students make progress in their learning. We need to share those lessons more broadly so that other districts can see examples that have worked.

As we look ahead, I think it will take extending learning time to close the gaps. Schools will have to decide whether that is after school, weekends, or summer, and whether or not that’s going to involve the teachers themselves, or if it’s going to be using the best tools that are out there, such as videos and technology platforms that students and families use themselves. There has already been talk by some districts of extending the school year into summer or having summer-camp-type programs to give students additional time to work through some of the material.

The other important piece is partnerships. Schools oftentimes work with members of the community or nonprofit organizations, and that’s a really important layer in our system. After-school programs, enrichment programs, tutors, and mentors are essential, and we really want to continue with that expanded sense of capacity and partnership. It’s going to have an impact on all of us if we lose a generation, or if this generation goes backwards in terms of their learning. It certainly is in all of our best interests to try to contribute to the solution.

GAZETTE:   Many parents gained renewed appreciation of the work teachers do. Do you think the pandemic would lead to a reappraisal of the profession?

LONG:   Certainly, in the beginning, there was so much more appreciation for what teachers do. As parents needed to start doing homeschooling, there was a new understanding of just how difficult teaching is. Imagine having a classroom with different personalities, different strengths and assets, and also different weaknesses, and somehow being nimble enough to continue that class moving forward. As time has gone on, I worry a little bit about the level of contentiousness in some communities as schools haven’t reopened. There is the balancing act between caring for children’s learning and the fact that we have to make sure that the adults are safe and supported. You hear stories of teachers trying to teach from home while they are also homeschooling their own children. I would hope that coming out of this would be an appreciation of the amazing things teachers do in the classroom, as well as also some acknowledgement that these are people who are also living through a devastating pandemic with all the stress and strain that every individual is going through.

One other point is that given that we know that teachers do more than just academics, we need to make sure our teachers are trained to be able to provide social emotional support to students. As some of the students come back into the classroom, we need to acknowledge that they may be dealing with devastating losses, or the frustration of being kept inside, or the violence that is happening in their homes and neighborhoods. It’s very hard to learn if you’re first dealing with those kinds of issues. Our teachers already do so much, and we need to support them more and provide even more training to help them address that wide-ranging set of challenges their students may be facing even before they can get to the learning part.

“Something that many educators already understood is that one size does not fit all. This is why education is so complex and why it has been so challenging to bring about improvements because there’s no silver bullet.”

GAZETTE:   Are there any silver linings in education brought on by the pandemic?

LONG:   The first one is when we all needed to pivot last spring, and especially this fall, many educators took a moment to pause and reflect on their learning goals and priorities. There was a great deal of discussion, both in K‒12 and higher education, to think carefully and deliberately about the ways in which we could make sure our teaching was engaging and active and how we could bring in different voices and perspectives. In many respects, this crisis forced the entire field to rethink our teaching in a way that I don’t know has happened before. The second silver lining is the innovation and creativity. Because there wasn’t necessarily one right answer, you saw a lot of experimentation. We have seen an explosion of different approaches to teaching, and many more people got involved in that process, not just some small 10 percent of the teaching force. We’ve identified new ways of engaging with our students, and we’ve also increased the capacity of our educators to be able to deliver new ways of engagement. From this process, my hope is that we’ll walk away with even more tools and approaches to how we engage our students, so that we can then make choices about what to do face-to-face, how to use technology, and what to do in more of an asynchronous sort of way. But key to this is being able to share those lessons learned with others, how you were able to still maintain connection, how you were better able to teach certain material, and perhaps even build better relationships with parents and families during this process. Just the innovation, experimentation, and growth of instructors in many places has been very positive in so many respects.

GAZETTE:   In which ways do you think the education system should be transformed after this year? How should it be rebuilt?

LONG:   First, we’ve all had to understand that education and schools are not a spot on a map. They are actually communities; they have to include families, nonprofit organizations, and community-based organizations. For a university in particular, it’s not just about coming to campus; it’s actually about the people coming together, and how they are involved in learning from each other. It’s great to push on this reconceptualization and to be clear that education is an exchange of information, of perspective, of content, and making connections, regardless of the age of the student. The crisis has also forced us to go back to some of the fundamentals of what do we need students to learn, and how are we going to accomplish those goals. That has been a very important discussion for education. And the third part is realizing that education is not a one-size-fits-all. The best educators use multiple methods and approaches to be able to connect with their students, to be able to present material, and to provide support. That’s always been the case. How do we meet students where they are? That framing is one that I hope will not go away because all students have the potential to learn, and it’s a matter of how to personalize the learning experience to meet their needs, how we notice and provide supports to help learners who are struggling. That really is at the core of education, and I hope that we will take away that lesson as we look ahead.

GAZETTE:   What do you think the role of higher education should be in this new educational landscape?

LONG: Higher education has an incredibly important role, and in particular given the economic recession. Traditionally, this is when many more people go into higher education to learn new skills, given what’s happening in the labor market. We have yet to see what the long-term impact is going to be, but in the short term, one thing we’ve noticed is that college enrollments are down. That’s very alarming and may have to do with how suddenly and how quickly the pandemic affected society. The first thing that higher education is going to have to think about is increasing proactive outreach — how to connect with potential students and how to help them get into programs that are going to give them skills necessary for this changing economy. Unfortunately, they’ll be doing this in a context where students are going to have greater needs, and where it’s not quite clear if funding from state and local governments is going to be declining. That’s the challenge that higher education will have to face. While it’s an amazing instrument in helping individuals further their skills or retool their skills, we need to make investments and make sure individuals can actually access the training available in our colleges and universities.

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GAZETTE:   What are your hopes for the Biden administration in the area of education?

LONG:   Government has a very important role in education, but it has to be balanced with the importance of local control and the fact that the context of every community is slightly different. Certainly, as we’ve been in the middle of a public health crisis, this has been incredibly challenging for schools. Schools had been trying to continue providing food and health care and connect with their students and, all of a sudden, they had to become experts in public health and buildings. This is something that falls under the purview of the federal government. Having access to the best doctors, the best public health officials, and people who think about buildings, and how to make things safe, the government needs to put that information together to give guidance to schools, principals, and teachers. It’s the government that can say, “Here are the risks, and here are the things you can do to mitigate those risks. Here are the conditions that are necessary for buildings. Here is what we know in terms of preventing spread, and here is what we know about the impact on children of different ages, and how we can protect the adults.” That kind of guidance would be incredibly helpful, as you have all of these individual school districts trying to sort through complex information and what the science says and how it applies to their particular context. Guidance is No. 1.

No. 2 is data. It’s very important having some understanding about where we stand in terms of learning loss, what we need to prioritize, and what areas of the country perhaps need more help than others. The other key component is to gauge what lessons have been learned and share the best practices across all school districts. The idea is to use the federal government as a central information bank with proactive outreach to schools. Government also plays a critical role in funding the research that will document the lessons from this pandemic.

It’s going to be incredibly helpful to have a more active federal government. As we have a better sense about where our students are the most vulnerable, and what are the kinds of high-impact practices that would be most beneficial, it’s going to be critical having the funding to support those kinds of investments because they will most certainly pay off. That possibility, I’m much more optimistic about now.

This interview has been condensed and edited for length and clarity

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Education in a post-covid world, towards a rapid transformation.

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic, resulting in disruptions to education at an unprecedented scale. In response to the urgent need to recover learning losses, countries worldwide have taken  RAPID  actions to:  R each every child and keep them in school;  A ssess learning levels regularly;  P rioritize teaching the fundamentals; I ncrease the efficiency of instruction; and  D evelop psychosocial health and wellbeing. 

Marking three years since the onset of the pandemic, this report looks back at policy measures taken during school closures and reopening based on country survey data, initiatives implemented by countries and regions to recover and accelerate learning, and their emerging lessons within each RAPID action. With schools now reopened worldwide, this report also looks ahead to longer-term education transformation, offering policy recommendations to build more resilient, effective and equitable education systems.

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Mission: Recovering Education in 2021

THE CONTEXT

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused abrupt and profound changes around the world.  This is the worst shock to education systems in decades, with the longest school closures combined with looming recession.  It will set back progress made on global development goals, particularly those focused on education. The economic crises within countries and globally will likely lead to fiscal austerity, increases in poverty, and fewer resources available for investments in public services from both domestic expenditure and development aid. All of this will lead to a crisis in human development that continues long after disease transmission has ended.

Disruptions to education systems over the past year have already driven substantial losses and inequalities in learning. All the efforts to provide remote instruction are laudable, but this has been a very poor substitute for in-person learning.  Even more concerning, many children, particularly girls, may not return to school even when schools reopen. School closures and the resulting disruptions to school participation and learning are projected to amount to losses valued at $10 trillion in terms of affected children’s future earnings.  Schools also play a critical role around the world in ensuring the delivery of essential health services and nutritious meals, protection, and psycho-social support. Thus, school closures have also imperilled children’s overall wellbeing and development, not just their learning.   

It’s not enough for schools to simply reopen their doors after COVID-19. Students will need tailored and sustained support to help them readjust and catch-up after the pandemic. We must help schools prepare to provide that support and meet the enormous challenges of the months ahead. The time to act is now; the future of an entire generation is at stake.

THE MISSION

Mission objective:  To enable all children to return to school and to a supportive learning environment, which also addresses their health and psychosocial well-being and other needs.

Timeframe : By end 2021.

Scope : All countries should reopen schools for complete or partial in-person instruction and keep them open. The Partners - UNESCO , UNICEF , and the World Bank - will join forces to support countries to take all actions possible to plan, prioritize, and ensure that all learners are back in school; that schools take all measures to reopen safely; that students receive effective remedial learning and comprehensive services to help recover learning losses and improve overall welfare; and their teachers are prepared and supported to meet their learning needs. 

Three priorities:

1.    All children and youth are back in school and receive the tailored services needed to meet their learning, health, psychosocial wellbeing, and other needs. 

Challenges : School closures have put children’s learning, nutrition, mental health, and overall development at risk. Closed schools also make screening and delivery for child protection services more difficult. Some students, particularly girls, are at risk of never returning to school. 

Areas of action : The Partners will support the design and implementation of school reopening strategies that include comprehensive services to support children’s education, health, psycho-social wellbeing, and other needs. 

Targets and indicators

2.    All children receive support to catch up on lost learning.

Challenges : Most children have lost substantial instructional time and may not be ready for curricula that were age- and grade- appropriate prior to the pandemic. They will require remedial instruction to get back on track. The pandemic also revealed a stark digital divide that schools can play a role in addressing by ensuring children have digital skills and access.

Areas of action : The Partners will (i) support the design and implementation of large-scale remedial learning at different levels of education, (ii) launch an open-access, adaptable learning assessment tool that measures learning losses and identifies learners’ needs, and (iii) support the design and implementation of digital transformation plans that include components on both infrastructure and ways to use digital technology to accelerate the development of foundational literacy and numeracy skills. Incorporating digital technologies to teach foundational skills could complement teachers’ efforts in the classroom and better prepare children for future digital instruction.   

While incorporating remedial education, social-emotional learning, and digital technology into curricula by the end of 2021 will be a challenge for most countries, the Partners agree that these are aspirational targets that they should be supporting countries to achieve this year and beyond as education systems start to recover from the current crisis.

3.   All teachers are prepared and supported to address learning losses among their students and to incorporate  digital technology into their teaching.

Challenges : Teachers are in an unprecedented situation in which they must make up for substantial loss of instructional time from the previous school year and teach the current year’s curriculum. They must also protect their own health in school. Teachers will need training, coaching, and other means of support to get this done. They will also need to be prioritized for the COVID-19 vaccination, after frontline personnel and high-risk populations.  School closures also demonstrated that in addition to digital skills, teachers may also need support to adapt their pedagogy to deliver instruction remotely. 

Areas of action : The Partners will advocate for teachers to be prioritized in COVID-19 vaccination campaigns, after frontline personnel and high-risk populations, and provide capacity-development on pedagogies for remedial learning and digital and blended teaching approaches. 

Country level actions and global support

UNESCO, UNICEF, and World Bank are joining forces to support countries to achieve the Mission, leveraging their expertise and actions on the ground to support national efforts and domestic funding.

Country Level Action

1.  Mobilize team to support countries in achieving the three priorities

The Partners will collaborate and act at the country level to support governments in accelerating actions to advance the three priorities.

2.  Advocacy to mobilize domestic resources for the three priorities

The Partners will engage with governments and decision-makers to prioritize education financing and mobilize additional domestic resources.

Global level action

1.  Leverage data to inform decision-making

The Partners will join forces to   conduct surveys; collect data; and set-up a global, regional, and national real-time data-warehouse.  The Partners will collect timely data and analytics that provide access to information on school re-openings, learning losses, drop-outs, and transition from school to work, and will make data available to support decision-making and peer-learning.

2.  Promote knowledge sharing and peer-learning in strengthening education recovery

The Partners will join forces in sharing the breadth of international experience and scaling innovations through structured policy dialogue, knowledge sharing, and peer learning actions.

The time to act on these priorities is now. UNESCO, UNICEF, and the World Bank are partnering to help drive that action.

Last Updated: Mar 30, 2021

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Reinventing Education Post-Pandemic

On December 16, 2021, we hosted a talk by Professor Justin Reich. Professor Reich discussed his research on how the experiences of students and teachers during pandemic schooling are vital to educational recovery and building back better.

Capturing the Perspectives of Teachers and Students 

In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, conversations focused on high-level questions about how the pandemic would disrupt education: Will schools stay open, and if so, under what conditions? How will the pandemic impact standardized test performance? However, Professor Justin Reich argues that when researchers simply focus on these two questions, they fail to consider a vital part of education: the day-to-day experiences of the teachers and students in the classroom. 

In the spring of 2021, Reich and his team conducted three research exercises to understand these experiences: 

• They invited 200 teachers to interview their students about the past year and share their findings (the instructions are available at http://bit.ly/imaginingseptember2021 ). 
• They interviewed 50 classroom teachers. 
• They conducted ten multistakeholder design charrettes with students, teachers, school leaders, and family members. 

The spring 2021 research builds on research from Summer 2020, which had focused on understanding the initial school closures and pivots to remote learning in Spring 2020 and working with school communities to design a better experience for Fall 2020. 

Disparate Impacts

Experts in online instruction will attest that high-quality remote learning looks quite different from traditional classroom learning. However, the quick pivot in Spring 2020 and ongoing lack of resources and training for teachers meant that in most cases, pandemic-era remote K-12 education mirrored traditional classroom education. Class time was moved to a video conferencing platform and materials were shared via digital Learning Management Systems rather than on paper, attempting to replicate in-person teaching rather than reshaping the learning experiences to take advantage of the affordances of remote learning while minimizing the drawbacks. Individual teachers also adopted discipline-specific tools that served functions such as collaboration, asynchronous content delivery, and practice. The abundance of tools led to an overwhelming number of logins and platforms for students and parents to manage until schools began to coordinate platforms centrally.   

The remote student experience varied widely, and their academic and social experiences were not necessarily correlated. For example, some students with special needs struggled because they were cut off from needed special education resources, whereas others thrived in an environment with fewer distractions and more control over how they learn. Students shared that they did better academically without their friends around to distract them, but noted that they then struggled to reacclimate themselves to the social environment of the classroom. Other factors like access to broadband, relationships with family, and bullying and racism experienced at school also shaped student experiences of remote schooling. 

For teachers, the experience was almost always exhausting and often demoralizing. Despite making recommendations to administrators and policy-makers, teachers often felt ignored when decisions were made. At the same time, teachers demonstrated tremendous resilience and capacity for innovation, developing new teaching strategies and adapting quickly to ensure their students’ needs were met. 

Hopes for the Future

Reich presented three potential trajectories for post-pandemic education: a return to the status quo, a focus on remediating learning loss, or an organized effort to reinvent education to be more humane. Early efforts to return to the status quo are already demonstrating the problems with doing so, as schools struggle with understaffing and a rise in fighting among stressed students. Remediation, meanwhile, is popular among policymakers but does not resonate at the classroom level. As a deficit-oriented approach, remediation fails to recognize that while certain learning goals were not achieved, students demonstrated incredible resilience and learned a lot from the experience. The third approach, a humane reinvention, builds on the strengths that students and teachers alike have demonstrated.  Though Reich favors this third approach, he recognizes that there are many barriers to change. 

Interviews with teachers have reinforced the idea that teachers are capable of innovation, but the pandemic has left many too exhausted to take on new initiatives. Initiatives can be enjoyable and energizing when teachers are actively involved in shaping change that they believe will benefit them and their students. However, it will be hard to create such a productive environment unless teachers feel supported and trusted by administrators, policymakers, and communities. Another problem is that most of the United States relies on public schools to provide necessary social services for children. While schools have done their best to keep students safe, healthy, and fed, doing social services work can take time and resources away from their core mission of teaching and learning. 

To overcome these barriers as society recovers from the pandemic, Reich supports the idea of “strategic subtraction” in which old practices are “hospiced” to make room for new initiatives. Some changes, like abolishing rules that do more to police student bodies and behaviors than to improve learning, are relatively straightforward. Students who have gotten used to an at-home learning environment and the associated autonomy are quick to point out that they can learn just as effectively while wearing a hoodie or enjoying a snack. Other changes, like remedying long-standing inequities in how schools access resources, will be more challenging. 

Takeaways for Higher Education 

Though his research focused on K-12 schools, Reich notes that it has several implications for higher education. Some of Reich’s findings parallel those seen at MIT and other universities. The loss of a year or more of socialization may impact an elementary school student differently than a college student, but both are returning to the classroom with new social challenges. Loneliness, isolation, and social anxiety have become common, and readjusting to social norms takes time. 

Most importantly, K-12 schools shape the students who will become undergraduates. Incoming first-year students will have weathered a broad spectrum of pandemic-era educational experiences. Rather than focusing on filling gaps in these students’ knowledge, colleges would be wise to appreciate the strengths these students will bring to campus: their resilience, their capacity for self-regulated learning, and their hard work to make the best of an incredibly challenging situation. 

Further Reading 

All reports can be found at: tsl.mit.edu/covid19 , including the specific reports discussed in the talk: 

• Healing Community and Humanity
• The Teachers Have Something to Say

About the Speaker

Justin Reich is an associate professor of digital media in the Comparative Media Studies/Writing department at MIT and the director of the Teaching Systems Lab. He is the author of Failure to Disrupt: Why Technology Alone Can’t Transform Education, and the host of the TeachLab Podcast . He earned his doctorate from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and was the Richard L. Menschel HarvardX Research Fellow. He is a past Fellow at the Berkman-Klein Center for Internet and Society. His writings have been published in Science, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Washington Post, The Atlantic, and other scholarly journals and public venues. He started his career as a high school history teacher, and coach of wrestling and outdoor adventure activities. Follow Justin on Twitter or Google Scholar .

Written by Kate Weishaar

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6 things we've learned about how the pandemic disrupted learning

Cory Turner

How did the pandemic disrupt learning for America's more than 50 million K-12 students?

For two years, that question has felt immeasurable, like a phantom, though few educators doubted the shadow it cast over children who spent months struggling to learn online.

Now, as a third pandemic school year draws to a close, new research offers the clearest accounting yet of the crisis's academic toll — as well as reason to hope that schools can help.

1. Surprise! Students learned less when they were remote

But really, this should surprise no one.

Most schools had little to no experience with remote instruction when the pandemic began; they lacked teacher training, appropriate software, laptops, universal internet access and, in many cases, students lacked stability and a supportive adult at home to help.

Even students who spent the least amount of time learning remotely during the 2020-21 school year — just a month or less — missed the equivalent of seven to 10 weeks of math learning, says Thomas Kane of the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University.

Much of that missed learning, Kane says, was likely a hangover from spring 2020, when nearly all schools were remote and remote instruction was at its worst.

Kane is part of a collaborative of researchers at Harvard, the American Institutes for Research, Dartmouth College and the school-testing nonprofit NWEA, who set out to measure just how much learning students missed during the pandemic.

And notice we're saying "missed," not "lost," because the problem is that when schools went remote, kids simply did not learn as much or as well as they would have in person.

" We try not to say 'learning loss,' because if they didn't learn it, they didn't lose it," explains Ebony Lee, an assistant superintendent in Clayton County, Ga.

Not everyone agrees. Some parents who saw their kids struggle while trying to learn remotely believe "learning loss" fits — because it captures the urgency they now feel to make up for what was lost.

"It would mean so much for parents if somebody would acknowledge it. 'You know, we have learning loss,' " says Sheila Walker, a parent in Northern California. "Like our board, they don't even use those words. We know we have learning loss, so how are we going to address it?"

Kane and his fellow researchers studied the test scores of more than 2 million elementary- and middle-schoolers, comparing the growth they made between fall 2017 and fall 2019 to their pandemic-era growth, from fall 2019 to fall 2021.

Though researchers focused on math, the instructional time students missed in reading was "comparable," Kane says.

One quick caveat: Obviously, test scores can tell us only so much about what students actually learn in a given year (social-emotional skills, for example, are harder to measure). But they're a start.

2. Students at high-poverty schools were hit hardest

Students at high-poverty schools experienced an academic double-whammy: Their schools were more likely to be remote and, when they were, students missed more learning.

The Coronavirus Crisis

How schools can help kids heal after a year of 'crisis and uncertainty'.

Let's break that down.

First, high-poverty schools spent about 5.5 more weeks in remote instruction during the 2020-21 school year than low- and mid-poverty schools, the report says. Researchers also found a "higher incidence of remote schooling for Black and Hispanic students."

And second, in high-poverty schools that stayed remote for the majority of the 2020-21 school year, students missed the equivalent of 22 weeks of in-person math learning.

That's more than half of a traditional school year (roughly 36-40 weeks).

By contrast, students in similarly remote, low-poverty schools missed considerably less learning: roughly 13 weeks, Kane says, and he warns that closing these gaps could take years.

Homeless Families Struggle With Impossible Choices As School Closures Continue

This new data backs up what many teachers and school leaders have been saying.

"It's very disconcerting," says Sharon Contreras, the superintendent of North Carolina's third-largest district, in Guilford County. "Because we know that the students who are most vulnerable saw the most amount of learning loss, and they were already behind."

Why did students in high-poverty schools miss more learning while remote? Recent U.S. Government Accountability Office surveys of more than 2,800 teachers offer some explanations.

Teachers in remote, high-poverty schools were more likely to report that their students lacked a workspace and internet at home, and were less likely to have an adult there to help. Many older students disengaged because the pandemic forced them to become caretakers, or to get jobs.

Making matters worse, as NPR has reported, high-poverty students were also more likely to experience food insecurity , homelessness and the loss of a loved one to COVID-19.

"These gaps are not new," says Becky Pringle, head of the National Education Association (NEA), the nation's largest teachers union. "We know that there are racial and social and economic injustices that exist in every system ... what the pandemic did was just like the pandemic did with everything: It just made it worse."

3. Different states saw different gaps

Kane and his fellow researchers found that learning gaps were most pronounced in states with higher rates of remote instruction overall.

For example, in the quarter of states where students spent the most time learning remotely, including California, Illinois, Kentucky and Virginia, "high-poverty schools spent an additional nine weeks in remote instruction (more than two months) than low-poverty schools," the report says.

On the other hand, in the quarter of states where overall use of remote instruction was the lowest, including Texas, Florida and a host of rural states, the report says, high-poverty schools were still more likely to be remote "but the differences were small: 3 weeks remote in high poverty schools versus 1 week remote in low poverty schools."

The report says, "as long as schools were in-person throughout 2020-21, there was no widening of math achievement gaps between high-, middle-, and low-poverty schools."

Kane says he hopes that, instead of relitigating districts' choices to stay remote, politicians and educators can use this data as a call to action.

"That student achievement declined is not a surprise," Kane says. "Rather, we should think of it as a bill for a public health measure that was taken on our behalf. And it's our obligation now, whether or not we agreed with those decisions, to pay that bill. We can't stiff our children."

4. High school graduation rates didn't change much

One more study , from Brookings, looks at the impact all this pandemic-driven turmoil had on high school graduation and college entry rates.

It turns out, for the 2019-20 school year, when graduation ceremonies were canceled and students ended the year at home, high school graduation rates actually increased slightly.

"The message clearly was 'just show up,' " says Douglas Harris, the study's lead researcher and director of the National Center for Research on Education Access and Choice at Tulane University.

"So it became pretty easy," Harris says. "Anybody who was on the margin of graduating at that point was going to graduate because the states officially relaxed their standards."

For the 2020-21 school year, Harris says, states and school districts largely returned to pre-pandemic standards and, as a result, the high school graduation rate dipped slightly.

College enrollment plummeted during the pandemic. This fall, it's even worse

5. many high school grads chose to delay college.

While the pandemic appeared to have little impact on students' ability to finish high school, it seemed to have the opposite effect on their willingness to start college.

Harris says entry rates for recent high school grads at four-year colleges dipped 6% and a worrying 16% at two-year colleges. Why?

Harris has a theory: "I think for anybody, regardless of age, starting something new, trying to develop new relationships in the pandemic, was a nonstarter."

6. Schools can do something about it

School leaders are now racing to build programs that, they hope, will help students make up for at least some of this missed learning. One popular approach: "high-dosage" tutoring.

Here's what schools are doing to try to address students' social-emotional needs

"For us, high-dosage means two to three times per week for at least 30 minutes, and ... no more than three students in a group," says Penny Schwinn, Tennessee's state education commissioner.

Schwinn led the creation of the TN ALL Corps, a sprawling, statewide network of tutors who, Schwinn hopes, can reach 150,000 elementary- and middle-schoolers over three years. High school students with busier schedules can access online tutoring anytime, on demand.

In Guilford County, Contreras says the benefits of their tutoring program go well beyond learning recovery. Their new tutoring corps draws heavily from graduate assistants at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, a regional HBCU.

" We want to continue to grow the number of Black and brown teachers in the district," Contreras says. "So hiring graduate assistants was a very intentional effort to make sure our students saw themselves, but also to introduce those graduate assistants to the teaching profession."

Multiple superintendents, including Contreras, emphasized that the purpose of these tutoring efforts was not to look backward, over old material, but to support students as they move forward through new concepts.

"We don't want to remediate," Contreras says emphatically. "We want to accelerate learning."

Kane says districts should also consider making up for missed learning by adding more days to the school calendar .

"Schools already have the teachers. They already have the buildings. They already have the bus routes," Kane explains. Extending the school year may be logistically easier than, say, hiring and scheduling hundreds of new tutors.

But that doesn't mean extending the school year is easy.

In Los Angeles, where students spent most of the 2020-21 school year learning remotely, Superintendent Alberto Carvalho says he would love to expand the next school year by as many as 10 additional days to help address what he calls "unprecedented, historic learning loss." But, he says, "[that idea] ran into a lot of opposition" from parents and teachers alike.

So Carvalho has had to settle for four additional student learning days next year.

Kane acknowledges that adding time to the school year is asking a lot of teachers and some families and would likely require a pay bump above educators' normal weekly rate.

"Everybody is eager to return to normal. And I can appreciate that," Kane says, "but normal is not enough."

If there is a silver lining for districts rushing to create new learning opportunities, it's that many school leaders — and politicians — are realizing they make good sense long-term too.

In Los Angeles, Carvalho says many students attending high-poverty schools "were in crisis prior to COVID-19," academically speaking. And he hopes these new efforts, forced by the pandemic, "may actually catapult their learning experience."

Tennessee's ALL Corps "is now funded forever more," Schwinn says.

"So this isn't going to be a COVID recovery. This is just good practice for kids."

Futures of Education

• Research and knowledge
• New social contract
• Digital learning futures
• The Initiative 2019-2021
• National & local dialogues
• International advocacy

The Futures of Education

Our world is at a unique juncture in history, characterised by increasingly uncertain and complex trajectories shifting at an unprecedented speed. These sociological, ecological and technological trends are changing education systems, which need to adapt. Yet education has the most transformational potential to shape just and sustainable futures. UNESCO generates ideas, initiates public debate, and inspires research and action to renew education. This work aims to build a new social contract for education, grounded on principles of human rights, social justice, human dignity and cultural diversity. It unequivocally affirms education as a public endeavour and a common good.

No trend is destiny...Multiple alternative futures are possible... A new social contract for education needs to allow us to think differently about learning and the relationships between students, teachers, knowledge, and the world.

Our work is grounded in the principles of the 2021 report “Reimagining Our Futures Together: A New Social Contract for Education” and in the report’s call for action to consolidate global solidarity and international cooperation in education, as well as strengthen the global research agenda to reinforce our capacities to anticipate future change.

The report invites us to rebalance our relationship with:

• each other,
• the planet, and
• technology.

Summary of the Report

Renewing education to transform the future, 2-4 December 2024

UNESCO International Forum on the Futures of Education 2024 Suwon, Gyeonggido, Republic of Korea

Interview with Stefania Giannini, Assistant Director-General for Education

Featured highlights

The International Commission

In 2019 UNESCO Director–General convened an independent International Commission to work under the leadership of the President of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, H.E. President Sahle-Work Zewde, and develop a global report on the Futures of Education. The commission was charged with carefully considering inputs received through the different consultation processes and ensuring that this collective intelligence was reflected in the global report and other knowledge products connected with the initiative.

Sustainable development challenges and the role of education

Our foresight work, looking towards 2050, envisions possible futures in which education shapes a better world. Our starting point is observation of the multiple, interlocking challenges the world currently faces and how to renew learning and knowledge to steer policies and practices along more sustainable pathways.The challenges are great. But there are reasons for optimism, no trend is destiny.

Our work responds to the call of the International Commission on the Futures of Education to guide a new research agenda for the futures of education. This research agenda is wide-ranging and multifaceted as a future-oriented, planet-wide learning process on our futures together. It draws from diverse forms of knowledge and perspectives, and from a conceptual framework that sees insights from diverse sources as complementary rather than exclusionary and adversarial.

Linking current trends and the report of the International Commission on the Futures of Education.

• The global population is projected to reach a peak at around 10.4 billion people during the 2080s , nearly double the global population of 1990 (5.3 billion)
• There will be an estimated  170 million displaced people by 2050 , equivalent to 2.3% of the global population
• Sub-Saharan Africa is expected to be home to some 1/3 of the global population  by 2050

"A new social contract for education requires renewed commitment to global collaboration in support of education as a common good, premised on more just and equitable cooperation among state and non-state actors. Beyond North-South flows of aid to education, the generation of knowledge and evidence through South-South and triangular cooperation must be strengthened."

• The number of persons aged 65 years or older worldwide is expected to double over the next three decades, reaching 1.6 billion in 2050 (16% of global population)

"Human longevity may also increase and perhaps with it, at least for some, the extension of the work period of life. If older people can remain active and engaged, they will enrich society and the economy through their skills and experience."

• Global temperatures are expected to increase  2.7 degrees by 2100 , leading to devastating global consequences
• Humans currently use as as many ecological resources as is we lived on 1.75 Earths

"The planet is in peril (...) Here children and youth already lead the way, calling for meaningful action and delivering a harsh rebuke to those who refuse to face the urgency of the situation. (...) One  of  the  best  strategies  to  prepare  for  green  economies  and  a  carbon-neutral  future  is  to  ensure  qualifications, programmes and curricula deliver ‘green skills’, be they for newly emerging occupations and sectors or for those sectors undergoing transformation for the low-carbon economy."

• Global freedom has been declining for more than 15 years  

"There has been a flourishing of increasingly active citizen participation and activism that is challenging discrimination and injustice worldwide (...) In educational content, methods and policy, we should promote active citizenship and democratic participation."

• There will be an estimated 380 million higher education students by 2030, up from roughly 220 million students were enrolled in formal post-secondary education in 2021

"Future policy agendas for higher education will need to embrace all levels of education and better account for non-traditional educational trajectories and pathways. Recognizing the interconnectedness of different levels and types of education, speaks to the need for a sector-wide, lifelong learning approach towards the future development of higher education."

• Less than 10% of school and universities have guidance on educational uses of AI

"The challenge of creating decent human-centered work is about to get much harder as Artificial Intelligence (AI), automation and structural transformations remake employment landscapes around the globe. At the same time, more people and communities are recognizing the value of care work and the multiple ways that economic security needs to be provisioned.”

• Fake news travel 6 times faster than true stories via Twitter - such disinformation undermines a shared perception of truth and reality

"Digital technologies, tools and platforms can be bent in the direction of supporting human rights, enhancing human capabilities, and facilitating collective action in the directions of peace, justice, and sustainability (...) A primary educational challenge is to equip people with tools for making sense of the oceans of information that are just a few swipes or keystrokes away."

• Employers anticipate a structural “labour market churn” (or disruption) of 23% of jobs in the next five years, resulting in a net decrease of 2% of current employment due to environmental, technological and economic trends.

"Underemployment, the inability to find work that matches one’s aspirations, skillset and capabilities, is a persistent and growing global problem, even among university graduates in many of the world’s wealthiest countries. This mismatch is combustible: social scientists have shown that a highly educated population unable to apply its skills and competencies in decent work, leads to discontent, agitation and sometime sparks political and civil strife... Learning must be relevant to the world of work. Young people need strong support upon educational completion to be integrated into labour markets and contribute to their communities and societies according to their potential."

• CHANGING DEMOGRAPHICS: Global population in 2080s: 10.4 billion ( UNDESA  World Population Prospects, 2022) /Africa 1/3 population ( UNDESA  World Population Prospects, 2022)
• AGING POPULATIONS: 1.6 billion people over 65 in 2050 (UNDESA World Social Report , 2023)
• PLANETARY CRISIS: Humans use 1.75 Earths ( Global Footprint Network ) / Global temperatures to increase 2.7 degrees by 2100   ( UNFCCC  Synthesis Report, 2021)
• DEMOCRATIC BACKSLIDING: Global freedom has been declining for more than 15 years ( Freedom House  Freedom in the World report, 2023)

*  All figures correct as of 2023.

• TECHNOLOGY: Less that 10% of school and universities have guidance on educational uses of AI ( UNESCO study, 2023)
• DISINFORMATION: Fake news travel 6 times faster than true stories via Twitter ( MIT  study, 2018)
• UNCERTAIN FUTURE OF WORK: Net decrease of 2% of employment over next 5 years ( WEF  Futures of Work report, 2023) 
• CHANGING LIFELONG EDUCATION APPROACHES: 320 million students by 2030 ( World Bank  blog, 2022)

The third in a series of major visioning exercises for education

Reimagining our future together: a new social contract for education  is the third in a series of UNESCO-led once-a-generation foresight and visioning exercises, conducted at key moments of historical transition. 

In 1972, the  Learning to Be: the world of education today and tomorrow  report already warned of the risks of inequalities, and emphasized the need for the continued expansion of education, for education throughout life and for building a learning society.

This was followed by the 1996 Learning: The treasure within report that proposed an integrated vision of education around four pillars: learning to be, learning to know, learning to do, and learning to live together in a lifelong perspective.

News and stories

Please feel free to contact us here if you have any questions or requests. 

To help students recover from the pandemic, education leaders must prioritize equity and evidence

Subscribe to the brown center on education policy newsletter, lindsay dworkin and lindsay dworkin vice president, policy and advocacy - nwea karyn lewis karyn lewis director, center for school and student progress - nwea @karynlew.

October 13, 2021

As students return to classrooms this fall, COVID-19 continues to present schools across the country with challenging circumstances. The pandemic has already impacted learning on an unprecedented scale,  exposing and magnifying deep inequities  within our education system. While no one has been left unscathed, the impacts have been most severe for those who were already the furthest behind academically—students of color and those experiencing poverty.

In the coming school year and beyond, data on student progress will be critical to understanding the disproportionate impact of the pandemic and addressing the resulting inequities. While learning has suffered across the board, the data tell a nuanced story. Understanding those nuances—particularly at the state and local level—will be essential to targeting evidence-based interventions (and recovery resources) to the students who need them most.

The research team at NWEA has been working diligently throughout the pandemic to analyze data from the MAP Growth assessment to illuminate the effects of COVID-19 on student growth and achievement . Even amid very challenging circumstances, students made modest gains in reading and math in 2020-21 . We also see, however, that students experienced slower growth rates and lower achievement levels, on average, in both math and reading in 2020-21 compared to a more “typical” year (the 2018-19 school year). More specifically, students ended the year with reading achievement levels between 3 and 6 percentile points behind and 8 to 12 points behind in math.

The impacts of the pandemic were even larger among students of color and students experiencing poverty, especially in the youngest grades we studied. For example, Latino third graders showed declines of 17 points in math and 10 points in reading compared to historic averages. Black third graders ended the 2020-21 school year 15 points lower in math and 17 points lower in reading.

Figure 1: MAP Growth achievement percentile rank difference by cohort and race/ethnicity for reading and math

We found declines of a similar magnitude for students in high-poverty schools, where students in the earlier grades again saw the largest setbacks. For instance, third and fourth graders in high-poverty schools experienced declines in math achievement of 17 and 14 points, respectively, compared to a typical year.

Figure 2: MAP Growth achievement percentile rank difference by cohort and school poverty level for reading and math

Our education system is facing an unprecedented crisis. Despite the challenges, however, there is reason for optimism. With the near-universal return of in-person instruction and significant federal funding to deploy , education leaders have an opportunity to develop a strong foundation for equitable and excellent education for all students. Short-term recovery efforts can lead to long-term transformation if states and districts invest resources in evidence-based, holistic strategies , particularly those that have been proven to accelerate learning for historically underserved students.

More specifically, we believe that education leaders should:

• Re-engage disconnected students. Our data shows that the pandemic has impacted learning unevenly and on an unprecedented scale. Estimates suggest that as many as 3 million students across the country went “missing” from schools last year. This missingness is apparent in our data as well. We find overall attrition rates were higher than normal, which is to be expected given the challenges of the past year. We see even higher attrition rates for students of color, which means the true impacts of the pandemic on academic achievement may be even more dire that what we report. This underscores the need for states and districts to make extraordinary efforts to identify disconnected students , reconnect them to their school communities, and provide them with the support and interventions they need to access grade-level content while recovering lost ground.
• Expand instructional time. NWEA data shows that all student groups learned at a slower rate and ended the past school year with achievement below their same-grade peers in previous years. The disruption in instruction— particularly the reduction in structured learning time for many students —was surely part of the problem. In response, states and districts should consider expanding instructional time and opportunities for learning in evidence-based ways that have shown to improve outcomes for historically underserved students, such as through small-group tutoring and mentoring .
• Support access to remote learning technology for students and families. Before the pandemic, the “homework gap” left nearly 17 million children offline . That includes about one in three Black, Latino, and Native households—compared to about 20% of white households—and almost half of families making less than $25,000 per year. With instruction, extracurricular activities, and family engagement likely to continue to happen online (in some form) well into the future, it is essential to support the technological needs of students and families (e.g. access to high-speed internet and devices, as well as digital literacy).
• Attend to physical, social, and mental health needs of students. As the pandemic continues, students and families need support addressing basic needs and coping with everything from anxiety to trauma arising from major life disruptions. Evidence shows that students are unable to reach their academic potential without socioemotional and mental health support. States and districts should make mental health services available in schools , including increasing access to school nurses and counseling services . They can also partner with community organizations to support underserved families .
• Measure student progress and use data to advance learning. To understand the uneven impacts of the pandemic and inform effective recovery, it is essential that educators and school leaders have ongoing and high-quality data on multiple dimensions of student progress . Interventions should be targeted at students whose learning has suffered disproportionately and continuously adjusted to reflect evidence on what’s working , particularly for historically underserved students.

The pandemic has had the most dramatic impact on the learning of those students who could least afford to fall further behind. As a result, equity is the most important lens through which we must evaluate efficacy of educational investments and the success of recovery efforts. The impacts of COVID-19 will last far longer than the federal recovery funds. Thus, states and districts must look beyond short-term fixes and deploy resources to catalyze transformation that can last a generation. America’s children are counting on it.

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Most US students are recovering from pandemic-era setbacks, but millions are making up little ground

America’s schools have just started making progress toward getting students back on track after they fell behind by historic margins during the pandemic

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — On one side of the classroom, students circled teacher Maria Fletcher and practiced vowel sounds. In another corner, children read together from a book. Scattered elsewhere, students sat at laptop computers and got reading help from online tutors.

For the third graders at Mount Vernon Community School in Virginia, it was an ordinary school day. But educators were racing to get students learning more, faster, and to overcome setbacks that have persisted since schools closed for the COVID-19 pandemic four years ago.

America’s schools have started to make progress toward getting students back on track. But improvement has been slow and uneven across geography and economic status, with millions of students — often those from marginalized groups — making up little or no ground.

Nationally, students made up one-third of their pandemic losses in math during the past school year and one-quarter of the losses in reading, according to the Education Recovery Scorecard , an analysis of state and national test scores by researchers at Harvard and Stanford.

But in nine states, including Virginia, reading scores continued to fall during the 2022-23 school year after previous decreases during the pandemic.

Clouding the recovery is a looming financial crisis. States have used some money from the historic $190 billion in federal pandemic relief to help students catch up , but that money runs out later this year.

“The recovery is not finished, and it won’t be finished without state action,” said Thomas Kane, a Harvard economist behind the scorecard. “States need to start planning for what they’re going to do when the federal money runs out in September. And I think few states have actually started that discussion.”

Virginia lawmakers approved an extra $418 million last year to accelerate recovery. Massachusetts officials set aside $3.2 million to provide math tutoring for fourth and eighth grade students who are behind grade level, along with $8 million for literacy tutoring.

But among other states with lagging progress, few said they were changing their strategies or spending more to speed up improvement.

Virginia hired online tutoring companies and gave schools a “playbook” showing how to build effective tutoring programs. Lisa Coons, Virginia’s superintendent of public instruction, said last year’s state test scores were a wake-up call.

“We weren’t recovering as fast as we needed,” Coons said in an interview.

U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona has called for states to continue funding extra academic help for students as the federal money expires.

“We just can’t stop now,” he said at a May 30 conference for education journalists. “The states need to recognize these interventions work. Funding public education does make a difference.”

In Virginia, the Alexandria district received $2.3 million in additional state money to expand tutoring.

At Mount Vernon, where classes are taught in English and Spanish, students are divided into groups and rotate through stations customized to their skill level. Those who need the most help get online tutoring. In Fletcher’s classroom, a handful of students wore headsets and worked with tutors through Ignite Learning, one of the companies hired by the state.

With tutors in high demand, the online option has been a big help, Mount Vernon principal Jennifer Hamilton said.

“That’s something that we just could not provide here,” she said.

Ana Marisela Ventura Moreno said her 9-year-old daughter, Sabrina, benefited significantly from extra reading help last year during second grade, but she’s still catching up.

“She needs to get better. She’s not at the level she should be,” the mother said in Spanish. She noted the school did not offer the tutoring help this year, but she did not know why.

Alexandria education officials say students scoring below proficient or close to that cutoff receive high-intensity tutoring help and they have to prioritize students with the greatest needs. Alexandria trailed the state average on math and reading exams in 2023, but it’s slowly improving.

More worrying to officials are the gaps: Among poorer students at Mount Vernon, just 24% scored proficient in math and 28% hit the mark in reading. That’s far lower than the rates among wealthier students, and the divide is growing wider.

Failing to get students back on track could have serious consequences. The researchers at Harvard and Stanford found communities with higher test scores have higher incomes and lower rates of arrest and incarceration. If pandemic setbacks become permanent, it could follow students for life.

The Education Recovery Scorecard tracks about 30 states, all of which made at least some improvement in math from 2022 to 2023. The states whose reading scores fell in that span, in addition to Virginia, were Nevada, California, South Dakota, Wyoming, Indiana, Oklahoma, Connecticut and Washington.

Only a few states have rebounded to pre-pandemic testing levels. Alabama was the only state where math achievement increased past 2019 levels, while Illinois, Mississippi and Louisiana accomplished that in reading.

In Chicago Public Schools, the average reading score went up by the equivalent of 70% of a grade level from 2022 to 2023. Math gains were less dramatic, with students still behind almost half a grade level compared with 2019. Chicago officials credit the improvement to changes made possible with nearly $3 billion in federal relief.

The district trained hundreds of Chicago residents to work as tutors. Every school building got an interventionist, an educator who focuses on helping struggling students.

The district also used federal money for home visits and expanded arts education in an effort to re-engage students.

“Academic recovery in isolation, just through ‘drill and kill,’ either tutoring or interventions, is not effective,” said Bogdana Chkoumbova, the district’s chief education officer. “Students need to feel engaged.”

At Wells Preparatory Elementary on the city’s South Side, just 3% of students met state reading standards in 2021. Last year, 30% hit the mark. Federal relief allowed the school to hire an interventionist for the first time, and teachers get paid to team up on recovery outside working hours.

In the classroom, the school put a sharper focus on collaboration. Along with academic setbacks, students came back from school closures with lower maturity levels, principal Vincent Izuegbu said. By building lessons around discussion, officials found students took more interest in learning.

“We do not let 10 minutes go by without a teacher giving students the opportunity to engage with the subject,” Izuegbu said. “That’s very, very important in terms of the growth that we’ve seen.”

Olorunkemi Atoyebi was an A student before the pandemic, but after spending fifth grade learning at home, she fell behind. During remote learning, she was nervous about stopping class to ask questions. Before long, math lessons stopped making sense.

When she returned to school, she struggled with multiplication and terms such as “dividend” and “divisor” confused her.

While other students worked in groups, her math teacher took her aside for individual help. Atoyebi learned a rhyming song to help memorize multiplication tables. Over time, it began to click.

“They made me feel more confident in everything,” said Atoyebi, now 14. “My grades started going up. My scores started going up. Everything has felt like I understand it better.”

Associated Press writers Michael Melia in Hartford, Connecticut, and Chrissie Thompson in Las Vegas contributed to this report.

The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org .

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• Published: 25 January 2021

Online education in the post-COVID era

• Barbara B. Lockee 1  

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• Science, technology and society

The coronavirus pandemic has forced students and educators across all levels of education to rapidly adapt to online learning. The impact of this — and the developments required to make it work — could permanently change how education is delivered.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the world to engage in the ubiquitous use of virtual learning. And while online and distance learning has been used before to maintain continuity in education, such as in the aftermath of earthquakes 1 , the scale of the current crisis is unprecedented. Speculation has now also begun about what the lasting effects of this will be and what education may look like in the post-COVID era. For some, an immediate retreat to the traditions of the physical classroom is required. But for others, the forced shift to online education is a moment of change and a time to reimagine how education could be delivered 2 .

Looking back

Online education has traditionally been viewed as an alternative pathway, one that is particularly well suited to adult learners seeking higher education opportunities. However, the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic has required educators and students across all levels of education to adapt quickly to virtual courses. (The term ‘emergency remote teaching’ was coined in the early stages of the pandemic to describe the temporary nature of this transition 3 .) In some cases, instruction shifted online, then returned to the physical classroom, and then shifted back online due to further surges in the rate of infection. In other cases, instruction was offered using a combination of remote delivery and face-to-face: that is, students can attend online or in person (referred to as the HyFlex model 4 ). In either case, instructors just had to figure out how to make it work, considering the affordances and constraints of the specific learning environment to create learning experiences that were feasible and effective.

The use of varied delivery modes does, in fact, have a long history in education. Mechanical (and then later electronic) teaching machines have provided individualized learning programmes since the 1950s and the work of B. F. Skinner 5 , who proposed using technology to walk individual learners through carefully designed sequences of instruction with immediate feedback indicating the accuracy of their response. Skinner’s notions formed the first formalized representations of programmed learning, or ‘designed’ learning experiences. Then, in the 1960s, Fred Keller developed a personalized system of instruction 6 , in which students first read assigned course materials on their own, followed by one-on-one assessment sessions with a tutor, gaining permission to move ahead only after demonstrating mastery of the instructional material. Occasional class meetings were held to discuss concepts, answer questions and provide opportunities for social interaction. A personalized system of instruction was designed on the premise that initial engagement with content could be done independently, then discussed and applied in the social context of a classroom.

These predecessors to contemporary online education leveraged key principles of instructional design — the systematic process of applying psychological principles of human learning to the creation of effective instructional solutions — to consider which methods (and their corresponding learning environments) would effectively engage students to attain the targeted learning outcomes. In other words, they considered what choices about the planning and implementation of the learning experience can lead to student success. Such early educational innovations laid the groundwork for contemporary virtual learning, which itself incorporates a variety of instructional approaches and combinations of delivery modes.

Online learning and the pandemic

Fast forward to 2020, and various further educational innovations have occurred to make the universal adoption of remote learning a possibility. One key challenge is access. Here, extensive problems remain, including the lack of Internet connectivity in some locations, especially rural ones, and the competing needs among family members for the use of home technology. However, creative solutions have emerged to provide students and families with the facilities and resources needed to engage in and successfully complete coursework 7 . For example, school buses have been used to provide mobile hotspots, and class packets have been sent by mail and instructional presentations aired on local public broadcasting stations. The year 2020 has also seen increased availability and adoption of electronic resources and activities that can now be integrated into online learning experiences. Synchronous online conferencing systems, such as Zoom and Google Meet, have allowed experts from anywhere in the world to join online classrooms 8 and have allowed presentations to be recorded for individual learners to watch at a time most convenient for them. Furthermore, the importance of hands-on, experiential learning has led to innovations such as virtual field trips and virtual labs 9 . A capacity to serve learners of all ages has thus now been effectively established, and the next generation of online education can move from an enterprise that largely serves adult learners and higher education to one that increasingly serves younger learners, in primary and secondary education and from ages 5 to 18.

The COVID-19 pandemic is also likely to have a lasting effect on lesson design. The constraints of the pandemic provided an opportunity for educators to consider new strategies to teach targeted concepts. Though rethinking of instructional approaches was forced and hurried, the experience has served as a rare chance to reconsider strategies that best facilitate learning within the affordances and constraints of the online context. In particular, greater variance in teaching and learning activities will continue to question the importance of ‘seat time’ as the standard on which educational credits are based 10 — lengthy Zoom sessions are seldom instructionally necessary and are not aligned with the psychological principles of how humans learn. Interaction is important for learning but forced interactions among students for the sake of interaction is neither motivating nor beneficial.

While the blurring of the lines between traditional and distance education has been noted for several decades 11 , the pandemic has quickly advanced the erasure of these boundaries. Less single mode, more multi-mode (and thus more educator choices) is becoming the norm due to enhanced infrastructure and developed skill sets that allow people to move across different delivery systems 12 . The well-established best practices of hybrid or blended teaching and learning 13 have served as a guide for new combinations of instructional delivery that have developed in response to the shift to virtual learning. The use of multiple delivery modes is likely to remain, and will be a feature employed with learners of all ages 14 , 15 . Future iterations of online education will no longer be bound to the traditions of single teaching modes, as educators can support pedagogical approaches from a menu of instructional delivery options, a mix that has been supported by previous generations of online educators 16 .

Also significant are the changes to how learning outcomes are determined in online settings. Many educators have altered the ways in which student achievement is measured, eliminating assignments and changing assessment strategies altogether 17 . Such alterations include determining learning through strategies that leverage the online delivery mode, such as interactive discussions, student-led teaching and the use of games to increase motivation and attention. Specific changes that are likely to continue include flexible or extended deadlines for assignment completion 18 , more student choice regarding measures of learning, and more authentic experiences that involve the meaningful application of newly learned skills and knowledge 19 , for example, team-based projects that involve multiple creative and social media tools in support of collaborative problem solving.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, technological and administrative systems for implementing online learning, and the infrastructure that supports its access and delivery, had to adapt quickly. While access remains a significant issue for many, extensive resources have been allocated and processes developed to connect learners with course activities and materials, to facilitate communication between instructors and students, and to manage the administration of online learning. Paths for greater access and opportunities to online education have now been forged, and there is a clear route for the next generation of adopters of online education.

Before the pandemic, the primary purpose of distance and online education was providing access to instruction for those otherwise unable to participate in a traditional, place-based academic programme. As its purpose has shifted to supporting continuity of instruction, its audience, as well as the wider learning ecosystem, has changed. It will be interesting to see which aspects of emergency remote teaching remain in the next generation of education, when the threat of COVID-19 is no longer a factor. But online education will undoubtedly find new audiences. And the flexibility and learning possibilities that have emerged from necessity are likely to shift the expectations of students and educators, diminishing further the line between classroom-based instruction and virtual learning.

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The changes we need: Education post COVID-19

1 Melbourne Graduate School of Education, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia

2 School of Education, University of Kansas, 419 JRP, Lawrence, KS 66049 USA

Jim Watterston

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused both unprecendented disruptions and massive changes to education. However, as schools return, these changes may disappear. Moreover, not all of the changes are necessarily the changes we want in education. In this paper, we argue that the pandemic has created a unique opportunity for educational changes that have been proposed before COVID-19 but were never fully realized. We identify three big changes that education should make post COVID: curriculum that is developmental, personalized, and evolving; pedagogy that is student-centered, inquiry-based, authentic, and purposeful; and delivery of instruction that capitalizes on the strengths of both synchronous and asynchronous learning.

Introduction

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on education is both unprecedented and widespread in education history, impacting nearly every student in the world (UNICEF 2020 ; United Nations 2020 ). The unexpected arrival of the pandemic and subsequent school closures saw massive effort to adapt and innovate by educators and education systems around the world. These changes were made very quickly as the prevailing circumstances demanded. Almost overnight, many schools and education systems began to offer education remotely (Kamanetz 2020 ; Sun et al. 2020 ). Through television and radio, the Internet, or traditional postal offices, schools shifted to teach students in very different ways. Regardless of the outcomes, remote learning became the de facto method of education provision for varying periods. Educators proactively responded and showed great support for the shifts in lesson delivery. Thus, it is clear and generally accepted that “this crisis has stimulated innovation within the education sector” (United Nations 2020 , p. 2).

However, the changes or innovations that occurred in the immediate days and weeks when COVID-19 struck are not necessarily the changes education needs to make in the face of massive societal changes in a post-COVID-19 world. By and large, the changes were more about addressing the immediate and urgent need of continuing schooling, teaching online, and finding creative ways to reach students at home rather than using this opportunity to rethink education. While understandable in the short term, these changes will very likely be considered insubstantial for the long term.

The COVID-19 pandemic has the potential to be a once in a generation opportunity for real change a number of reasons. First, the pandemic was global and affected virtually all schools. As such, it provides the opportunity for educators and children to come together to rethink the education we actually need as opposed to the inflexible and outdated model that we are likely to feverishly cling to. Second, educators across the world demonstrated that they could collectively change en masse. The pandemic forced closure of schools, leaving teachers, children and adults to carry out education in entirely different situations. Governments, education systems, and schools offered remote learning and teaching without much preparation, planning, and in some cases, digital experience (Kamanetz 2020 ; Sun et al. 2020 ). Third, when schools were closed, most of the traditional regulations and exams that govern schools were also lifted or minimally implemented. Traditional accountability examinations and many other high stakes tests were cancelled. Education was given the room to rapidly adapt to the prevailing circumstances.

It is our hope that as we transition out of the COVID-19 pandemic and into an uncertain future that we can truly reimagine education. In light of this rare opportunity, we wish to urge scholars, policy makers, and educators to have the courage to make bold changes beyond simply changing instructional delivery. The changes that we advocate in this paper are not new but they never managed to gain traction in the pre-COVID-19 educational landscape. Our most recent experience, however, has exacerbated the need for us to rethink what is necessary, desirable, and even possible for future generations.

Changes we need

It is incumbant upon all educators to use this crisis-driven opportunity to push for significant shifts in almost every aspect of education: what, how, where, who, and when. In other words, education, from curriculum to pedagogy, from teacher to learner, from learning to assessment, and from location to time, can and should radically transform. We draw on our own research and that of our colleagues to suggest what this transformation could look like.

Curriculum: What to teach

It has been widely acknowledged that to thrive in a future globalized world, traditionally valued skills and knowledge will become less important and a new set of capabilities will become more dominant and essential (Barber et al. 2012 ; Florida 2012 ; Pink 2006 ; Wagner 2008 ; Wagner and Dintersmith 2016 ). While the specifics vary, the general agreement is that repetition, pattern-prediction and recognition, memorization, or any skills connected to collecting, storing, and retrieving information are in decline because of AI and related technologies (Muro et al. 2019 ). On the rise is a set of contemporary skills which includes creativity, curiosity, critical thinking, entrepreneurship, collaboration, communication, growth mindset, global competence, and a host of skills with different names (Duckworth and Yeager, 2015 ; Zhao et al. 2019 ).

For humans to thrive in the age of smart machines, it is essential that they do not compete with machines. Instead, they need to be more human. Being unique and equipped with social-emotional intelligence are distinct human qualities (Zhao 2018b , 2018c ) that machines do not have (yet). In an AI world individual creativity, artistry and humanity will be important commodities that distinguish us from each other.

Moreover, given the rapidity of changes we are already experiencing, it is clear that lifelong careers and traditional employment pathways will not exist in the way that they have for past generations. Jobs and the way we do business will change and the change will be fast. Thus there are almost no knowledge or skills that can be guaranteed to meet the needs of the unknown, uncertain, and constantly changing future. For this reason, schools can no longer preimpose all that is needed for the future before students graduate and enter the world.

While helping students develop basic practical skills is still needed, education should also be about development of humanity in citizens of local, national, and global societies. Education must be seen as a pathway to attaining lifelong learning, satisfaction, happiness, wellbeing, opportunity and contribution to humanity. Schools therefore need to provide comprehensive access and deep exposure to all learning areas across all years in order to enable all students to make informed choices and develop their passions and unique talents.

A new curriculum that responds to these needs must do a number of things. First, it needs to help students develop the new competencies for the new age (Barber et al. 2012 ; Wagner 2008 , 2012 ; Wagner and Dintersmith 2016 ). To help students thrive in the age of smart machines and a globalized world, education must teach students to be creative, entrepreneurial, and globally competent (Zhao 2012a , 2012b ). The curriculum needs to focus more on developing students’ capabilities instead of focusing only on ‘template’ content and knowledge. It needs to be concerned with students’ social and emotional wellbeing as well. Moreover, it needs to make sure that students have an education experience that is globally connected and environmentally connected. As important is the gradual disappearance of school subjects such as history and physics for all students. The content is still important, but it should be incorporated into competency-based curriculum.

Second, the new curriculum should allow personalization by students (Basham et al. 2016 ; Zhao 2012b , 2018c ; Zhao and Tavangar 2016 ). Although personalized learning has been used quite elusively in the literature, the predominant model of personalized learning has been computer-based programs that aim to adapt to students’ needs (Pane et al. 2015 ). This model has shown promising results but true personalization comes from students’ ability to develop their unique learning pathways (Zhao 2018c ; Zhao and Tavangar 2016 ). That is, students can follow their passions and strengths. This not only requires the curriculum to be flexible so that students can choose what they wish to learn, but also requires students to come up with their own learning pathway without being overly constrained by the pre-determined curriculum. Thus national curriculum or curriculum for all students should be a minimal suite of essential knowledge and skills, sufficient for all students to develop the most basic competences and learn the most common norms, expectations, and the societal organizations of a jurisdiction.

Enabling students to co-develop part of the curriculum is not only necessary for them to become unique but also gives them the opportunity to exercise their right to self-determination, which is inalienable to all humans (Wehmeyer and Zhao 2020 ). It provides the opportunities for students to make choices, propose new learning content, and learn about consequences of their actions. Furthermore, it helps students to become owners of their learning and also develop life-long learning habits and skills. It is to help them go meta about their learning—above what they learn and understand why they learn.

Third, it is important to consider the curriculum as evolving. Although system-level curriculum frameworks have to be developed, they must accommodate changes with time and contexts. Any system-level curriculum should enable the capacity for schools to contextualize and make changes to it as deemed necessary. Such changes must be justifiable of course but a system-level curriculum framework should not use national or state level accountability assessments to constrain the changes.

Pedagogy: How to teach

There is increasing call for learners to be more actively engaged in their own learning. The reasons for students to take a more significant role in their own learning are multiple. First, students are diverse and have different levels of abilities and interests that may not align well with the content they are collectively supposed to learn in the classroom. Teachers have been encouraged to pursue classroom differentiation (Tomlinson 2014 ) and students have been encouraged to play a more active role in defining their learning and learning environments in collaboration with teachers (Zhao 2018c ). Second, the recent movement toward personalized learning (Kallick and Zmuda 2017 ; Kallio and Halverson 2020 ) needs students to become more active in understanding and charting their learning pathways.

To promote student self-determination as both a self-evident, naturally born right and an effective strategy for enhanced learning (Wehmeyer and Zhao 2020 ), we need to consider enabling students to make informed decisions regarding their own learning pathway. This generation of learners are much more active and tech-savvy. They access information instantly and have been doing so throughout their daily life. They have different strengths and weaknesses. They also have different passions. Thus, schools should use discretion to start relaxing the intense requirements of curriculum. Schools could start by allowing students to negotiate part of their curriculum instead of requiring all students learn the same content, as discussed earlier. Students should be enabled to have certain levels of autonomy over what they want to learn, how they learn, where they learn and how they want to be assessed (Zhao 2018c ). When students have such autonomy, they are more likely to be less constrained by the local contexts they are born into. The impact of their home background and local schools may be less powerful.

Students should exercise self-determination as members of the school community (Zhao 2018c ). The entire school is composed of adults and students, but students are the reason of existence for schools. Thus, schools and everything in the school environment should incorporate and serve the students, yet most schools do not have policies and processes that enable students to participate in making decisions about the school—the environment, the rules and regulations, the curriculum, the assessment, and the adults in the school. Schools need to create these conditions through empowering students to have a genuine voice in part of how they operate, if not in its entirety. Students’ right to self-determination implies that they have the right to determine under what conditions they wish to learn. Thus, it is not unreasonable for schools to treat students as partners of learning and of change (Zhao 2011 , 2018c ).

It should not be unique to see school practices co-developed with students (Zhao 2018c ). Students not only will be co-owners (with parents and teachers) of their own learning enterprise, but also co-owners of the school community. It is likely to see students having their own personal learning programs and also acting as fully functioning members of the entire school community, contributing to fundamental decisions regarding the curriculum for all, the staff, the students, and the entire environment.

Moreover, with ubiquitous access to online resources and experts, students do not necessarily need teachers to continually and directly teach them. When students are enabled to own their learning and have access to resources and experts, the role of the teacher changes (Zhao 2018a ). Teachers no longer need to serve as the instructor, the sole commander of information to teach the students content and skills. Instead, the teacher serves other more important roles such as organizer of learning, curator of learning resources, counselor to students, community organizer, motivator and project managers of students’ learning. The teacher’s primary responsibility is no longer simply just instruction, which requires teacher education to change as well. Teacher education needs to focus more on preparing teachers to be human educators who care more about the individual students and serve as consultants and resource curators instead of teaching machines (Zhao 2018a ).

Pedagogy should change as well. Direct instruction should be cast away for its “unproductive successes” or short-term successes but long term damages (Bonawitza et al. 2011 ; Buchsbauma et al. 2011 ; Kapur 2014 , 2016 ; Zhao 2018d ). In its place should be new models of teaching and learning. The new models can have different formats and names but they should be student-centered, inquiry-based, authentic, and purposeful. New forms of pedagogy should focus on student-initiated explorations of solutions to authentic and significant problems. They should help students develop abilities to handle the unknown and uncertain instead of requiring memorization of known solutions to known problems.

Organization: Where and when to teach

Technology has made it possible for schools to offer online education for quite some time and the number of students taking online courses has been on the rise, but not until the arrival of COVID-19 has the majority of education been offered through this mode. While there are many good reasons for schools to return to what was refrred to as “normal,” the normalcy may not be easily achieved because of the uncertainty of the virus, and as discussed above, may not even be desirable.

Moving teaching online is significant. It ultimately changed one of the most important unwritten school rules: all students must be in one location for education to take place. The typical place of learning has been the classroom in a school and the learning time has been typically confined to classes. This massive online movement changed the typical. It has forced teachers to experience remote teaching without proximity to the students. It has also given many teachers the opportunity to rethink the purpose of teaching and connecting with students.

When students are not learning in classes inside a school, they are distributed in the community. They can interact with others through technologies. This can have significant impact on learning activities. If allowed or enabled by a teacher, students could be learning from online resources and experts anywhere in the world. Thus, the where of learning changes from the classroom to the world.

Furthermore, the time of learning also changes. When learning goes online and students are not or do not need to be in schools, their learning time vastly expands beyond the traditional school time. They can learn asynchronously at anytime. Equally important is that their learning time does not need to be synchronous with each other or with that of the teacher.

There are many possible ways for schools to deliver remote learning (Zhao 2020 ). The simplest is to simulate that schools are open with traditional timetables with the default model being that all students attend lessons on screen at the same time as they do in schools. In this case, nothing changes except for the fact that students are not in the same location as their classmates and the teacher. While it has been perhaps the most common approach that has been taken by many schools, this approach has not been very effective and successful, resulting in distress, disengagement, and much less personal interaction and learning than traditional face-to-face situations (Darby 2020 ; Dorn et al. 2020 ).

As schools continue to explore online learning, new and more effective models are being explored, innovatively developed, and practiced. The more effective models of online learning have a well-balanced combination of both synchronous and asynchronous sessions that enable more desirable ways of learning. Instead of teaching online all the time, it is possible, for example, to conduct inquiry-based learning. Students receive instructions from online resources or synchronous meetings, conduct inquiry, create products individually or within small groups, and make presentations in large class synchronous meetings. Instead of lecturing to all students, teachers could create videos of lectures or find videos made by others and share them with students. They would also be meeting with small groups of individuals for specific advice and support. The fundamental pursuit is that there is minimal benefit or student engagement for teachers to lecture all the time when more interesting and challenging instructional models can be developed.

Today, being disconnected physically can result in being more broadly connected virtually. Students have been traditionally associated with their schools and schools have typically served local communities. Thus, students typically are connected and socialize with their peers from restricted catchment areas. Despite the possibility to connect globally with people from other lands, most schools’ activities are local. Today, when local connections become less reliable and students are encouraged to have social distancing, it is possible to encourage more global connections virtually. Students could join different learning communities that involve members from different locations, not necessarily from their own schools. Students could also participate in learning opportunities provided by other providers in remote locations. Furthermore, students could create their own learning opportunities by inviting peers and teachers from other locations.

The ideal model of organizing students, based on the COVID-19 experiences, is perhaps a combination of both online and face-to-face learning opportunities. Many schools have already reopened, but when schools reopen it is unnecessary to undo the online aspect of learning developed during COVID-19. Online learning can be effective (Means et al. 2013 ; Rudestam and Schoenholtz-Read 2010 ; Zhao et al. 2005 ), but a well-designed mixed mode delivery of online and face-to-face education should be more effective for learning in general but especially so should there be future instances of virtual learning (Tucker 2020 ). The idea of blended learning or flipped classrooms (Bishop and Verleger 2013 ) has been promoted and researched in recent years as very effective models of teaching. COVID-19 should have made the convincing much easier since many teachers have been forced to move online.

When learning is both online and face-to-face, students are liberated from having to attend classes at specific times. They are also no longer required to be in the same place to receive instruction from teachers. They could work on their own projects and reach out to their teachers or peers when necessary. When students are no longer required to attend class at the same time in the same place, they can have much more autonomy over their own learning. Their learning time expands beyond school time and their learning places can be global.

Education will undoubtedly go through major changes in the next decade as the combined result of multiple major forces. These changes include curricular changes that determine what is to be learned by learners. It is likely that more students will be moving toward competency-based learning that has an emphasis on developing unique skills and abilities. Learning has to become more based on strengths and passions and become personalized. In response, education providers will need to make student autonomy and student agency key to transforming pedagogy and school organizations. Students will prosper by having more say in their own learning and their learning communities. Moreover, schools will have a unique opportunity to positively and proactively change as a result of COVID-19 and the need for global connections. It is possible to see schools rearrange their schedules and places of teaching so that students can at the same time take part in different and more challenging learning opportunities regardless of their physical locations. Relevant online learning will be on the rise and perhaps becomes a regular part of the daily routine for many students.

Of course, we cannot forget that not all students have equal access to technology, both in terms of hardware and digital competency. The issue of digital divide remains a significant issue around the globe. It is important for us to reimagine a better education with technology and find creative ways to make education more equitable, including wiping out the digital divide.

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Yong Zhao, Email: ude.uk@oahzgnoy .

Jim Watterston, Email: [email protected] .

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Editorial article, editorial: charting our new path in education in a post-pandemic world.

• 1 Touro University Graduate School of Education, New York, NY, United States
• 2 Teacher Education Department, Weber State University, Ogden, UT, United States

Editorial on the Research Topic Charting our new path in education in a post-pandemic world

In the spring of 2020, and COVID-19 reached pandemic status, the entire education community was forced into an unplanned online learning experiment. With the sudden closure of schools and move to remote instruction and virtual learning with little adjustment, teachers, administrators, and students suddenly found themselves in uncharted territory. Education reporter Mangrum (2020) noted “The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated a lot of problems facing public schools—but it didn't create most of them. Most of the inequities existed long before the pandemic. The only difference is who was affected and who was paying attention.” UNESCO reported that the pandemic has caused educational disruption and school closures for over 1.2 billion students ( Giannini and Brandolino, 2020 ). The effects of this educational disruption are just beginning to be measured and will likely have ripple effects for years to come.

To address this unprecedented, rapid change in education, a Research Topic to inform the broader international educational community was opened for articles related to the conditions and shifts in classrooms related to assessment, standards of education, gaps in learning, innovative approaches to learning, and support of emerging alternative methods of learning. A total of 15 manuscripts were received and assessed for inclusion based on their relevance to the educational challenges during the COVID-19 time period. To help educators make their way in the new challenges of pandemic-disrupted education, we sought articles to illuminate innovative, collaborative, ethical, and effective educational practices in virtual and hybrid teaching contexts. Twelve manuscripts were accepted.

We identified four broad categories of manuscripts from those received: Impact on instructors, impact on student's knowledge and skills, impact on teaching practices, and focus on administrative practices.

Impact on instructors

Besides missing the human connection and contact with students, instructors experienced fatigue with using new technology to teach virtually and asynchronously. They also experienced frustrations related to the factors that stood between them and their ability to support their student's social-emotional growth and wellness as a result of the pandemic. Regardless of these barriers, they also found creative ways to connect with students, extend instruction, and solve problems. Sahito et al. addressed the perception of university teachers about online teaching during COVID-19, the challenges, issues, and problems faced by university teachers and how to cope to overcome the issues, challenges, and problems posed by the pandemic. Zara et al. explored the concept of pedagogical resilience in Thailand and the Philippines concerning teachers' personal, professional, and social attitudes toward teaching and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study highlights the resilience, the mental resistance to difficulties and stresses that teachers exhibited as they planned for how they would respond to the pandemic and both navigate and survive the challenges. Woltran et al. evaluated the perception of Austrian elementary school teachers when distance teaching and the challenges they faced due to COVID-19 that included a lack of personal contact with students; additional workload and more stress, a lack of technical equipment and digital skills; and an inability to offer individual support for students at risk. Finally Sokal and Parmigiani used a newly developed set of global competence rubrics to explore the relationships between 115 teacher candidates' global competence, demographic variables, and programmatic variables within their teacher education program. The restrictions on travel necessitated by the pandemic do not prevent virtual exchanges, and this study illuminates the many online project-based learning activities that allowed teachers to facilitate intercultural collaborative projects and school-based global consciousness learning opportunities. These are noted for their capacity to develop empathy, co-operation, negotiation, leadership, and social awareness.

Impact on students

The impacts on students' knowledge and skills caused by the pandemic include academic, behavioral, and emotional areas in university and K-12 settings. Garrad and Page conducted research on student perceptions of learning of an online postgraduate degree course where the authors examined the impact of the design restructure on student perceptions of learning within the course. Classroom expectations remain integral to positive learning environments, whether virtual or in person. Croce and Salter outlined the importance of teaching classroom expectations and provided four factors to consider in virtual settings to help children transition into brick-and-mortar environments.

Impact on teaching practices

Perspectives and pedagogical methods that influence teaching practices shifted and evolved as a result of the pandemic. Cobo-Rendón et al. gave six recommendations for implementation to ensure blended learning improves teaching practices. Rissanen et al. analyzed the impact of growth mindset pedagogy on the teacher's pedagogical thinking and practices in Finland. They found significant differences between fixed-mindset and growth-mindset teachers. Those teachers who utilized growth mindsets produced deep reflections in ways to use these tools to support students' emotion regulation and generate ideas about how to normalize hardship in learning in unique and useful ways. Notably, GMP offered them tools for working particularly with students whom they had learned to identify as suffering from motivational and emotional problems related to a fixed mindset. Anderson et al. focused attention on two aspects of teacher support and development: creativity and wellbeing and how these are especially important in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the secondary traumatic stress that teachers inevitably experienced. After engaging in online professional development, teachers' creative agency in the classroom increased, replicating some of the results from a pre-pandemic study ( Anderson et al. ). Campillo-Ferrer and Miralles-Martínez examined teachers' development of low-order cognitive skills with content and language integrated learning in Spain. They analyzed three individual cognitive categories used to foster student's understanding of content in both public and private schools in foreign language and content acquisition in non-language areas. They provided teachers perceptions of the daily challenges making adjustments with space, time and materials available.

Impacts on administration

Administrative focus and practices underwent changes as a result of challenges in the post pandemic world. Facing an administrative audit for an academic program is challenging even under normal circumstances. Kline reviewed the challenges posed by pandemic requirements forcing creation of online meetings for participating partners in local and remote areas to facilitate the academic review process. Kline also discussed utilization of online tools for gathering of data needed during the review process. Administrative implications for instructional practices in delivery options for graduate students in master's programs also include implications for evolving policy requirements. Another administrative strategy that emerged during the pandemic was reported by Elfarargy et al. To meet the need of training faculty, use of virtual learning was necessitated during the pandemic. Texas mandated face-to-face training expanded to virtual training to allow for equity and convenience.

As we chart a course forward post pandemic, there are many aspects of education to reconsider. As a result, this is an ideal opportunity to pause, reflect on the lessons learned during this health crisis and work together in partnerships between K-12 schools and teacher preparation programs to collaboratively determine the path ahead. As we collectively consider ways to improve, the researchers in this special issue have provided studies to push our thinking on a number of topics that impact students, teachers, administrators, and pedagogical approaches. Now is the time to reconsider and revise our teaching methods and strategies, our pathways for both teacher and student recruitment, retention and incentive practices, assessment, and accreditation approaches. Citing a Rand study conducted in January of 2021, Zamarro et al. suggested that teachers' levels of stress and burnout have reached all-time highs starting during the pandemic, but are still continuing. “In March 2021, 42% of teachers declared they had considered leaving or retiring from their current position during the last year. Of these, slightly more than half say it was because of COVID-19” ( Zamarro et al., 2022 ). As alarms now sound suggesting there is no end to the steep increases in teacher turnover and growing teacher shortages it is imperative that we consider what opportunities can be found amidst these new challenges for the next phase.

Author contributions

All authors listed have made a substantial, direct, and intellectual contribution to the work and approved it for publication.

Acknowledgments

We want to thank the researchers who submitted to this Research Topic. The impact of the pandemic on education has provided numerous topics, challenges, and solutions to help inform educators around the World.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher's note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Giannini, S., and Brandolino, J. (2020). COVID-19–Education Is the Bedrock of a Just Society in the Post-COVID World. UNESCO . Available online at: https://www.unodc.org/dohadeclaration/en/news/2020/05/covid-19-education-is-the-bedrock-of-a-just-society-in-the-post-covid-world.htm

Google Scholar

Mangrum, M. (2020, December 8). Twitter .

Zamarro, G., Camp, A., Fuchsman, D., and McGee, J. B. (2022). Understanding How COVID-19 Has Changed Teachers' Chances of Remaining in the Classroom. Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications. Available online at: https://scholarworks.uark.edu/edrepub/132/

Keywords: teacher education, educational leadership, pedagogy, COVID-19, ethical responsibilities

Citation: Dacey CM, Dawson S and Napper VS (2023) Editorial: Charting our new path in education in a post-pandemic world. Front. Educ. 7:1110617. doi: 10.3389/feduc.2022.1110617

Received: 29 November 2022; Accepted: 28 December 2022; Published: 06 January 2023.

Edited and reviewed by: Stefinee Pinnegar , Brigham Young University, United States

Copyright © 2023 Dacey, Dawson and Napper. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

This article is part of the Research Topic

Charting our New Path in Education in a Post-Pandemic World

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Most US students are recovering from pandemic-era setbacks, but millions are making up little ground

Fifth grade students attend a math lesson with teacher Jana Lamontagne, right, during class at Mount Vernon Community School, in Alexandria, Va., Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

A fifth grade student explains a math answer to his classmate during a math lesson at Mount Vernon Community School, in Alexandria, Va., Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Fifth grade students attend a math lesson with teacher Alex Ventresca, right, during class at Mount Vernon Community School, in Alexandria, Va., Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

A fifth grade student attends a math lesson during class at Mount Vernon Community School, in Alexandria, Va., Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Fifth grade students work on computers during a math class at Mount Vernon Community School, in Alexandria, Va., Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Fifth grade teacher Jana Lamontagne, center, teaches a math lesson during class at Mount Vernon Community School, in Alexandria, Va., Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Osbell, 9, works on the Ignite program with a live tutor, during a third grade English language arts class at Mount Vernon Community School, in Alexandria, Va., Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Bridget, 9, attends a third grade English language arts class at Mount Vernon Community School, in Alexandria, Va., Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Jaelene, 9, works on a computer during a third grade English language arts class at Mount Vernon Community School, in Alexandria, Va., Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Students work on a writing assignment during a third grade English language arts class at Mount Vernon Community School, in Alexandria, Va., Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Wells Preparatory Elementary School principal Vincent Izuegbu talks about the school’s mission to overcome the effects of remote pandemic learning Friday, March 8, 2024, in Chicago. In the classroom, the school put a sharper focus on collaboration. Along with academic setbacks, students came back from school closures with lower maturity levels, said Izuegbu. “We do not let 10 minutes go by without a teacher giving students the opportunity to engage with the subject,” Izuegbu said. “That’s very, very important in terms of the growth that we’ve seen.” (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

The Wells Preparatory Elementary School Student Creed hangs on the wall behind principal Vincent Izuegbu on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Chicago. At Wells Preparatory Elementary on the South Side, just 3% of students met state reading standards in 2021. Last year, 30% hit the mark. Federal relief allowed the school to hire an interventionist for the first time, and teachers get paid to team up on recovery outside working hours. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Wells Preparatory Elementary School student Olorunkemi Atoyebi, responds to a question during an interview with The Associated Press on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Chicago. Atoyebi was an A student before the pandemic, but after spending fifth grade behind a computer screen, she fell behind. During remote learning, she was nervous about stopping class to ask questions. Before long, math lessons stopped making sense. When she returned to in classroom learning other students worked in groups, her math teacher helped her one-on-one. Atoyebi learned a rhyming song to help memorize multiplication tables. Over time, it began to click. “They made me feel more confident in everything,” said Atoyebi, now 14. “My confidence started going up, my grades started going up, my scores started going up. Everything has felt like I understand it better."(AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Students at the Wells Preparatory Elementary School make their way to the cafeteria past reminders of the education and subjects they are receiving on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Chicago. In Chicago Public Schools, the average reading score went up by the equivalent of 70% of a grade level from 2022 to 2023. Math gains were less dramatic, with students still behind almost half a grade level compared to 2019. Chicago officials credit the improvement to changes made possible with nearly $3 billion in federal relief. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

The desktop of a student at the Wells Preparatory Elementary School reflects the literature they are studying in Charlotte Owens’ fifth grade class on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Chicago. In Chicago Public Schools, the average reading score went up by the equivalent of 70% of a grade level from 2022 to 2023. Math gains were less dramatic, with students still behind almost half a grade level compared to 2019. Chicago officials credit the improvement to changes made possible with nearly $3 billion in federal relief. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Wells Preparatory Elementary School teacher Charlotte Owens, left, works with her fifth grade students during the literature segment of their day, Friday, March 8, 2024, in Chicago. In Chicago Public Schools, the average reading score went up by the equivalent of 70% of a grade level from 2022 to 2023. Math gains were less dramatic, with students still behind almost half a grade level compared to 2019. Chicago officials credit the improvement to changes made possible with nearly $3 billion in federal relief. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

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ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — On one side of the classroom, students circled teacher Maria Fletcher and practiced vowel sounds. In another corner, children read together from a book. Scattered elsewhere, students sat at laptop computers and got reading help from online tutors.

For the third graders at Mount Vernon Community School in Virginia, it was an ordinary school day. But educators were racing to get students learning more, faster, and to overcome setbacks that have persisted since schools closed for the COVID-19 pandemic four years ago.

America’s schools have started to make progress toward getting students back on track. But improvement has been slow and uneven across geography and economic status, with millions of students — often those from marginalized groups — making up little or no ground.

Nationally, students made up one-third of their pandemic losses in math during the past school year and one-quarter of the losses in reading, according to the Education Recovery Scorecard , an analysis of state and national test scores by researchers at Harvard and Stanford.

But in nine states, including Virginia, reading scores continued to fall during the 2022-23 school year after previous decreases during the pandemic.

Clouding the recovery is a looming financial crisis. States have used some money from the historic $190 billion in federal pandemic relief to help students catch up , but that money runs out later this year.

“The recovery is not finished, and it won’t be finished without state action,” said Thomas Kane, a Harvard economist behind the scorecard. “States need to start planning for what they’re going to do when the federal money runs out in September. And I think few states have actually started that discussion.”

Virginia lawmakers approved an extra $418 million last year to accelerate recovery. Massachusetts officials set aside $3.2 million to provide math tutoring for fourth and eighth grade students who are behind grade level, along with $8 million for literacy tutoring.

But among other states with lagging progress, few said they were changing their strategies or spending more to speed up improvement.

Virginia hired online tutoring companies and gave schools a “playbook” showing how to build effective tutoring programs. Lisa Coons, Virginia’s superintendent of public instruction, said last year’s state test scores were a wake-up call.

“We weren’t recovering as fast as we needed,” Coons said in an interview.

U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona has called for states to continue funding extra academic help for students as the federal money expires.

“We just can’t stop now,” he said at a May 30 conference for education journalists. “The states need to recognize these interventions work. Funding public education does make a difference.”

In Virginia, the Alexandria district received $2.3 million in additional state money to expand tutoring.

At Mount Vernon, where classes are taught in English and Spanish, students are divided into groups and rotate through stations customized to their skill level. Those who need the most help get online tutoring. In Fletcher’s classroom, a handful of students wore headsets and worked with tutors through Ignite Learning, one of the companies hired by the state.

With tutors in high demand, the online option has been a big help, Mount Vernon principal Jennifer Hamilton said.

“That’s something that we just could not provide here,” she said.

Ana Marisela Ventura Moreno said her 9-year-old daughter, Sabrina, benefited significantly from extra reading help last year during second grade, but she’s still catching up.

“She needs to get better. She’s not at the level she should be,” the mother said in Spanish. She noted the school did not offer the tutoring help this year, but she did not know why.

Alexandria education officials say students scoring below proficient or close to that cutoff receive high-intensity tutoring help and they have to prioritize students with the greatest needs. Alexandria trailed the state average on math and reading exams in 2023, but it’s slowly improving.

More worrying to officials are the gaps: Among poorer students at Mount Vernon, just 24% scored proficient in math and 28% hit the mark in reading. That’s far lower than the rates among wealthier students, and the divide is growing wider.

Failing to get students back on track could have serious consequences. The researchers at Harvard and Stanford found communities with higher test scores have higher incomes and lower rates of arrest and incarceration. If pandemic setbacks become permanent, it could follow students for life.

The Education Recovery Scorecard tracks about 30 states, all of which made at least some improvement in math from 2022 to 2023. The states whose reading scores fell in that span, in addition to Virginia, were Nevada, California, South Dakota, Wyoming, Indiana, Oklahoma, Connecticut and Washington.

Only a few states have rebounded to pre-pandemic testing levels. Alabama was the only state where math achievement increased past 2019 levels, while Illinois, Mississippi and Louisiana accomplished that in reading.

In Chicago Public Schools, the average reading score went up by the equivalent of 70% of a grade level from 2022 to 2023. Math gains were less dramatic, with students still behind almost half a grade level compared with 2019. Chicago officials credit the improvement to changes made possible with nearly $3 billion in federal relief.

The district trained hundreds of Chicago residents to work as tutors. Every school building got an interventionist, an educator who focuses on helping struggling students.

The district also used federal money for home visits and expanded arts education in an effort to re-engage students.

“Academic recovery in isolation, just through ‘drill and kill,’ either tutoring or interventions, is not effective,” said Bogdana Chkoumbova, the district’s chief education officer. “Students need to feel engaged.”

At Wells Preparatory Elementary on the city’s South Side, just 3% of students met state reading standards in 2021. Last year, 30% hit the mark. Federal relief allowed the school to hire an interventionist for the first time, and teachers get paid to team up on recovery outside working hours.

In the classroom, the school put a sharper focus on collaboration. Along with academic setbacks, students came back from school closures with lower maturity levels, principal Vincent Izuegbu said. By building lessons around discussion, officials found students took more interest in learning.

“We do not let 10 minutes go by without a teacher giving students the opportunity to engage with the subject,” Izuegbu said. “That’s very, very important in terms of the growth that we’ve seen.”

Olorunkemi Atoyebi was an A student before the pandemic, but after spending fifth grade learning at home, she fell behind. During remote learning, she was nervous about stopping class to ask questions. Before long, math lessons stopped making sense.

When she returned to school, she struggled with multiplication and terms such as “dividend” and “divisor” confused her.

While other students worked in groups, her math teacher took her aside for individual help. Atoyebi learned a rhyming song to help memorize multiplication tables. Over time, it began to click.

“They made me feel more confident in everything,” said Atoyebi, now 14. “My grades started going up. My scores started going up. Everything has felt like I understand it better.”

Associated Press writers Michael Melia in Hartford, Connecticut, and Chrissie Thompson in Las Vegas contributed to this report.

The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org .

Most US Students Are Recovering From Pandemic-Era Setbacks, but Millions Are Making up Little Ground

America’s schools have just started making progress toward getting students back on track after they fell behind by historic margins during the pandemic

Jacquelyn Martin

Fifth grade students attend a math lesson with teacher Jana Lamontagne, right, during class at Mount Vernon Community School, in Alexandria, Va., Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — On one side of the classroom, students circled teacher Maria Fletcher and practiced vowel sounds. In another corner, children read together from a book. Scattered elsewhere, students sat at laptop computers and got reading help from online tutors.

For the third graders at Mount Vernon Community School in Virginia , it was an ordinary school day. But educators were racing to get students learning more, faster, and to overcome setbacks that have persisted since schools closed for the COVID-19 pandemic four years ago.

America’s schools have started to make progress toward getting students back on track. But improvement has been slow and uneven across geography and economic status, with millions of students — often those from marginalized groups — making up little or no ground.

Nationally, students made up one-third of their pandemic losses in math during the past school year and one-quarter of the losses in reading, according to the Education Recovery Scorecard , an analysis of state and national test scores by researchers at Harvard and Stanford.

But in nine states, including Virginia, reading scores continued to fall during the 2022-23 school year after previous decreases during the pandemic.

Clouding the recovery is a looming financial crisis. States have used some money from the historic $190 billion in federal pandemic relief to help students catch up , but that money runs out later this year.

“The recovery is not finished, and it won’t be finished without state action,” said Thomas Kane, a Harvard economist behind the scorecard. “States need to start planning for what they’re going to do when the federal money runs out in September. And I think few states have actually started that discussion.”

Virginia lawmakers approved an extra $418 million last year to accelerate recovery. Massachusetts officials set aside $3.2 million to provide math tutoring for fourth and eighth grade students who are behind grade level, along with $8 million for literacy tutoring.

But among other states with lagging progress, few said they were changing their strategies or spending more to speed up improvement.

Virginia hired online tutoring companies and gave schools a “playbook” showing how to build effective tutoring programs. Lisa Coons, Virginia’s superintendent of public instruction, said last year's state test scores were a wake-up call.

“We weren’t recovering as fast as we needed,” Coons said in an interview.

U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona has called for states to continue funding extra academic help for students as the federal money expires.

"We just can’t stop now," he said at a May 30 conference for education journalists. “The states need to recognize these interventions work. Funding public education does make a difference.”

In Virginia, the Alexandria district received $2.3 million in additional state money to expand tutoring.

At Mount Vernon, where classes are taught in English and Spanish, students are divided into groups and rotate through stations customized to their skill level. Those who need the most help get online tutoring. In Fletcher’s classroom, a handful of students wore headsets and worked with tutors through Ignite Learning, one of the companies hired by the state.

With tutors in high demand, the online option has been a big help, Mount Vernon principal Jennifer Hamilton said.

“That’s something that we just could not provide here,” she said.

Ana Marisela Ventura Moreno said her 9-year-old daughter, Sabrina, benefited significantly from extra reading help last year during second grade, but she’s still catching up.

“She needs to get better. She’s not at the level she should be,” the mother said in Spanish. She noted the school did not offer the tutoring help this year, but she did not know why.

Alexandria education officials say students scoring below proficient or close to that cutoff receive high-intensity tutoring help and they have to prioritize students with the greatest needs. Alexandria trailed the state average on math and reading exams in 2023, but it's slowly improving.

More worrying to officials are the gaps: Among poorer students at Mount Vernon, just 24% scored proficient in math and 28% hit the mark in reading. That's far lower than the rates among wealthier students, and the divide is growing wider.

Failing to get students back on track could have serious consequences. The researchers at Harvard and Stanford found communities with higher test scores have higher incomes and lower rates of arrest and incarceration. If pandemic setbacks become permanent, it could follow students for life.

The Education Recovery Scorecard tracks about 30 states, all of which made at least some improvement in math from 2022 to 2023. The states whose reading scores fell in that span, in addition to Virginia, were Nevada, California, South Dakota, Wyoming , Indiana, Oklahoma, Connecticut and Washington.

Only a few states have rebounded to pre-pandemic testing levels. Alabama was the only state where math achievement increased past 2019 levels, while Illinois, Mississippi and Louisiana accomplished that in reading.

In Chicago Public Schools, the average reading score went up by the equivalent of 70% of a grade level from 2022 to 2023. Math gains were less dramatic, with students still behind almost half a grade level compared with 2019. Chicago officials credit the improvement to changes made possible with nearly $3 billion in federal relief.

The district trained hundreds of Chicago residents to work as tutors. Every school building got an interventionist, an educator who focuses on helping struggling students.

The district also used federal money for home visits and expanded arts education in an effort to re-engage students.

“Academic recovery in isolation, just through ‘drill and kill,’ either tutoring or interventions, is not effective,” said Bogdana Chkoumbova, the district's chief education officer. “Students need to feel engaged.”

At Wells Preparatory Elementary on the city's South Side, just 3% of students met state reading standards in 2021. Last year, 30% hit the mark. Federal relief allowed the school to hire an interventionist for the first time, and teachers get paid to team up on recovery outside working hours.

In the classroom, the school put a sharper focus on collaboration. Along with academic setbacks, students came back from school closures with lower maturity levels, principal Vincent Izuegbu said. By building lessons around discussion, officials found students took more interest in learning.

“We do not let 10 minutes go by without a teacher giving students the opportunity to engage with the subject,” Izuegbu said. “That’s very, very important in terms of the growth that we’ve seen.”

Olorunkemi Atoyebi was an A student before the pandemic, but after spending fifth grade learning at home, she fell behind. During remote learning, she was nervous about stopping class to ask questions. Before long, math lessons stopped making sense.

When she returned to school, she struggled with multiplication and terms such as “dividend” and “divisor” confused her.

While other students worked in groups, her math teacher took her aside for individual help. Atoyebi learned a rhyming song to help memorize multiplication tables. Over time, it began to click.

“They made me feel more confident in everything,” said Atoyebi, now 14. “My grades started going up. My scores started going up. Everything has felt like I understand it better.”

Associated Press writers Michael Melia in Hartford, Connecticut, and Chrissie Thompson in Las Vegas contributed to this report.

The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org .

Copyright 2024 The  Associated Press . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Four of the biggest problems facing education—and four trends that could make a difference

Eduardo velez bustillo, harry a. patrinos.

In 2022, we published, Lessons for the education sector from the COVID-19 pandemic , which was a follow up to,  Four Education Trends that Countries Everywhere Should Know About , which summarized views of education experts around the world on how to handle the most pressing issues facing the education sector then. We focused on neuroscience, the role of the private sector, education technology, inequality, and pedagogy.

Unfortunately, we think the four biggest problems facing education today in developing countries are the same ones we have identified in the last decades .

1. The learning crisis was made worse by COVID-19 school closures

Low quality instruction is a major constraint and prior to COVID-19, the learning poverty rate in low- and middle-income countries was 57% (6 out of 10 children could not read and understand basic texts by age 10). More dramatic is the case of Sub-Saharan Africa with a rate even higher at 86%. Several analyses show that the impact of the pandemic on student learning was significant, leaving students in low- and middle-income countries way behind in mathematics, reading and other subjects.  Some argue that learning poverty may be close to 70% after the pandemic , with a substantial long-term negative effect in future earnings. This generation could lose around $21 trillion in future salaries, with the vulnerable students affected the most.

2. Countries are not paying enough attention to early childhood care and education (ECCE)

At the pre-school level about two-thirds of countries do not have a proper legal framework to provide free and compulsory pre-primary education. According to UNESCO, only a minority of countries, mostly high-income, were making timely progress towards SDG4 benchmarks on early childhood indicators prior to the onset of COVID-19. And remember that ECCE is not only preparation for primary school. It can be the foundation for emotional wellbeing and learning throughout life; one of the best investments a country can make.

3. There is an inadequate supply of high-quality teachers

Low quality teaching is a huge problem and getting worse in many low- and middle-income countries.  In Sub-Saharan Africa, for example, the percentage of trained teachers fell from 84% in 2000 to 69% in 2019 . In addition, in many countries teachers are formally trained and as such qualified, but do not have the minimum pedagogical training. Globally, teachers for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects are the biggest shortfalls.

4. Decision-makers are not implementing evidence-based or pro-equity policies that guarantee solid foundations

It is difficult to understand the continued focus on non-evidence-based policies when there is so much that we know now about what works. Two factors contribute to this problem. One is the short tenure that top officials have when leading education systems. Examples of countries where ministers last less than one year on average are plentiful. The second and more worrisome deals with the fact that there is little attention given to empirical evidence when designing education policies.

To help improve on these four fronts, we see four supporting trends:

1. Neuroscience should be integrated into education policies

Policies considering neuroscience can help ensure that students get proper attention early to support brain development in the first 2-3 years of life. It can also help ensure that children learn to read at the proper age so that they will be able to acquire foundational skills to learn during the primary education cycle and from there on. Inputs like micronutrients, early child stimulation for gross and fine motor skills, speech and language and playing with other children before the age of three are cost-effective ways to get proper development. Early grade reading, using the pedagogical suggestion by the Early Grade Reading Assessment model, has improved learning outcomes in many low- and middle-income countries. We now have the tools to incorporate these advances into the teaching and learning system with AI , ChatGPT , MOOCs and online tutoring.

2. Reversing learning losses at home and at school

There is a real need to address the remaining and lingering losses due to school closures because of COVID-19.  Most students living in households with incomes under the poverty line in the developing world, roughly the bottom 80% in low-income countries and the bottom 50% in middle-income countries, do not have the minimum conditions to learn at home . These students do not have access to the internet, and, often, their parents or guardians do not have the necessary schooling level or the time to help them in their learning process. Connectivity for poor households is a priority. But learning continuity also requires the presence of an adult as a facilitator—a parent, guardian, instructor, or community worker assisting the student during the learning process while schools are closed or e-learning is used.

To recover from the negative impact of the pandemic, the school system will need to develop at the student level: (i) active and reflective learning; (ii) analytical and applied skills; (iii) strong self-esteem; (iv) attitudes supportive of cooperation and solidarity; and (v) a good knowledge of the curriculum areas. At the teacher (instructor, facilitator, parent) level, the system should aim to develop a new disposition toward the role of teacher as a guide and facilitator. And finally, the system also needs to increase parental involvement in the education of their children and be active part in the solution of the children’s problems. The Escuela Nueva Learning Circles or the Pratham Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) are models that can be used.

3. Use of evidence to improve teaching and learning

We now know more about what works at scale to address the learning crisis. To help countries improve teaching and learning and make teaching an attractive profession, based on available empirical world-wide evidence , we need to improve its status, compensation policies and career progression structures; ensure pre-service education includes a strong practicum component so teachers are well equipped to transition and perform effectively in the classroom; and provide high-quality in-service professional development to ensure they keep teaching in an effective way. We also have the tools to address learning issues cost-effectively. The returns to schooling are high and increasing post-pandemic. But we also have the cost-benefit tools to make good decisions, and these suggest that structured pedagogy, teaching according to learning levels (with and without technology use) are proven effective and cost-effective .

4. The role of the private sector

When properly regulated the private sector can be an effective education provider, and it can help address the specific needs of countries. Most of the pedagogical models that have received international recognition come from the private sector. For example, the recipients of the Yidan Prize on education development are from the non-state sector experiences (Escuela Nueva, BRAC, edX, Pratham, CAMFED and New Education Initiative). In the context of the Artificial Intelligence movement, most of the tools that will revolutionize teaching and learning come from the private sector (i.e., big data, machine learning, electronic pedagogies like OER-Open Educational Resources, MOOCs, etc.). Around the world education technology start-ups are developing AI tools that may have a good potential to help improve quality of education .

After decades asking the same questions on how to improve the education systems of countries, we, finally, are finding answers that are very promising.  Governments need to be aware of this fact.

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Consultant, Education Sector, World Bank

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This is how we make education fit for the post-COVID world

'Education systems around the world are urgently recalibrating, realizing that they are dangerously outdated.' Image:  Avel Chuklanov on Unsplash

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Stay up to date:, education, gender and work.

• Due to pandemic-related learning losses, students currently in school are estimated to face a $10 trillion reduction in lifetime earnings ;
• Before the pandemic, it was estimated that by 2030, more than half of the world’s children and young people would not have the skills or qualifications necessary to participate in the emerging global workforce;
• Forced to rethink how education works in the wake of COVID-19, education systems have an opportunity to reimagine learning and equip students with the cognitive, creative, social, emotional and physical skills required to navigate the future.

Across the world, education systems’ responses to COVID-19 mean students are not re-entering the same classrooms they left earlier this year. It’s a daunting prospect, but also an opportunity to reimagine learning and modernize our education systems for the 21st century.

Have you read?

One-third of young people still optimistic despite covid's dramatic hit on education and jobs, covid-19 is widening the education gap. this is how we can stop it, the covid-19 pandemic has changed education forever. this is how .

Global industries and operations have been shocked by the scale and pace of change in recent months, with education systems among those most affected. A record number of children and youth have been affected by schools closing because of COVID-19 and many may never return to education at all . We have witnessed educators and parents stepping up and embracing new learning environments and tools; and we’ve seen the power of both playful and engaging approaches to stimulate learning and skills development.

Teachers have created activity packs for families to use at home with children participating in #StoryCity challenges and harnessing their imaginations to build communities. Even virtual “playdates” between students have been organized by parents and teachers, giving learners opportunities to play with friends at a distance.

This learning crisis will undoubtedly worsen future job prospects. Before the pandemic, the Education Commission estimated that by 2030, more than half of the world’s children and young people (800 million) would not have the skills or qualifications necessary to participate in the emerging global workforce.

Today, approximately one-fifth of young people worldwide, or 267 million, have already been affected by unemployment . In the future, they are also expected to earn less. Due to pandemic-related learning losses, students currently in school are estimated to face a $10 trillion reduction in lifetime earnings , equivalent to twice the global annual public expenditure on primary and secondary education. With 1.3 billion people entering adulthood in the next decade , it is critical that out-of-date approaches to education don’t serve as yet another barrier for tomorrow’s workers and leaders.

While traditional academic skills are important, we’ve also seen the role that playful, creative, and engaging experiences have in helping children cope in unpredictable and rapidly changing situations . Creativity and a child’s ability to be resilient despite life’s unpredictable challenges will be among the most in-demand skills that today’s learners need in a rapidly changing world. Research tells us that cognitive, creative, social, emotional and physical skills, when integrated with traditional academic skills, help develop students who can better navigate this complex world .

Education systems around the world are urgently recalibrating, realizing that they are dangerously outdated. Many are seizing the opportunity to modernize their systems for the 21st century – reimagining learning to equip children with the skills they need to be productive, life-long learners. Even before the pandemic, there was an increasing appetite to move beyond intention to action, beyond pilots to scaling and beyond isolated examples to systemic reform.

A small number of pioneering nations are already ahead of the pack in efforts to enhance their learners’ creativity skills and do so at scale. Earlier this year, the LEGO Foundation released a report, Creating Systems - how can education systems reform to enhance learners’ creativity skills? , which interviewed Australian , Japanese , Thai , Scottish and Welsh policy-makers on their national and regional reform efforts. The report highlights inspiring efforts to reform curricula and assessment and teaching approaches. It also illustrates innovative programming with creative engagement on an unprecedented scale; positive changes in teaching and learning practice and greater levels of attainment; and evidence of improved learner engagement, confidence and collaboration.

The report details 10 essential lessons for governments as they reset and reimagine learning. Political will, partnerships, shared language, evidence, lesson sharing and international engagement will all play huge roles in achieving significant and lasting reform.

Decisions in the coming weeks and months could prove pivotal in enabling or hindering a generation of young people – from securing meaningful employment to having the skills and knowledge they will need to solve the many future challenges our world will face. As millions of children are likely to remain without a stable physical classroom for the foreseeable future, we face the very real threat that virtual curricula will focus solely on literacy and numeracy rather than engaging, hands-on activities that help foster a breadth of essential skills.

We must not allow existing inequities to be exacerbated. As challenging as the pandemic is for education, it can be transformed into a watershed event to build more equitable and resilient education systems of the future. We can – and we must – reform our education systems and reimagine learning to equip all learners with the skills they need for the future.

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Reskilling Revolution: The Role of AI in Education 4.0

Explore how Microsoft's partnership with Khan Academy is enhancing the future of education with AI innovation and tools for teachers >

• Accessibility
• Published Jun 22, 2021

Leading forward: Ensuring equity and access in a post-pandemic world

• Content Type
• Career readiness skills
• Education decision makers
• Minecraft Education

Education leaders today face major challenges and opportunities, from ensuring every student has the support to graduate successfully, to balancing budgets and driving transformation to evolve their systems to be the greatest 21st century education institutions. While on this journey, one of the most important requirements for all leaders is to ensure learning is truly accessible and equitable for all students.  

At Microsoft, we’ve been working with education systems around the world who are developing strategies to create more equitable and accessible learning systems. Innovative technologies are transforming all sectors, allowing us to reinvent what is possible, and create new opportunities and access for people to connect and collaborate. For education, these innovations and advancements are offering new opportunities for how we can rethink, personalize, and improve our education systems to better support all learners.  

As part of this work, we recently had the opportunity to interview leaders from around the globe and co-author a white paper with Education World Forum (EWF) —the world’s largest gathering of education and skills ministers—to assist the planning of EWF in January 2022. The resources were created to provide you with insights and perspective from education industry leaders on the topic of equitable education in a post-pandemic world, and how systems are focusing on effective learning opportunities for every student. You can access these on our Virtual Education Transformation Series webpage , which include: 

• The whitepaper: “ Equitable education in a post-pandemic world: Effective learning for every student ,” co-authored with Education World Forum.  
• How the COVID pandemic influenced equity in education:  Gavin Dykes, Program Director, Education World Forum, United Kingdom; Larry Nelson, Asia Regional Business Leader, General Manager, Education; and Alexa Joyce, EMEA Director of Education Transformation and Skills 
• Inclusive education with Minecraft: Education Edition: Ayman Ahmad Alattas, Program Director, Edutainment, Saudi Arabia and Alexa Joyce, EMEA Director of Education Transformation and Skills, Microsoft 
• Reinventing education statewide:  Jorge Enrique Hernandez, Guanajuato MoE, Mexico and Dina Ghobashy, Business Strategy Leader, K-12 School Leadership and Programs, Microsoft 
• Equity and skills: Life, learning, and employment:  Michael Prayer, Superintendent New York DOE Brooklyn, USA and Mark Sparvell, Director, Education Marketing, Microsoft 
• Well-being and analytics: Positive education approaches to scale:  Shannon Stevens, Wellbeing Consultant, CEWA, Australia and Mark Sparvell, Director, Education Marketing, Microsoft 
• Enabling inclusive education in developing countries:  Alex Twinomugisha, Senior Education Technology Specialist, World Bank and Alexa Joyce, EMEA Director of Education Transformation and Skills, Microsoft 
• Empower all students with reading literacy:  Mike Tholfsen, Principal Product Manager, Education, Microsoft 

I invite you to discover these resources and explore the many additional tools, like the Microsoft Education Transformation Framework , designed to support you: our education systems leaders working to address how we best move forward. I also encourage you to explore and consider joining the Microsoft Leaders of Digital Transformation Program , designed to connect education leaders with a network of leaders working together on key challenges they are facing. 

Together, we are preparing for a post-pandemic world where every student can be more successful and develop the skills they need for the future. I, along with our teams around the world, look forward to hearing from you about how we can work together and support your transformation journey—with equity and access at the heart of what we’re improving for our students. 

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David Wallace-Wells

Why children are missing more school now.

By David Wallace-Wells

Opinion Writer

The raw data looks inarguably bad: The share of American children missing at least 10 percent of school days nearly doubled over the course of the pandemic, leaving perhaps more than six million more students “chronically absent” than had been in the 2018-19 school year.

And this spring, as we trudged into our fifth year with Covid, the absenteeism crisis succeeded pandemic learning loss and the mental health of teenagers as a new touchstone in what are now yearslong arguments about the wisdom of school closings in 2020 and 2021. Almost everything about school performance and the well-being of children and adolescents now seems to orbit the duration of remote learning in one school year, which lives on years later as the gravitational center of our retrospective universe. But before the link between those closings and absenteeism hardens into a new conventional wisdom, I want to offer a few notes of additional context, which together suggest, I think, that we are doing ourselves a disservice by fashioning every aftereffect of those years into a weapon to be used in an ideological crusade.

First, as it was with learning loss , chronic absenteeism does not appear to be a uniquely American problem arising from the specific way we handled school closings during the pandemic but something of a global phenomenon. It can be seen almost everywhere you look, in the aftermath of Covid, including a lot of places that took quite different approaches to school during the pandemic.

How can I say that? The most recent available national numbers show that 26 percent of American students missed at least 10 percent of school in 2022-23. In Sweden, reports from the National Agency for Education showed considerable increases in student absences across the first two years of the pandemic. In Britain, chronic absenteeism jumped from 11.7 percent of children before the pandemic to 23.5 percent in 2022-23. In Belgium, the problem has grown by 90 percent , and in New Zealand, more than 45 percent of children missed at least 10 percent of school days . In Japan, where schools reopened for good in June 2020, there had never been a year in the prior decade when more than 300,000 children registered “prolonged absence,” and most years in the 2010s the number hovered around 200,000. In 2021, it crossed 400,000, and in 2022, 450,000.

Second, in the United States, the relationship between how long schools remained remote and how much absenteeism they later experienced looks pretty modest — perhaps one slice of the story, but only one slice of it. In a high-profile study published in January, Stanford’s Thomas Dee found that the length of remote schooling at the state level explained only about 20 percent of the variation in increased absenteeism. In another paper published the same month by the American Enterprise Institute, Nat Malkus crunched the numbers at the district level and found a slightly smaller relationship: Chronic absenteeism in those districts with the most in-person schooling grew by 12 percentage points, while in those with the most remote schooling, rates had grown by 14 percentage points; in the districts in between, the rates had grown by 13 percentage points. The differences, in other words, were negligible, especially given the large increases observed everywhere. When The Times updated some of his analysis, Malkus summarized it like this: “The problem got worse for everybody in the same proportional way.”

Malkus believes that absenteeism is the biggest problem facing American schools today, but he’s quite firm that we shouldn’t see in those numbers a morality play about remote learning. “If I could have drawn a neat line between the two data sets — school closures and chronic absenteeism — I would have. But I can’t,” he told me. “The districts that were closed longer do have a marginally higher problem. But how much of the difference does it explain? Not very much.”

Dee believes school closings played a somewhat larger role but also describes the phenomenon as a “multiheaded hydra,” tied up in many of the other social and psychological impacts of living through Covid. “Clearly, the growth in chronic absenteeism does not have a monocausal explanation — it wasn’t just school closure,” he said. “And I do worry a little bit that this discourse is bringing a culture war frame to the challenges we face.”

How big a challenge is it? This is the third piece of context I would emphasize: The spike in chronic absenteeism is real and therefore concerning, but using it as our only measure of school attendance may skew our impression of the story somewhat. In New York City, the largest school district in the country, overall school attendance fell between 2019 and 2023 from 91.5 percent in 2018-19 to 89.4 percent in 2022-23, even though rates of chronic absenteeism grew far more significantly. The pattern is similar in other places where granular attendance information is available: In Boston, the largest district in Massachusetts, for instance, and across Connecticut, which has especially accessible data, chronic absenteeism ballooned while overall attendance rates dropped by only a few percentage points.

How can both things be true? The explanation put forth by Jennifer Jennings, a sociologist who studies education at Princeton, is that school attendance follows a bell curve; that before the pandemic the threshold for “chronic absence” was already set at a pretty fat place of that curve, which meant that many students were identified as chronically absent and many others were just above the cutoff. So even a small shift in total attendance patterns could push a lot more students into that category. This is not to say the growth in absenteeism is trivial — a drop of a few percentage points across a large school system implies a lot of additional missed days — only that it probably doesn’t describe a huge spike in the percentage of children who show up for school only sporadically. More likely, the pattern reflects a bunch of students who five years ago might have missed 16 days of school in a given year, say, now missing 20.

And what can we say about what is actually driving that phenomenon? If the best estimates of the effect of school closings suggest it explains only about one-fifth of the variation in absenteeism, what about the other four-fifths? Prepandemic patterns of absenteeism seem to be playing a role, as do rates of poverty and local educational attainment. Researchers tend to cite a bundle of other factors as well, including logistical disruptions, both on the family side and the school side, and mental health issues, including increased rates of anxiety and what’s been called “emotionally based school avoidance.” Some also suggest old-fashioned increases in truancy, though high school graduation rates have not fallen but have improved overall in the past few years, or families growing more comfortable taking their children out of school for trips or days off.

But when my colleague Sarah Mervosh, recounting her reporting on chronic absenteeism on The Daily, was asked what was driving the spike, she answered , “probably the most universally shared reason that you’ll hear is just illness.” And although C.D.C. survey data isn’t perfect, what it shows is quite striking: The number of children who reported missing at least 15 days of school the previous year because of illness nearly doubled between 2019 and 2022. Nationally, there have been two to three times as many hospitalizations for respiratory viruses among children in the past two years as in the year before the pandemic, according to C.D.C. data, though those increases may also reflect increased patterns of testing alongside increased rates of illness. In New York City, the share of teachers who missed at least 11 days of school grew almost 50 percent between 2019 and 2023, too, and, in some places, teachers who have exhausted their allotment of paid sick leave are routinely taking unpaid leave now.

But sickness doesn’t happen in a clinical vacuum, and the past few years may have marked a post-pandemic culture shift in how we relate to illness — that in the aftermath of the pandemic, there has been a subtler and more widespread change in mores around infections and exposure, with daily school attendance seeming less urgent and obligatory than it did before the pandemic, and the need to keep sick children home to prevent them from spreading bugs to others perhaps more urgent. In other words, it may be the case that across the country, American children and their parents have simultaneously grown less conscientious about schooling and more conscientious about health. If the size of that effect is about two percentage points of daily attendance, is that necessarily an overcorrection? If so, how large an overcorrection? And it is probably notable, in this context, that at least in New York City, the largest increases in absenteeism have been among the youngest students, who are much less likely to be making decisions about attendance themselves.

Many of the researchers looking most closely at the surge in absenteeism worry that it represents a new normal. But on that point the story looks somewhat T.B.D. to me. Nearly every state experienced declines in rates of absenteeism in 2022-23, though the changes were typically small, leaving rates still well above prepandemic levels. And although the data we have for 2023-24 is still quite patchy, it suggests the possibility of accelerating improvement. In Massachusetts, for instance, rates of absenteeism have this year dropped down closer to 2020-21 levels. While that means they are still above prepandemic patterns, the improvement suggests that at least in New England — both more wealthy and more well-run than average — a return to the old normal may not be all that far-off.

In the meantime, it does tell us a few things about all the ways we are continuing to misperceive and misunderstand our collective experience of the pandemic and its legacy. First, much of what Americans are now retrospectively processing as frustrations and failings peculiar to this country were actually near universal features of the Covid experience. Second, much of the turmoil we now want to chalk up to pandemic policy, perhaps to pin the blame for it on some accountable authority or modifiable ideology, was instead either the direct result of the disease itself or a human response so common that it is hard to find a place in the world that managed to sidestep it. And sometimes we seem to be pinning problems on Covid policies that hardly seem related to the pandemic at all: Last month, commentators considering a worrying rise in drowning deaths among American children tried to connect them to lockdowns and interruptions to swim instruction. But between 2019 and 2022, the largest absolute increases in the rate of drowning deaths have been among children under the age of 4, most of whom had not yet been born during the closings phase of the pandemic, and those over age 85, whose swimming skills were most likely not affected by pool closings in the summer of 2020. That’s not to say it isn’t bad that more people are drowning, only that we don’t solve the problem — or help ourselves see it clearly — by intoning “school closings” over and over whenever we come across a distressing fact about our post-pandemic lives. Most of these stories, it turns out, are complicated.

Multifaceted Post-Pandemic Pedagogical Challenges and Leadership: The Case of Brazilian Universities

• First Online: 05 June 2024

Cite this chapter

• Ailson J. De Moraes 5 &
• Carlos A. Teixeira 6  

Brazilian public universities responded in diverse ways to the limitations imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, considering the country’s continental size and distinct regional characteristics. The Ministry of Education established general guidelines for all educational institutions, promoting the transition to remote learning as soon as social isolation was recommended by the World Health Organization. However, each university had the flexibility to adapt these guidelines according to its own circumstances and available resources. Data from the 2020 census revealed that Brazil has a large number of higher education students, with the majority enrolled in private institutions. Nevertheless, public institutions of higher education play a fundamental role in the country’s education, serving a large contingent of students. The country has 302 public institutions of higher education, including 110 universities. These institutions faced significant challenges during the pandemic, related to adapting to remote learning, ensuring students’ access to technological resources, training educators, and maintaining the quality of education. The chapter in question aims to understand how these Brazilian public universities dealt with the challenges of the pandemic, highlighting lessons that can be learned for the post-pandemic future. The analysis of 59 articles from the SciELO database provides important insights into how Brazilian public universities addressed leadership and governance during this challenging period.

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De Moraes, A.J., Teixeira, C.A. (2024). Multifaceted Post-Pandemic Pedagogical Challenges and Leadership: The Case of Brazilian Universities. In: Rudolph, J., Crawford, J., Sam, CY., Tan, S. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Crisis Leadership in Higher Education. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-54509-2_12

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