Beuermann et al. Not only do these trends suggest a rise in income inequality, but they also indicate that disadvantage would extend to education. Access to technology, which is the primary modality used to continue education during the Covid pandemic, would not be available to students living in the most vulnerable households. The preceding findings support information about the widening gap between students with and without access to technology and educational resources, based on the Programme for International Student Assessment PISA data OECD Although now dated, these data provide a useful point of analysis to extrapolate from and understand the likely impact of gaps in access to learning resources, given Covid conditions.
When socioeconomic status was considered, students from the highest quintile were 5. It can therefore be argued that both Beuermann et al. This conceptual paper examines the impact of school closures and highlights the emerging disparities that the global pandemic has emphasized for students and the educational system in Jamaica and Barbados.
Next, a comparative analysis of the responses of the MOEs in Jamaica and Barbados is considered, with a focus on the nature and types of supports implemented during the period of school closure.
The paper then discusses the challenges and implications of the Covid pandemic on education on the two islands. How did the MOEs support curriculum and instruction during the global pandemic? What challenges does Covid present for MOEs, and what are the implications for education after Covid? Who has been affected by school closures in Barbados and Jamaica? These same islands were identified by Beuermann et al.
Table 1 documents the number of out-of-school students affected by pandemic-related school closures for each country, up to the tertiary level. School closure data suggest a gender disparity, with more males than females being out of school due to Covid, from preprimary to secondary school, in Barbados and Jamaica. Statistics in Table 1 indicate that in Jamaica, , school-age students up to the secondary school level were affected by Covid school closures.
Of these, , were females and , were males. At the primary school level, the largest number of students affected were males , , whereas , female students were affected by school closures. This pattern was repeated at the preprimary level, with males accounting for 51, and females for 51, of learners out of school.
At the secondary level, boys accounted for , students and girls for 99, students of the out-of-school population due to Covid These figures can be juxtaposed to those for the island of Barbados, which had 45, school-age learners who were affected by school closures.
Of this number, 22, were female and 22, were male. At the preprimary level, 2, females and 2, males were out of school due to Covid in At the primary school level, 20, learners were out of school, with the majority being boys 10, boys and 9, girls.
Secondary school closures in Barbados affected 19, learners, with a small majority of those being males 9, boys and 9, girls; UNESCO Institute for Statistics The data from both Barbados and Jamaica suggest that more boys than girls are potentially at greater risk for poor academic outcomes due to school closures.
The situation is further compounded for some families on the larger island of Jamaica, given its economic status, geography, and levels of poverty.
Boys from rural and remote primary and secondary schools in Jamaica are particularly at risk of further educational loss and declines in achievement. Lewin argued that school closure statistics should not be conflated with those from the global out-of-school initiative. He went on to note that these students remain at risk as a result of global school closures and still have a need to learn and be included in education.
What also remains missing from school closure data is the numbers of school-age children with disabilities who have been affected by Covid in the Caribbean. These would include those who are in special schools, special education units, and resource rooms. Moreover, how the intersections of gender, poverty, and disability act to disadvantage these students has not been well documented within available data sources.
We now turn our attention to the responses of MOEs in the region, in particular in Barbados and Jamaica, to examine what procedures they adopted to keep education on track during national lockdowns.
This comparative analysis examines how MOEs for the islands of Jamaica and Barbados responded to school closures as a result of the worldwide Covid pandemic. It is imperative, however, to first understand the educational context of each island. Jamaica is one of the largest islands in the Caribbean, with a landmass of 10, km 2 , located just south of Cuba. According to statistics posted on the United Nations' data website, as of , Jamaica had a population of 2,, Although formal education remains mainly controlled by the MOE, education is also available through private purveyors in Jamaica.
Schools are organized by grades, with Grade 0 catering to those from kindergarten to infant school, Grades 1 through 9 for those categorized as primary all age or primary and junior , and Grades 7 through 13 designated as high school.
Jamaica also has independent preparatory and high schools that cater to students from Grades 1 through In Jamaica, trained teachers who are university graduates account for Figures from the Education Statistics of — also suggest that By contrast, Barbados is one of the smallest islands in the Caribbean, occupying km 2 just east of the Windward Islands. The structure of the educational system mirrors that of Jamaica with respect to tiers of education; however, differences are noticeable in that Barbados does not have a graded system of educational classification.
Students in Barbados complete 2 years of preprimary education from ages 3 to 4 as nursery and reception students. They then advance to primary school for 6 years, from Infants A 5 years old to Class 4 10 years old. This is then followed by 5 years of compulsory secondary education for students between the ages of 11 and 15 from Forms 1 to 5. Postsecondary but nontertiary education occurs in Lower 6 and Upper 6 Form. It lasts for a period of 2 years, until students matriculate into tertiary-level education, starting around age Another difference between Jamaica and Barbados is that special education in Barbados falls under the ambit of the MOE rather than private purveyors, as is the case on the larger island.
Data on teacher training in Barbados are neither current nor disaggregated, as is the case for Jamaica, but a cursory glance does suggest that the majority of public primary school teachers are trained as opposed to untrained ; similarly, at the secondary school level, teachers are trained and are reported as untrained Ministry of Education MOEs in the region responded to school closures and the continuation of the curriculum primarily via increased access to technology to facilitate remote learning.
This approach mirrors that of many international jurisdictions as an interim strategy to continue education during the Covid pandemic.
However, a key question of concern is whether access to more technology translated into greater inclusion and quality education during online learning. It seems intuitive to argue that the pandemic at least provided the Caribbean with an opportunity to further the international equity and inclusive education agenda through addressing access to education via technology.
But has it? Much of the information on how the MOEs in the Caribbean approached and managed the pandemic is still evolving since March , when school closures occurred worldwide. Researchers in this area must understand that information is not always easy to find because the decisions made are not always officially documented.
The Covid crisis placed educational systems in a state of flux, and therefore access to information was dependent on how technologically advanced, organized, and transparent MOEs' websites were for each Caribbean island. It is likely that educators would need to rely on information gathered from other secondary sources, such as local newspapers, authorized government information websites, official newsletters, and video conferences convened by MOEs.
Barbados announced its first two cases of Covid on March 17, ; this was swiftly followed by school closures on March 18, One implication of this move was that teachers needed to be upskilled in preparation for delivering sessions. A trainer-of-the-trainers model was implemented, and information technology coordinators across all schools received further training before being tasked with building the capacity of other teachers at their respective institutions.
Rudder noted that besides sharing best practices, a major focus of this training was on changing the instructional design used by teachers, especially the presentation of information for online learning.
It was reported that a G-Suite for Education devices drive was pursued in collaboration with corporate Barbados, Barbadians from the Diaspora, and the Ministry of Finance to expand access to technology for all children Loop News Barbados , para. However, some 4, children identified as vulnerable had no access to technology.
The implication is that many children were disadvantaged, which raises questions about inclusivity and whether we value the learning of all students equitably. The decision to close schools nationally in Jamaica occurred on March 12, , and the Ministry of Youth and Information mandated a switch to remote teaching and homeschooling.
School closures in Jamaica followed the announcement of the first 12 confirmed Covid cases, between March 10 and 16, School closures were subsequently extended until April 21, then May 31, and finally September 6, Ministry of Education, Youth and Information c , para. Very similar to the Barbadian experience, in Jamaica, access to technology was provided via private-public partnerships. These tablets were shared between the six education regions across the island under the Tablet in Infant and Primary School Project.
To facilitate teachers and students in rural Jamaica, it was reported that E-Learning partnered with local post offices to distribute 25, tablets to principals and registered teachers; 10, were sourced from Royal Computer Limited and 15, from Productive Business Solutions.
MOEs in Barbados and Jamaica pursued an inclusive agenda concerning making learning resources available via their websites. Resources and support provided by the MOEs can be classified as those that facilitated teaching and learning, those that were infrastructural and provided internet access, and those that supported parents. This program provided televised lessons that aired during the week from a. The lessons were designed to widen access, especially for those students in rural areas who might not have had access to a computer, laptop, or the internet.
These were accompanied by live online lessons or sessions made available through the One on One Learning Management System for students in Grades 1 to 13 c , para. For students at the secondary level of schooling, this system served the following functions:. It provided access to ready-made question banks to help teachers design quizzes and engage in formative assessment based on CSEC and CAPE syllabi g , para. In addition, printing services were also made available in each region to support the preparation of learning kits for students para.
Internet access was supported through private-public partnerships in Barbados and Jamaica. To illustrate, in Jamaica, ReadyTV provided internet access to schools. At the same time, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information ensured that schools had internet access in the parishes of Kingston, Manchester, St. James, and Trelawny d , para. In addition to this roving internet, hotspots were set up in the six education regions to facilitate emergency remote teaching.
In Barbados, more than 35, students and teachers benefited from free internet access Rudder Moreover, telecom provider Digicel assisted MOEs in Barbados and Jamaica with internet access through the provision of data plans. Data plans were subsidized and also zero rated for frequently used platforms and websites, such as Google.
Zero-rated websites accessed by students and teachers in Jamaica included yammer. Parental support during the Covid pandemic was also a key concern of MOEs in both Barbados and Jamaica, and partnerships between ministries were used to assist parents during the pandemic. In both Barbados and Jamaica, the MOEs also established hotlines to provide psychological, teaching, and counseling support for all students, teachers, and parents.
Services offered for both islands were for those who experienced difficulty coping with the emotional and psychological impact of social isolation, and specifically for parents who had additional homeschooling responsibilities or for students who needed academic assistance.
National assessments at the early childhood, primary, and secondary levels in Barbados and Jamaica were postponed due to Covid To assist in their preparation for the examination, however, the MOE announced that primary schools would recommence classes for 4th-form students on Monday, June 15, In those cases where retention rather than promotion was the outcome, this decision was made by schools in collaboration with the parents, the child, and school administrators.
One point of difference to note is that Jamaica announced that 3 weeks of diagnostic assessment would take place from September 7 to 30, , at the start of the next academic year. The assessments would determine the extent of learning loss and readiness for learning due to school closures Ministry of Education, Youth and Information f , para. At the time of this writing, no similar measures had been announced for Barbados. Despite the innovations already mentioned—and in some cases, adaptations that emerged during the pandemic—the challenges of providing inclusive and equitable opportunities for all students in Jamaica and Barbados were exacerbated by Covid This section of the paper considers the following question: What challenges does the Covid pandemic present for MOEs?
Some of the challenges with continuing education provision for these students during Covid were due to a lack of infrastructure and amenities to support remote learning in both Barbados and Jamaica. In Barbados, it was estimated by the MOE that 4, vulnerable children from low-income homes and those with disabilities simply lacked access to the necessary technology to continue their learning online and at home Loop News Barbados , para. It of- However, few of these educators have actually fers solutions to problems in industry by contrib- studied the art of medical education which sug- uting the services of appropriate consultancy gests limitations in the amount of pedagogical teams.
The Faculty also offers various kinds of knowledge. The same can be said for athletic train- short courses, thus providing opportunities for ing educators who attempt to use technology with- continuing education and life-long learning. FOSS in the classroom. According to Abbitt , many includes three Schools and a center; namely, the educators focus only on learning how to use a School of Natural and Applied Sciences, the specific piece of technology without thinking about School of Mathematics and Statistics, the Carib- how its use relates to the course content knowl- bean School of Sport Sciences and the Centre of edge or specific pedagogical strategies.
Science-based Research, Entrepreneurship, and These limitations are disappointing given that Continuing Studies. CSOSS manages and cial in terms of providing baseline examples for delivers all the sport electives to the University community. The course of study carries a practi- cum and mentorship module along with a Final Figure 1.
This division is de- thopedic injury assessment. The template for each signed to prepare its graduates with competen- case included a scenario e.
These competencies will allow graduates to questions, observations, assessment results Fig- manage the athlete holistically from competitive ure 3 , the problem to be solved Figure 4 , and preparations to normal activities of daily living, or proposed treatment plans. The aforementioned descrip- tion provides a context for the implementation of a new technological tool for teaching and learn- ing.
Initially, he was apprehensive about moving his shoulder so he was substituted out of the game and examined by you on the sideline. Further sideline inspection showed that his pain was localized to the lateral end of his right clavicle and the clavicle was slightly raised on the right side compared to the left.
There were no other deformities seen in the clavicular region. Question: How does this information from the sideline assessment change your answer to the initial brainstorming question? Question: What is the raised clavicle seen in your observation commonly referred to? What anatomical structures could be damaged if this observation is present in the athlete? Figure 3. After completing these steps of assessment, answer the questions that follow. Question 1 — What structures could be injured in this athlete, based on what you have learned from your orthopedic assessment?
Question 2 — For each answer to Question 1, describe how the findings would differ in your orthopedic assessment e. Figure 4. Sample Problem to be Solved Research Methods As suggested by Yin , case studies should puter technology, 2 previous experiences with use multiple sources of research evidence to pro- using technology for education, 3 comfort level vide a complete picture and description of a par- with using the multimedia sports injury case study ticular situation.
Therefore, for data collection we DVDs, 4 the quality and relative scope of the accessed both quantitative and qualitative indi- multimedia sports injury case study DVDs, and cators from different members of the school, in- 5 the effectiveness of the proposed teaching model. This schedule was also field-tested with education. From nology. If the students were intimidated by, or had the study sample, all 15 students were invited and initial negative attitudes towards using technolo- concomitantly participated in a minute audio- gy, then it would be difficult to accurately assess recorded interview.
Table 1 shows in an iterative process and grounded in the sur- the mean results of these initial predispositions vey results to establish emergent themes. Two to technology questions. Microsoft 1. I am a competent user of Email. An interview It is important to note that Likert scales do not was also conducted with the course instructor to represent continuous data and therefore these probe areas of: 1 informal student feedback on means only establish trends and not statistically the quality and format of the case study DVD; 2 significant data.
These results suggest that the use of multimedia technology in the classroom; 3 students are competent users of common com- use of case-based learning in the classroom; 4 puter technologies and are not intimidated by us- level of difficulty of the cases; and 5 effectiveness ing technology in the classroom. Therefore they of the proposed teaching method. The ferent forms of technology. The students also in- questionnaire was 30 questions in length and the dicated that the most frequently used piece of tech- majority of the questions asked students to re- nology was a laptop computer average response spond on a 5-point Likert scale that ranged from of 1.
These students do not always your mind, think about the possibilities, and think have access to an orthopedic textbook or quality critically about the best way to approach the situ- internet connection, so it can be hard for them to ation. However, scenarios. Many students indicated in their inter- the interviews suggested that not every student views that they even used the DVD to help them completed the peer review component of the pro- study for their final exams because it provided a posed teaching model.
Possible reasoning for this detailed and systematic step-by-step method to included time constraints of the assignment, approach sports injury assessments. Question- grouping issues, and lack of pressure to collabo- naire results indicated that the case studies were rate. In interviews, most students discussed the challenging but applicable to the current knowl- potential benefits of having a peer interaction com- edge base of the students at UTech and they did ponent which included: seeing how someone else not think that the scenarios were too difficult to evaluates or approaches the same injury analy- investigate.
The students saw the utility of using sis; sharing differing sports experiences included the DVD and recommended that the instructor on the DVD; and students have varying experi- promote the DVD case studies in future offerings ences with the proposed injuries. Interviews and of the course. A rationale emerged with one stu- focus group discussions provided some additional dent saying: These case studies gave us a realis- suggestions to improve the instructional model.
This is very important because at student. This checklist could include orthopedic this stage in our program, we do not get much special tests to be completed for each scenario practical experience by covering actual events. This would add an interactive compo- How to Improve the DVD and nent to the case study and help promote student Instructional Approach: Student engagement.
Feedback Students provided suggestions on how to Improving the Teaching and streamline the technology and improve the DVD Learning Model educational tool.
Many students had trouble ac- While the research is limited to a convenience cessing the Object2VR anatomical models on their sample by design, the reader experiencing may own computers. It was found that the students generalize to a similar context; this is inherent to were trying to open the file in a media program classroom action research.
Beaulieu cap- other than the required QuickTime. The con- ing perspectives that are defined by the sensus was that a simple introduction guide stakeholders, not by principal research- should be included with the DVD explaining what ers, and it can involve exposing truths programs are needed and how to correctly access that are not guided by the myths of ob- all the media that are included on the DVD.
Inter- jectivity. For action researchers, seek- views of both students and the course instructor ing a singular truth or perspective is not indicated that additional media could be used to necessarily a desirable goal.
It is often difficult to de- views. In interviews, the easy to get distracted or to just complete the as- students concurred that using technology for the signment individually. In response to this critique, sake of technology was meaningless and that the a detailed plan was created to outline the specific technology should be implemented only for a spe- activities that should be completed during the peer cific purpose.
For instance, the proposed addi- interaction component of the instructional model. Come up with collective answers based on group discussion. Anatomy Model Take turns pointing to different anatomical structures to quiz each other. Answer 3 structures each. Further Injury Information Answer the question individually then discuss More detailed information about the injury as a group. Orthopedic Injury Assessment Perform the active, passive, and resisted range Range of Motion Tests of motion tests on your partner.
Explain what you would find and why. This ecosystem includes key stakeholders such as students, teachers, school leaders, parents, NGOs, donors and the private sector including app developers, publishers, equipment manufacturers, telecommunication companies and cloud service providers. Technology can and should be used to easily collect data from educational institutions, analyze this data and support decision making. Technology is currently available to measure outcomes, track student performance, manage student retention, track book distribution, manage teacher recruitment, track education system spending, etc.
Without these, countries will not be as efficient in supporting schools, students and teachers. This data however is diffused through various systems in Ministries of Education and other parts of government. To operationalize this principle, Ministries of Education should promote transparent standards that facilitate interoperability of systems, data and content and remove barriers to competition in order to promote a data-driven decision-making culture.
Many times, learnings from this data is not fed back into the system. With the pace of technological change, evidence quickly becomes stale. The culture of data-driven decision making must be strengthened. In order to operationalize these principles, the World Bank focuses on the discovery, diffusion and deployment of new technologies.
Discover, document, generate and analyze evidence-based technology solutions in education attuned to developing countries. The World Bank supports the EdTech community across countries to discover new innovations, build the evidence base and facilitate the transformation of ministries of education into learning organizations.
In some sense, policy makers are supported to think like a system, but act like entrepreneurs. Diffuse this knowledge widely across policy makers in our client countries and support capacity development to better use this new knowledge. The World Bank promotes multi-stakeholder approaches, including partnerships beyond the traditional education sector, to support the effective, appropriate and impactful use of EdTech. The World Bank works in partnership with governments, academic institutions, non-governmental organizations, private companies, civil society and communities worldwide to support innovative projects, timely research, and knowledge-sharing about EdTech with the ultimate goal of improving teaching and learning.
To do this, it invests in the capabilities of its staff to identify and lead partnerships, drawing on relevant experience and expertise. The World Bank also recognizes the role played by the private sector and seeks to harness its innovation and ingenuity to strengthen efficiencies in the public sector.
This approach of networking expertise is critical to ensure that EdTech experiences are effectively shared across regions and that last-mile support to educational institutions supports implementation of government programs. Deploy solutions, at the pilot level and at scale, tackling adoption barriers including in procurement and in ways informed by evidence, and which allow for efficient course correction.
The World Bank supports countries as they seek to strengthen and expand existing educational practices and approaches through the use of new technologies, as well as to transform them.
The World Bank works with partners to develop digital global public goods that adhere to its 5 EdTech principles. These digital global public goods are digitized knowledge and ideas that countries can build upon and adapt to their contexts.
To execute this strategy the World Bank will provide support to countries through lending operations, partnership networks, and development of digital global public goods in support of the overall World Bank education approach. We release a number of publications each year on specific projects and themes related to technology and innovation in education. See attached a sample of some of these resources linked to the critical questions we will address in the coming year:.
Comprehensive list of past publications Archive. Founded in , the EdTech Hub was established to accelerate progress toward ending the global learning crisis by increasing the use of evidence to inform decision-making about education technology. Technology has the potential to help address the global learning crisis. But that potential is not yet being realised. Some reasons for this include:. The EdTech Hub aims to address these gaps. The EdTech Hub will synthesize existing evidence, conduct new research, support innovations to scale, and provide advisory support to governments and other country partners.
This includes a series of webinar conversations and a series of education stories. The majority of the evaluations are randomized control trials RCTs and they were chosen through a competitive process open to researchers worldwide. These evaluations will rapidly generate evidence on how to keep students engaged with learning and remote education at home and how to prepare them for the return to school.
Each evaluation will also collect detailed cost data that can help shed light on the resources required for scale and sustained implementation. The tool will enable countries to: a identify good practices and areas where EdTech policies can be strengthened, and b monitor progress as countries take action.
The ETRI goes beyond measuring the availability of devices and the level of connectivity to capture key elements of the larger education-technology ecosystem in a country, guiding efforts to increase learning opportunities and reduce inequalities. For each pillar, the ETRI reports on a practice indicator to capture the practices at the school level , a de jure policy indicator to capture whether there is a policy to inform each practice , and a de facto policy indicator to measure the extent to which the policy is implemented.
Continuity and Acceleration of Learning. The Continuous and Accelerated Learning CAL program aims to support multi-modal continuous learning by supporting the development, dissemination and delivery at scale of new and existing global public goods and regional learning continuity approaches, in the short term to offset the impacts of school closures, and in the medium to long term to ensure continuity and accelerate learning after schools re-open while building resilience into the education system.
UNICEF and the World Bank are joining forces to support countries to use technology as an accelerator to address key global education challenges related to equitable access to quality and relevant learning.
This partnership will build on, extend, and complement existing global joint initiatives partnerships and programs that use digital technology to address the learning crisis. The mEducation Alliance is a non-governmental organization focused on the evidence-driven and sustainable role of technology in education to advance quality educational outcomes. Formed in , the mEducation Alliance is a unique, multi-stakeholder convening platform for government and donor policymakers, other investors, researchers, and practitioners to work together, particularly in lower-resource, developing country contexts.
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