Meeting of international experts on the use of educational evidence in times of pandemics

06 August 2021
Panel
Credit: KIX LAC

On August 3rd, 2021, the KIX LAC hub organized a webinar titled "Use of Evidence in Times of [Post] COVID: Educational Tools and Experiences" where education specialists presented various platforms and actions applied in some educational systems, derived from the experiences left by the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide, and especially in Latin American and Caribbean countries. These specialists included: Dr. Becky Francis, CEO of the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF); Dr. Russbel Hernandez, Director of the Institute for Educational and Social Research and Evaluation of UPNFM; and Dr. Rafael Carrasco, Deputy Director of SUMMA and member of the Board of Directors of the National Agency for Quality Education of Chile.

Dr. Francis presented the work carried out by EEF on the impact of school closures, especially for the most disadvantaged students, and assured that evidence-based learning can bring education closer to the professional practice of teachers and the educational methods used. In addition, he listed some reflections on the growing interest in the use of evidence worldwide:

  1. High-quality teaching is the most powerful tool we have;
  2. High-quality resources and support should be made available to the students who need it most;
  3. A sustained response over time is essential;
  4. Urgent collaboration is needed locally and globally.

Dr. Carrasco then presented SUMMA's work on connecting global learning with local practice and presented SUMMA's work model, which consists of investigating gaps and critical nodes, synthesizing and mapping, innovating in concrete spaces and including in networks.

He also concluded by sharing key actions that should be considered in times of COVID and post pandemic:

  1. Greater focused investment 
  2. Pedagogical and curricular adaptations
  3. Need for teacher training
  4. Infrastructure: connectivity and technology
  5. Strengthening of alliances and articulations
  6. Monitoring and evaluation

Dr. Hernández shared that the dissemination of evidence is always a great challenge for universities and some civil society organizations, and the Universidad Pedagógica Nacional Francisco Morazán has been strengthening its role so that decision makers in the education sector can design policies at macro, meso or micro level.