Thomas Hatch

In the second part of this two-part interview, Melanie Ehren talks with Thomas Hatch about the five “waves of funding” designed to help the Dutch education system respond to the learning challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic and related school closures. The first part of this interview focused on the initial school closures and the suspension of exams in the Netherlands. Ehren is Professor and Director of Research of LEARN! at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. This interview is one in a series exploring what can change in schools after the pandemic? Previous interviews and posts have looked at developments in Italy, Poland, Finland, New Zealand, South Africa, and Vietnam. Other blog posts from Melanie Ehren include A view from the Netherlands: Melanie Ehren on school closures and the pandemic; Lead the Change Interview with Melanie Ehren; A call to action in the Netherlands: Addressing rising inequality in a decentralized system. This article was originally published on 10/18/2023 on internationalednews.com.

Thomas Hatch (TH): You and your colleagues spent a considerable amount of time studying how the Dutch government has used a series of funding initiatives to help schools and students in the Netherlands recover from the pandemic. Can you give a sense of these “waves” of funding and how schools and school networks used them?

Melanie Ehren (ME): The Dutch government provided funding to help schools respond to COVID pandemic in five different “waves,” with the first wave in July, 2020, after the initial school closures. At first, consistent with the decentralized Dutch system, schools and local school boards could decide on the type of “catch-up” approach to pursue and which pupils were eligible for the additional support. However, after the first round of funding there was considerable negative press about the unfocused nature of the approaches and the fact that some of them had little, if anything, to do with instruction. For example, in one meeting, I heard some people complaining about a school that used the funds to take their students on a trip to an amusement park (like Disney-land), with the rationale that children had experienced such socio-emotional suffering that they needed a break and a chance to re-establish their relationships with peers and their teachers.

After the initial round, the requirements for the funding were tightened and schools had to use student achievement results to target students with “learning loss” and to choose from a ‘menu of effective interventions’ to help them catch-up.  This menu was modelled directly on a “Toolkit” developed in England to ensure that schools used “catch up” approaches that had some “evidence of effectiveness.” The first version of this was what the Dutch called a “menu card,” which was essentially the English toolkit translated into Dutch.

The “Toolkit” created by the Education Endowment Foundation used in England and the Dutch version based on the English model

I think this move was made because the government felt that schools were not very evidence informed in their thinking about what interventions and programs to implement in the first wave. In fact, when we interviewed schools that had applied for funding about why they picked a particular intervention – asking things like “why are you thinking that this program might lead to improved outcomes for this particular groups?” – many of them had a hard time answering. In some cases, the decisions appeared to be based on professional expertise and their previous experiences of what had worked or didn’t work well for their students. But some schools also told us they were choosing these programs out of convenience or building on partnerships with external agencies that were already in place. For example, they might say “this is a tutoring agency we’ve worked with before; we’ve had good results with them, so we thought that that might be a good way to use the funding” or “this is something that we know we can organize for our school.”

For this second wave of funding, we studied the applications of schools and found that the schools planned to focus mainly on three types of outcomes:

1. School performance (primary education: language and arithmetic; secondary education: core subjects)
2. Well-being/social-emotional development of pupils
3. Learning skills

Despite these plans, we found that many schools actually ended up using the funding quite differently. For example, a school might have planned to spend the funds on after school tutoring; on providing additional remedial instruction at the start of the school day; or on having additional teachers in the classroom.  But then when it came time for implementation, another issue or need might have emerged or  they might have found they couldn’t secure additional teachers. Overall, schools were really struggling to organize these programs as planned because of the constant disruptions to in-person teaching and then there was a second lockdown so they were constantly changing and revising. I also had many conversations with school leaders who said “we did not apply for this funding, because we need more time to actually think about what makes sense for our kids.” We detailed some of this at the time in a blog post “Catch-up and support programmes in primary and secondary education.”

Overall, schools were really struggling to organize these programs as planned because of the constant disruptions to in-person teaching and then there was a second lockdown so they were constantly changing and revising.

Over time, the government did add more background information and context to the menu to help schools to use the information to make choices. For example, the new version produced by the Ministry of Education, Culture & Science (which they referred to as an “Intervention card improving basic skills“) included links to guidance and support for choosing and using the guidance and urged the schools to consider the demands of their own context, stating: “it is important how your school implements a chosen intervention. For a concrete step-by-step plan, you place each approach in the context of your school: does this approach suit the education you provide, your students and the issues you face? The professionalism and autonomy of the teacher are paramount here.” All of this has led to much more emphasis on evidence-based and evidence-informed work in schools, and particularly how the government can support that. That’s another consequence of the pandemic in the Netherlands, I think: A belief that we need to build more capacity in schools for using research evidence to improve education.

TH: What’s happening now and what’s likely to happen in the future? 

ME: Building on the catch-up schemes, the national government has developed a broader funding scheme – the National Program for Education – that is continuing to help schools, particularly schools with a high level of deprivation, to improve reading, writing, and literacy. This program provides an additional investment of 8.5 billion for 2.5 years for the entire education system. This National Program offers funding to improve education in these basic areas, and schools are expected to use the same approach as under the catch-up funding: the schools have to identify children who need additional support and use the menu card to decide on what kind of interventions are effective. But the national program of education has a much wider infrastructure to improve basic skills, including support teams that are initiated by the Ministry of Education to work with schools, but all around this idea of evidence-informed interventions.

“Get started with the NP Education” [translated] a graphic depicting how Dutch schools should select, implement and monitor “catch-up” programs.

Despite the huge amount of funding there have been a lot of critiques of the national government, given the short time span in which the money has to be spent, which doesn’t allow schools to implement more sustainable solutions to improve education and learning outcomes. The funding for example doesn’t allow schools to hire additional staff as these would have to be offered permanent employment which cannot be guaranteed with temporary funding.

Given that the most pressing problems in our education system are teacher shortages, high inequality and a decline in student outcomes in literacy and numeracy, there is an understanding that a long-term investment and program of reform is required to improve education. The short-term catch-up programs seem to have done relatively well in getting students back on track, but they have not been able to buck the wider trends in declining outcomes and increasing shortages of teachers.

In some ways, all of this a natural consequence of problems coming out of the school closures, but it’s reinforced by the fact that the Netherlands’ performance has been declining in international surveys like PISA at the same time that inequality has been increasing. That’s also something that the Dutch Inspector of Education has reported on in their annual reports. All of these reports have been alerting people to the facts that children are not reading at home and that reading scores are declining, and that’s having an effect on other outcomes. All of these things come together in the drive towards trying to improve basic skills.

TH: Can you talk a little about how the response in NL compares to those in other systems you’re familiar with, particularly the UK? 

ME: During the pandemic, the Netherlands had a decentralized approach to allow schools to choose a contextually appropriate response to school closures within a centralized funding framework. This is different from other countries such as the UK that saw a highly centralized roll-out of a tutoring programme. Now, however, we are seeing a much more centralized approach to improving education. Recently an ‘interdepartmental investigation into education (IBO Koersen op kwaliteit en kansengelijkheid) was published with a range of proposals for stronger governmental coordination/control over education to reduce inequality and enhance learning outcomes, including more centralized coordination of the curriculum, compulsory assessments, more inspection, enhancing evidence-informed work in schools (including through an application for funding to hire a school support team to work with a school). Given the Netherlands’ tradition of high autonomy and freedom of education, this is being described as ‘a committed and responsible government’, but it is essentially a move towards greater centralized control.

Now, however, we are seeing a much more centralized approach to improving education... Given the Netherlands’ tradition of high autonomy and freedom of education, this is being described as ‘a committed and responsible government.’

TH: Have you seen any particularly innovative or promising new practices or policies that have grown out of the COVID response? 

ME: Schools are much better equipped to move to online learning when needed. With the train strikes we had in some regions last year, schools closed again but they have been able to take advantage of the new infrastructure and teachers’ skills to teach online. In Higher Education there is some discussion of having a COVID-generation of students (who also talk about themselves in these words) who sometimes find it difficult to engage in on-campus education and feel they should have more support.

Teacher shortages are also increasing and this is partially attributed to the high levels of stress and workload during the pandemic and reduction of the status of teachers in society and the cost of living in relation to teachers’ salaries. Our most recent research also suggests that there may be an increase in the number of teachers working on private contracts (through recruitment agencies). The amount of temporary funding for catch-up programmes and the National Education Program may also lead to an increase in private agencies and what some are calling “edubusinesses,” but I have not yet seen the evidence on this.

Related Resources & Articles:

Subsidie en basisteams voor scholen om basisvaardigheden te verbeteren [English: Subsidies and basic teams for schools to improve basic skills], Rijksoverheid

Eerste inzichten over inhaalprogramma`s in het po en vo [English: Catch-up and support programmes in primary and secondary education], LEARN!

Informatie voor onderwijsprofessionals [English: Information for Professionals], LEARN!

Rapport De Staat van het Onderwijs 2021 [English: Report on The State of Education 2021], Inspectie van het Onderwijs

Rapport De Staat van het Onderwijs 2022 [English: Report on The State of Education 2022], Inspectie van het Onderwijs

This week, IEN scans the headlines of stories reporting on OECD’s Education at a Glance for 2023. Trends in high quality Vocational Education and Training (VET) programs were in focus for this year’s report. OECD’s Education at a Glance provides an annual overview of comparative education statistics. The headlines shared below reflect aspects of the report emphasized by media outlets around the world. See IEN’s Education at a Glance 2022 Scan, Education at a Glance 2021 Scan, Education at a Glance 2019 Scan for comparison. This article was originally published on 10/11/2023 on internationalednews.com.

44% of upper school students are enrolled in VET programs across countries, yet work-based programs–in which students can gain practical skills during vocational programs–remain rare. Less than half of students within VET programs (45%) participate in this type of work-based learning, that’s the conclusion of OECD’s latest Education at a Glance report. Other topics featured in the 2023 report include trends in early childhood education and care enrollment, declines in teacher wages and professionalism, and notable variation in spending per student among OECD countries. Continued learning for Ukrainian refugees forcibly displaced around the world was also featured as a special issue. 

Corresponding to this year’s theme, many of the headlines from articles discussing the report highlighted VET trends within specific countries. Shares of domestic spending on education, as well as issues related to teacher payment and retention, were also featured in this year’s headlines. In-line with past years, nearly all of the headlines focused on problems revealed in the report (Australia, Brazil, Ireland, Israel, Italy, New Zealand, Portugal, South Korea, Turkey), while only a few emphasized the report’s positive findings (Finland, Hungary, Spain).

Global

The Launch of Education at a Glance 2023: OECD Indicators, OECD

“Andreas Schleicher, OECD Director of Education and Skills, presents data and reveals insights from the 2023 Education at a Glance report, which includes a special feature on Vocational Education and Training, with the aim of empowering educators, policymakers, and stakeholders with the data and analysis to shape their education systems.”

Expand vocational education and training, demands OECD, University World News

“OECD analyst Viktoria Kis told University World News their data clearly shows that ‘young people who benefited from work-based learning while pursuing VET have better employment outcomes’ and that ‘apprenticeships or internships are a powerful way of connecting VET to labor market needs.’ She said: ‘Some countries have a strong tradition of extensive use of apprenticeships, like Germany and Switzerland. The Norwegian VET system is mostly composed of ‘2+2’ apprenticeships: two years spent at school, followed by two years in workplaces.’”

Australia 

OECD report amplifies calls to boost public school funding, The Educator Australia

“The OECD’s latest ‘Education at a Glance’ report, released on Wednesday 13 September 2023, found Australia spends just 1.5% of total government expenditure on upper secondary school education, 28.6% lower than the OECD average of 2.1%. This is despite spending more than twice as much as the OECD average on funding private schools.”

Brazil

Brazil invests less in education than OECD countries, Agência Brasil

“Investment in Brazil fell between 2019 and 2020. In the OECD, total government spending on schooling grew 2.1 percent between 2019 and 2020 on average, at a slower rate than total government spending on services, which was up 9.5 percent. In Brazil, total government spending on instruction went down 10.5 percent, while spending on all services increased 8.9 percent. According to the study, this may have been due to the COVID-19 pandemic.”

European Union

OECD Education at a Glance 2023 – How Europe’s Business Leaders Can Help Widen Access to Education for Europe’s Underserved Youth, EU News – Business

“The OECD report found that 44 per cent of all upper secondary students are enrolled in vocational education and training across the OECD; they also note that these programmes are still seen as a “last resort” to many countries. European policymakers have a role to play in shifting this narrative and highlighting the unique benefits of vocational learning to bridge the gap between privilege and potential. Vocational training is also a viable way to attract underserved youth, who may feel rejected or discouraged from mainstream education.”

Finland

Education at a Glance: Vocational education and training is more popular in Finland than in other OECD countries, Finnish Government 

“In Finland, 68% of all those in upper secondary education are enrolled in vocational education and training, whereas in OECD countries the corresponding figure is 44% on average. The high figure in Finland is explained by the number of adult students. A total of 44.8% of 15-19-year-old upper secondary school students in Finland are enrolled in vocational education and training, which is slightly higher than the OECD average (37.4%).”

Hungary

Hungarian vocational training 3rd in OECD rankings, The Budapest Times

“38% of 24-34 year-olds obtain a vocational diploma and are less exposed to the risk of unemployment than those with general secondary education, and can expect a 31% higher salary, the ministry said in a statement.” 

Ireland

Ireland ranks last in spending on education ‘as a percentage of GDP’, study finds, The Irish Times

“Ireland ranked last in a league table of 38 countries based on education expenditure as a percentage of GDP with 3.2 per cent in 2020. It compared to an average of almost 5 per cent for OECD countries.”

Israel 

OECD education report shows Israel’s investment in public education lower than average, Y Net News

“According to the report, which refers to data from 2020-2022, the total government expenditure on public education in Israel (excluding higher education institutions) was significantly lower than the OECD average in 2020 – $8,865 per year compared to $10,949.”

New Zealand 

How does New Zealand’s education system compare? OECD’s Education at a Glance 2023, Education Counts

How Aotearoa’s education compares with other OECD countries, The Post

“While the share has declined, the actual increase in government education expenditure in 2020 was significant, amongst the top five, in percentage terms, across OECD countries.”

Portugal

Portugal spending less on students, The Portugal News

“Portugal spent an amount similar to the average of OECD countries on Education, but expenditure per student is 14% lower in Portugal, at around €10,000 compared to the OECD average of €11,700.”

South Korea

Entry-level teachers’ wages below OECD average, The Korea Herald 

“Korea had the highest percentage of people aged 25-34 who had completed higher or tertiary education — at 69.6 percent in 2022 — among the OECD member countries and 11 others, ranking No. 1 for four consecutive years.”

Spain

Almost 88% of Spaniards aged 15-19 years are in school, six points more than a decade ago, La Moncloa

“In the case of the adult population aged 25-64 years, 41.1% have tertiary education (40.4% in OECD and 37.7% in EU25), 8.5 points more than a decade ago. At the other extreme, the percentage with less than upper secondary education has reduced by 9.5 percentage points, from 45.3% in 2012 to 35.8% in 2022.”

Turkey

Turkey spent less money on education than the OECD average in 2020: report, Turkish Minute 

“The report further revealed that the cumulative spending on each student between the ages of six and 15 adds up to a total of around $112,000 on average across OECD countries, while the figure is less than $50,000 in Colombia, Romania and Turkey.”

United States

From Education Week

U.S. Teachers Work More Hours Than Their Global Peers. Other Countries Are Catching Up, Education Week

“U.S. elementary school teachers’ work hours haven’t changed much since 2019, but at more than 1,000 a year on average, American educators work more than 200 more hours than their peers worldwide. U.S. elementary and high school teachers work more hours than those in any OECD country but Costa Rica, and middle school teachers work more hours than their peers everywhere but Costa Rica and Mexico.”

In this two-part interview, Melanie Ehren talks with Thomas Hatch about how the Dutch education system responded to the COVID-19 pandemic and what has happened since. Ehren is Professor and Director of Research of LEARN! at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. This interview is one in a series exploring what can change in schools after the pandemic? Previous interviews and posts have looked at developments in Italy, Poland, Finland, New Zealand, South Africa, and Vietnam. Other IEN blog posts from Melanie Ehren include A view from the Netherlands: Melanie Ehren on school closures and the pandemic; Lead the Change Interview with Melanie Ehren; A call to action in the Netherlands: Addressing rising inequality in a decentralized system. This article was originally published on 09/27/2023 on internationalednews.com.

Thomas Hatch (TH): Can you give us an overview what happened in schools in the Netherlands after the COVID-19 outbreak? When did schools close and how long were they closed?

Melanie Ehren (ME): The national government closed schools three times. The first national closure lasted from March 16 to 10 May 2020 (for primary schools) and until the 2^nd of June (for secondary schools). Teaching and learning was fully online during that time. The second national closure went from the 16^th of December 2020 until the 8^th of February 2021 and then the third national closure went from 14 December 2021 until 10 January 2022, although this was more of an extended Christmas break. All the closures were in response to a rise in cases, but around the time of the second closure there was also a discussion about whether closing schools was the best measure to prevent virus spread. The argument for closing schools included that it would help enforce the working from home policy. Too many people were still going into work and by closing schools, parents had to stay home with their children.

Melanie Ehren

When schools reopened after the first and second closures, schools had to ensure social distancing of 1.5 metres between people inside and ensure good hygiene. Schools were allowed to decide on how to meet these guidelines, with support and proposed models by the national councils for primary and secondary education. In response, schools did things like splitting classes in half with some students attending during the first part of the week and the rest attending at the end of the week. Even though the periods of national school closure were relatively short in comparison to some other countries, the disruption lasted much longer. For example, even when schools were technically open, many teachers and classes had to quarantine for periods of time. Since the beginning of the school closures, the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture, & Science has monitored the reduction in lesson hours due to COVID over the pandemic in a series of monthly reports. The Dutch Inspectorate of Education also documented the timeline of COVID-related decisions in 2020 (including the start of the second closure in December of 2021) and then again in 2021 in their annual reports on the state of education.

TH: What was the initial response from policymakers and others in terms of support?

ME: In the Netherlands, there was a coordinated approach by the national councils for primary and secondary education, the ministries for education and economic affairs and a national association of school boards. That approach focused on ensuring that all students had access to online learning when schools were closed. These organisations collectively investigated how many students and teachers did not have internet connections or laptops at home. Based on this information, telecom providers searched for the best solutions together with the parties involved. Those solutions included issuing hotspots and creating public Wi-Fi networks and arranging laptops for children who needed them. In addition, NPO Z@ppelin, a national broadcaster, initially offered instruction on television for children without a laptop/tablet.  But I also saw schools where teachers would just hop on their bicycle and tour around the city to check in with families and have conversations on the doorstep.

A lot was left up to the initiative of the boards of each school and the networks responsible for ensuring inclusive education in each region. Honestly, because the Dutch school system is so decentralized, we just don’t know what happened at the school level in a lot of communities. All this raises a really interesting question: are highly centralized systems or more decentralized systems are best equipped to deal with a crisis like the pandemic?  To me, the examples of teachers going door to door to check in with kids really speaks to teacher agency and how teachers understand their role and responsibility.  That agency is a really important thing to have during a pandemic, but also when thinking about school quality in general. My colleagues and I wrote about some of these issues of teacher agency from the perspective of several different education systems (Teaching in the COVID-19 Era: Understanding the Opportunities and Barriers for Teacher Agency).

[A]re highly centralized systems or more decentralized systems best equipped to deal with a crisis like the pandemic?

Overall, though, there was not much focus on internet access because the entire country has good coverage and good broadband access. At the same time, the Dutch government created some exceptions to online learning so that children from parents in key professions like health, education, police, public transport and the fire department could go to school. Local schools could also make exceptions so that children from what the government called “vulnerable populations” could come to school. That included children who were living in confined spaces, did not have access to devices, or who were experiencing other problems at home that might be preventing them from accessing online education.

TH: What happened with exams and testing at the end of the 2019-2020 school years?

ME: The school closures in 2019-2020 meant that standardized tests at the end of primary education (8^th grade; age 11/12) and in secondary education were cancelled. The cancellations of the exams at the end of primary education had a particularly significant impact because, in the Netherlands, students are tracked into different types of secondary schools according to tested ability level. Only those students in the highest track in secondary school will get access to a university. Getting into a higher secondary school type is therefore a defining point in a child’s life. In a normal school year, students are placed into secondary school types on the basis of their primary school teacher’s advice. This can be adjusted upwards (never downwards) on the basis of the national standardised test at the end of primary education. However, estimates from the national planning bureau (CPB) suggest that in the year 2019-2020 when the test at the end of primary school was cancelled, 14,000 pupils were placed in a lower track for secondary school than they would have been if they’d been able to sit the national test. This group represents 8% of all pupils – 2 to 3 students per class in a secondary school – and includes an over-representation of students with parents with low levels of education.

[W]hen the test at the end of primary school was cancelled, 14,000 pupils were placed in a lower track for secondary school than they would have been if they’d been able to sit the national test. This group represents 8% of all pupils – 2 to 3 students per class in a secondary school – and includes an over-representation of students with parents with low levels of education.

Due to these results, the Minister of Education sent out a letter to secondary schools, asking them to implement a range of formative assessments in year 1 to target the students who might have been mis-placed and to put in place transition arrangements to enable them to move upwards if warranted. The next year, in 2020-2021, primary schools were advised to give children the benefit of the doubt in their recommendations for secondary education and err towards a higher track. However, for the most part, this does not seem to have happened.

In contrast, the cancellation of standardized secondary school exams had a more positive effect for students in the Netherlands who wanted to enter university because their final grades were based only on their school-based assessments with no information from the cancelled national exams. Normally, at the end of secondary school, students receive a mark for each subject where 50% is based on school-based exams and 50% on a standardized national exams. The Government decides on which content should be included in the school-based exams and which will be assessed in the national exams. The school decides when and how it assesses the school-based component and can spread this over multiple months and even school years. The only requirement is that the assessments are finalized before the national exams and that the organisation of the school-based assessments (including how it is marked and how the assessment is quality assured) is included in a formal programme of assessment which is approved by the school’s exam board. The exam board decided on the adaptations so this would vary by school (for the official description see School Examens 2023).

For the 2019-20 school year, when the national exams were cancelled, estimates by from the national planning bureau (CPB) suggest that 8% of secondary students would have received a different outcome if they had sat the national exam. To mitigate negative consequences and to give everyone a fair chance to pass, the Dutch Ministry of Education offered all students additional re-tests of their school-based assessments in up to three subjects. This resulted in an overall pass rate above 98%, with almost 7% higher than in preceding years.

Then in 2020-21, standardized tests in primary education returned as normal. However, exams in secondary education were adapted in two ways.  First, following a formal in-school consultation process and including adaptations in the formal ‘programme of assessment’ which is scrutinized by the Dutch Inspectorate of Education during regular inspections, schools were allowed to make their own adaptations to the school-based assessments.

Second, national exams were adapted by having an additional opportunity to sit for the exam, so if you failed twice, you were given a third try.  Schools were also allowed an extended timeframe in which students could sit exams in their various subjects, and students could choose one subject that wouldn’t count towards their final pass/fail decision.

(To be continued in October…)

The final post in IEN’s 2023 Back-to-School series features some of the latest issues – like the use of AI – that many teachers and students are dealing with and surveys some of the education-related topics that are in the headlines in different states and cities in the US. Part 1 of the series shares headlines highlights some of the critical challenges that students, educators and schools are facing in 2023. Part 2 focuses on the stories that covered the natural disasters and climate-change related heat that many schools have had to deal with this year as well. For back-to school headlines from fall 2022 see Hope and trepidation: Scanning the back-to-school headlines in the US; “Over it” but unable to escape it: Going back to school with Covid in 2022; Going back to school in 2022 (Part 3): Scanning headlines from around the world; for fall 2021 see Going back to school has never been quite like this (Part 1): Pandemic effects in the US; Going back to school has never been quite like this (Part 2): Quarantines, shortages, wildfires & hurricanes; for fall 2020 see What does it look like to go back to school? It’s different all around the world…; for 2019 see Headlines around the world: Back to school 2019 edition. This article was originally published on 09/21/2023 on internationalednews.com.

Even as the school year continues for many students in the southern hemisphere, the end of summer vacation and the start of school in many northern school systems provides an opportunity to see what education issues are being covered and highlighted. Among them, the impact of AI – and how to prepare for it – as well as the consequences of the end of COVID relief funding are common topics in the US.

Take a round-the-world tour of the return to school, Education Week

From left to right: “1.) Schoolchildren attend a ceremony for the first day of school in a safe place in an underground subway station, in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Sept. 1, 2023; 2.) A teacher adjusts the posture of a little boy as children attend a school opening ceremony in Ghergani, Romania, on Sept. 11, 2023. 3.) A classroom sits empty at the closed National School of Republique des Etats-Unis d’Amerique, a public school in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Sept. 11, 2023, on what should have been the first day back to school after summer break. According to a few teachers and a parent on site, classes did not resume due to parents’ inability to afford tuition, uniforms and school supplies, as well as families being afraid to go out amid gang violence.”

New Year, New AI?

How widespread will AI be in classrooms this year? Teachers offer some clues, Education Week

A version of OpenAI’s GPT-4 will be ‘teaching’ thousands of kids this fall, Popular Science

“The education nonprofit service Khan Academy, is expanding its Khanmigo AI access to over 8,000 educators and K-12 students as part of its ongoing pilot program for the new technology.”

Beyond ChatGPT: The other AI tools teachers are using, Education Week

Instructors rush to do ‘assignment makeovers’ to respond to ChatGPT, EdSurge

How can educators respond to students presenting AI-generated content as their own?, Open AI

Issues in the Education News around the US

5 signs a district will be at risk when elementary and secondary school emergency relief fund runs out, Education Week

“Once federal relief funds expire, districts nationwide stand to lose an average of $1,200 for each student… That’s an 8 percent reduction in the average amount spent per K-12 pupil nationwide. In some states where per-pupil spending is lower than the average, that $1,200-per-student loss will account for an even larger share. In Arizona, for instance, the end of federal relief funds will translate into a 12 percent loss.”

When can schools consider race in classrooms and events? Biden officials have guidance, ChalkBeat

K-12 teachers shift away from textbooks, K-12 Dive

“Use of printed textbooks has declined in K-12 classrooms by 9% and a slight increase in digital-only textbook usage by 2% during the past school year, according to a survey by Bay View Analytics. The findings indicate a growing utilization of digital and teacher-created materials, with 77% of teachers saying they are supplementing or replacing textbooks with their own content and 78% saying they are sourcing supplemental materials online.”

For teachers, a new year — and new book bans — means more work, Rolling Stone

Issues to watch in States and Cities

California

Gov. Newsom poised to sign legislation to counter book bans and school boards’ censorship, EdSource

“The bill, authored by first-term Assemblymember Corey Jackson, D-Perris, in Riverside County, would expand existing state law, including the 2011 FAIR Act, which requires instructional materials to accurately portray the history, viewpoints and experiences of California’s diverse and underrepresented racial, ethnic, and other groups, including LGBTQ+ Californians.”

Temecula Valley Unified School District anti-CRT resolution prompts lawsuit from parents and teachers, Education Week

Florida

New laws make teachers anxious about school year, Axios Miami

“[Teacher] Hernandez-Mats says the first couple weeks of school are typically filled with excitement, but this year feels different… She says teachers are confused about what they’re allowed to teach in the classroom. Some have removed literary or historical posters from their walls and others have blocked access to their bookshelves.”

Florida’s new rules for classrooms could get teachers in trouble, Tampa Bay Times

Iowa

An Iowa district used AI to figure out which books to ban, Education Week

“While book bans have proliferated across the country over the past two years, this is the first time a district has relied on artificial intelligence to determine which books should be removed from school libraries, according to Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom.”

How Des Moines Metro Schools are applying anti-LGBTQ law, Iowa Starting Line

Massachusetts

School meals in Massachusetts will remain free next school year, Axios Boston

“Massachusetts lawmakers passed a budget agreement, allocating $172 million to continue the pandemic-era program that offers free school meals to all K-12 students, ensuring access to essential nutrition and removing social stigma. Governor Maura Healey is expected to sign the budget, freeing up funds for schools as they prepare to reopen in the upcoming weeks.”

Montana

Montana scores rare federal testing waiver in favor of through-year assessment, K-12 Dive

“Montana has been granted approval by the US Department of Education to field test a revamped through-year assessment system in reading/language arts and math for third-through eighth-grade, replacing the existing annual assessment. The move is expected to offer timely insights into student progress while allowing participating schools some waivers from federal assessment and accountability requirements for the 2023-24 school year.”

New York

As NYC’s school year kicks off, here are 5 issues to watch, ChalkBeat

Enrollment drop and fiscal cliff loom as NYC starts school year, The City

NYC school year set to begin with thousands of new migrant students, Gothamist

“Schools Chancellor David Banks said in a briefing on the asylum seeker crisis that… ‘Our focus remains undeterred on the education, well-being and holistic development of every student that steps into a New York City public school, regardless of where they come from or the language that they speak at home.’”

New York City Schools preparing for influx of children of asylum seekers: “We are very confident that the students will be ready“, CBS News

Some migrant families still waiting for school placements, ChalkBeat

“Some families have waited weeks for school placements or don’t have seats at all yet, sparking concerns that some kids won’t have their school plans finalized by the start of classes on September 7.”

Ohio

The Great Recession offers insight about the impact the impending fiscal cliff will have on Ohio school districts, The Fordham Institute

Pennsylvania

All Philadelphia schools set to open in September amid asbestos challenges, ABC

Texas

State takeover ushers in changes to Houston schools, The New York Times

“A state takeover of the Houston Independent School District in Texas, one of the nation’s largest, has sparked contentious changes, including firing librarians and repurposing school libraries for discipline and computer rooms. The takeover, imposed by Governor Greg Abbott, aims to improve reading and math scores in struggling schools, but critics argue the changes are disenfranchising and may further divide the district’s predominantly Black and Hispanic students.”

First day of school comes with mixed student emotions after Texas took over Houston ISD, The New York Times

Part 2 of IEN’S Back-to-School series shares headlines and stories focused on the natural disasters, heat and climate change-related crises that have interfered with the start of school in many parts of the US. This three part series highlights some of the key issues that the education sources we follow are talking about as school resumes in many parts of the Northern hemisphere. Part 1 pulled together headlines that highlight some of the other critical challenges that students, educators and schools are facing in 2023. Part 3 collects some of the back-to-school guidance and the issues to watch in the coming year — including the use of AI in schools. For back-to school headlines from fall 2022 see Hope and trepidation: Scanning the back-to-school headlines in the US; “Over it” but unable to escape it: Going back to school with Covid in 2022; Going back to school in 2022 (Part 3): Scanning headlines from around the world; for fall 2021 see Going back to school has never been quite like this (Part 1): Pandemic effects in the US; Going back to school has never been quite like this (Part 2): Quarantines, shortages, wildfires & hurricanes; for fall 2020 see What does it look like to go back to school? It’s different all around the world…; for 2019 see Headlines around the world: Back to school 2019 edition. This article was originally published on 09/18/2023 on internationalednews.com.

This fall, a number of the back-to-school headlines have shifted focus from the COVID crisis to the many climate change related concerns and disasters like the intense heat in many parts of the world and the tragic fires in Hawaii. As Alexander Russo and colleagues with The Grade, who regularly document and summarize the latest education-related journalism in the US, noted, the big education story of the first week of school “was the heatwave that blanketed much of the Northeast and other parts of the country. The unusually high heat created a major challenge for schools trying to launch the new year — and an irresistible topic for news outlets. Reporters covered schools closing, kids sent home early, canceled recess time, and the lack of AC in many buildings” (Heat wave welcome: The big story of the week).

“The big education story of the first week of school ‘was the heatwave that blanketed much of the Northeast and other parts of the country. The unusually high heat created a major challenge for schools trying to launch the new year — and an irresistible topic for news outlets.’”

Hawaii wildfires thrust educators into disaster response roles, Education Week

“Schools across Maui closed Wednesday—days after the start of a new school year—after a wildfire ravaged a historic region of the Hawaiian island”

Are the challenges of Puerto Rico’s schools a taste of what other districts will face? The Hechinger Report

“Sweltering classrooms due to inadequate cooling systems are hindering student learning and causing health concerns among educators in several US states. Budgetary constraints and the increasing frequency of heat waves are exacerbating the issue, prompting educators to call for better classroom conditions and investments in upgraded cooling systems.” 

Hot classrooms are impairing student learning and health amid record-hot year, teachers say, NBC News

Are heat days the new snow days? Schools are canceling class as temperatures soar, CNN

“Schools really need to be thinking about how climate change is going to impact them and how they can develop and build plans in place to adequately respond…”

As classes resume in sweltering heat, many schools lack air conditioning, NPR

“Heat days:” More than a dozen Denver schools releasing students early Tuesday, ChalkBeat

“With outdoor temperatures soaring into the high 90s, some Denver schools without air conditioning are releasing students early Tuesday. Roughly one-fifth of Denver schools lack cooling systems.”

Chicago public schools teachers adjust to keep classrooms cool as extreme heat bakes city, ChalkBeat

“Teachers, parents and union organizers said they are managing the tough conditions, but it’s time for the district to commit to long-term upgrades instead of “quick fixes and bandaids.”

Philly school dismissals: How extreme heat impacts families, NPR

“What we’re seeing is that climate change is boosting heat not only in Philadelphia, but all over the world.”

Seattle-area teachers brace for sweltering classrooms during heat waves, Seattle Times

“Heat waves have historically fallen outside of the school year, sparing kids and educators. But not so over the past six or seven years.”

What educators need to know about schools and hot weather, Education Week

“With record-setting high temperatures, schools struggle to keep their students cool.”

To get a sense of some of the key issues people are talking about as the new school year begins in many parts of the Northern hemisphere, we’re scanning the back-to-school related headlines of the education sources we follow. Part 1 of 2023’s Back-to-School Series pulls together headlines that collectively show many of the different problems that students, educators and schools are facing in 2023. Part 2 will share the many headlines and stories focused on the natural disasters, heat and climate change related crises that have interfered with the start of school in many parts of the US. Part 3 collects some of the back-to-school guidance and the issues to watch in the coming year — including the use of AI in schools.

For back-to school headlines from fall 2022 see Hope and trepidation: Scanning the back-to-school headlines in the US; “Over it” but unable to escape it: Going back to school with Covid in 2022; Going back to school in 2022 (Part 3): Scanning headlines from around the world; for fall 2021 see Going back to school has never been quite like this (Part 1): Pandemic effects in the US; Going back to school has never been quite like this (Part 2): Quarantines, shortages, wildfires & hurricanes; for fall 2020 see What does it look like to go back to school? It’s different all around the world…; for 2019 see Headlines around the world: Back to school 2019 edition. This article was originally published on 09/14/2023 on internationalednews.com.

If it’s not one crisis it’s another. That sentiment seems to sum up many of the 2023 back-to-school headlines. Around the world, those crises included the:

• Impact of warfare and conflict in Ukraine and Ethiopia ( Ukrainian children brave bombs to return to school;  Kharkiv’s subways are now classrooms as school starts under Russian attacks; In Ethiopia strife in Amrha region threatens to disrupt academic year, University World News)
• Challenges of continuing teacher shortages in places like the Netherlands, Canada and elsewhere (“One in nine children will not have a teacher after the holiday; Principals in Ontario face daily staffing challenges)
• Closures and fallout from England’s failure to deal with the crumbling concrete used in some school buildings (School is back in session … so long as your classroom hasn’t collapsed, The Guardian; ‘An absolute nightmare’: teachers and parents shocked by concrete closures in England’s schools, The Guardian)

In the US, along with the threats from heat and natural disasters, reporters chronicled start of the year challenges for students, teachers, and schools like continuing concerns about COVID-19; lack of funding and supplies; the need to support the many immigrant students who arrived in in cities like New York this year; shortages of teachers, bus drivers, and other personnel;

Under these circumstances, perhaps it’s no surprise that one Washington Post headline declares “In some schools, dread over the new year: ‘We’re scared to teach’.  At the same time, some articles try to set a happier tone even as they chronicle the challenges: “For many students,” Chalkbeat NYC reported, “Thursday marked a joyous return to school. But a possible bus strike and air conditioning issues dimmed some of the good vibes (“First day of school for NYC’s nearly 900,000 kids: Smiles, sweat, and bus strike concerns.”)

COVID-19 & Health Concerns

A new school year, a new COVID-19 variant. What are schools to do?, Education Week

Cleaner air could keep schools open, The New York Times

Some US schools return to face mask requirements, The Washington Post

“Cases of COVID-19 have risen in some areas of the US, and some schools have reinstated face mask mandates, rekindling debate about whether the requirement is necessary or an impingement on personal freedoms. COVID-19 hospitalizations are well below what they were a year ago, but some experts have expressed concern about the fall season as most Americans have not yet gotten the latest updated booster vaccines that are due out soon.”

As children return to school, parents fret over shortage of ADHD meds, KFF Health News

Colorado launches free school lunch, mental health support, CBS Colorado

“The Cherry Creek School District in Colorado is welcoming students back with the launch of “Healthy School Meals for All,” a free school lunch program funded by Prop FF, aiming to support learning. Superintendent Christopher Smith also highlights partnerships with Hazel Health, offering free virtual mental health sessions, and the upcoming opening of Traverse Academy, a unique facility for students dealing with serious mental health challenges.”

Concerns about costs and funding

Enrollment, funding, supply chain issues throw wrench into school construction projects, K-12 Dive

Schools’ insurance costs are soaring—and climate change isn’t the only reason, Education Week

“Districts are seeing higher premiums thanks to a surge in natural disasters and other challenges.”

Cost of school supplies is at an all-time high, NPR

As back-to-school costs soar, more parents & teachers turn to charities for help, The 74

Most teachers spend their own money on school supplies. Should they?, Education Week

School supply funding varies widely across US, Education Week

‘Food is the biggest expense’: Mass. families welcome permanent free school meals for students, WBUR

School lunch prices rise amid challenges, USA Today

“As the new school year approaches, schools nationwide face the challenge of increasing lunch and breakfast costs due to inflation, the end of federal subsidies and potential new regulations — causing the School Nutrition Association to urge federal action. “School meal programs need permanent reimbursement-rate increases to cope with long-term, higher labor costs — especially as many schools still struggle with labor shortages and need to raise wages to fully staff their kitchens,” said Diane Pratt-Heavner, SNA’s director of media relations.”

More students eating for free as growing number of states offer universal school meals, Chalkbeat

Shortages

From ‘crisis’ to ‘catastrophe,’ schools scramble once again to find teachers, NBC News

To fight teacher shortages, schools turn to custodians, bus drivers and aides, Hechinger Report

West Virginia schools facing staffing problems amid new teaching assistant law, The 74

Districts aim to address teacher housing crisis, Axios

“School districts in the US are turning to homebuilding to address the chronic teacher shortage and housing affordability challenges. The move aims to improve teachers’ quality of life and educational outcomes, as many educators struggle to afford living near their schools, potentially leading to increased burnout and reduced time spent with students.”

The shortage in school bus drivers is getting worse, The New York Times

Wake County school bus driver shortage affecting 2,000 students, ABC 11

Severe bus driver shortage in Baton Rouge leads to an emergency school board meeting, WAFB

A district’s bus ‘disaster’ highlights a nationwide driver shortage, Education Week

GOP lawmakers call for special session after school bus debacle, canceled classes, The 74

“After a disastrous first week of school, when some buses didn’t get students home until 10 p.m. and classes were subsequently canceled for two days, Jefferson County Republican lawmakers want to call a special legislative session to enact changes — including a school choice amendment and the possible splitting up of the district. In our latest partnership with the Kentucky Lantern, McKenna Horsley reports that 12 lawmakers signed an open letter last week, saying the district failed to “keep our kids safe” and that structural changes are needed.” 

Why is there a shortage of school bus drivers? Problem worsened by COVID reaches crisis level, USA Today

In Part 2 of this interview Barbara Gross talks with Thomas Hatch about the effects of the school closures on Italian schools and discusses some her comparative studies with colleagues in Austria, England, and Germany during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Part 1 focuses on Gross’ research and observations of the immediate response to the school closures in Bozen-Bolzano, a multi-lingual region in Northern Italy.  Gross is currently Junior Professor in Educational Science with a Focus on Intercultural Education at the Faculty of Philosophy at the Chemnitz University of Technology in Germany. Until October of 2022, she was an Assistant Professor at the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, in Northern Italy. Some of Gross’ work explores this linguistic diversity as Italian is the language of instruction in Italian language schools and taught as a second language in German-language schools; German is the language of instruction in German-language schools and taught as a second language in Italian-language schools (Further Language Learning in Linguistic and Cultural Diverse Contexts: A Mixed Methods Research in a European Border Region). Because of the right to schooling in these official languages teacher education also has to prepare future teachers to work in the respective systems(Approaches to Diversity: Tracing Multilingualism in Teacher Education in South Tyrol, Italy).

This interview is one in a series exploring what has and has not changed in education since COVID. Previous interviews and posts have looked at developments in Poland, Finland, New Zealand, South Africa, and Vietnam.

Thomas Hatch: What about now? Have their been changes in terms of the uses of technology and “digitization”? Is that something that’s still going on or that is a focus for professional development during the summer? 

Barbara Gross: The focus on digitalization was also there in the beginning of the pandemic and that’s an emphasis that’s continuing. But there was very different handling of this depending on the capacity of the school and the capacity of the teachers. The teachers often had to have their own devices, and they had to have digital competencies. The response depended on the individual effort of teachers, not just what the government expected teachers to do. 

TH: Were there other issues that the government tried to address? 

BG: They thought about trying to be innovative with buildings and facilities. In fact, they bought a lot of chairs during this period. The aim was to provide chairs with wheels, but soon it emerged that to ensure for social distancing that wasn’t really helpful. There were also some governmental decisions about how to use funding which weren’t always supported by the community or by teachers.

TH: What about other repercussions from the pandemic? Are there particular concerns around education that have emerged or is it more like the pandemic is over and we’re moving on?

BG: What is still discussed are teachers’ and students’ digital competencies. In addition, there have been some concerns about student learning and also about drop-out rates. There were higher dropouts because students didn’t see the necessity any more of going back to school. This is especially a problem for students from families who are already marginalized. There are also reports stating that students from families with the lowest levels of economic resources decided not to go to a secondary school or to a university, but instead to do more vocational training. So there has been some “catch-up” discussion, particularly about having longer school hours or schooling on Saturdays, or adding school time in June. But there were also many voices that were opposed to this, and one of the things we’ve written about is that learning isn’t so linear, so just adding more school hours doesn’t necessarily mean you are adding more learning. We know that learning is much more complex. We can’t just say “you lost 10 hours, so now we’ll give you 10 more back.”

…learning isn’t so linear, so just adding more school hours doesn’t necessarily mean you are adding more learning.  We know that learning is much more complex. We can’t just say “you lost 10 hours, so now we’ll give you 10 more back.”

There was also some data that children from vulnerable families were not getting enough healthy food or getting as many support services during the COVID lockdown as they were before. Many of those children before COVID went to school and afterschool all day and got a proper meal at lunch; but during COVID, when the schools were closed, they didn’t have those services either and that affected their health. There have also been a lot of reports about the wellbeing of all students and how they missed out on all the social aspects of schools. The consequences are likely to continue to affect their lives. 

TH: Can you tell me a little bit about the comparative research you’ve done about how different education systems are talking about and responding to the COVID crisis in education? 

BG: In our comparative research we looked at educational policy responses to the pandemic in countries like Italy, Austria, Germany and England. We’ve seen it’s all about trust and what research governments trust. The priorities have been on health, security, and on the economy so policymakers have been listening to the medical experts and economists. Educational research has not been referred to and included very much. For example, in Italy we’ve seen that a lot of women have lost their jobs because of the pandemic, so now there’s more interest in having more early childhood services and more interest in creating special programs for enhancing specific competencies for women. 

We’ve also seen that differences among countries depending on how states define who is “vulnerable” or “in need.”  For example, we have seen that the focus in Italy has been on inclusive schooling. From the 70’s on, Italy has had schools for all, including children with disabilities or learning difficulties. During COVID, in the discussions of which students needed support, there was a focus on making sure that students with disabilities and learning difficulties got extra support, but it was mostly left up to the teachers to figure out how to give them more attention or other kinds of support. In Italy, there was not as much focus on other aspects of diversity, for example, on children whose home language is different from the language of instruction, and, compared to other countries, less focus in Italy on socioeconomically disadvantaged learners.

We’ve also seen that differences among countries depending  on how states define who is “vulnerable” or “in need.”…In Italy, there was not as much focus on other aspects of diversity, for example, on children whose home language is different from the language of instruction.

TH: And how did the Italian response compare to what you saw in other countries?

BG: In Italy, the reopening of schools was more delayed, as there wasn’t as much of a focus on reopening as there was in England, Germany and Austria. In Germany and Austria, for example, there were re-openings at least for some students in May of 2020. There were also differences in terms of who was considered “vulnerable.” In Germany, there was more of a focus on immigrant students and less on students with special educational needs. In Austria, in the government documents we see the focus on linguistic diversity and the children who did not speak German. They argued that if these students didn’t go to school, then they would not learn to speak German, and the consequences would be severe. 

There were also differences in terms of digitization. Both England and Austria were well-prepared before the COVID outbreak, but Germany was not. In Germany digitization overall is still an issue, and there were discussions about it during the pandemic. In Italy, they were aware of the digital gap so the focus during COVID was on filling this gap. In terms of “catch-up,” we’ve also seen that equality was prioritized of equity. After the first wave, in Germany, England and Italy there was a discussion about who was most in need, but then when it came to actually giving support, no differentiation in the provision of support measures was made. Of course, this is also a source of inequality – equity does not come with equality. 

After the first wave, in Germany, England and Italy there was a discussion about who was most in need, but then when it came to actually giving support, no differentiation in the provision of support measures was made. Of course, this is also a source of inequality – equity does not come with equality. 

We also found in our work in Italy and Austria that schools have also learned from COVID that they have to emphasize wellbeing, particularly the social aspects of wellbeing and students’ relationships with their peers. If those relationships are missing, if students can’t go to school, they don’t have the same opportunities to develop their social competencies. We found that how the schools and teachers in different countries have responded to that depends on how “output oriented” they are – how much they focus on producing particular outcomes. For example, we’ve seen a stronger output-orientation in England than Italy.  But in all the countries, one of the main messages of the pandemic in education has been that already existing difficulties exacerbated.

In this interview, Barbara Gross talks with Thomas Hatch about her research with schools in Italy and what she observed during the COVID-19 related school closures. Gross is currently Junior Professor in Educational Science with a Focus on Intercultural Education at the Faculty of Philosophy at the Chemnitz University of Technology in Germany. Until October of 2022, she was an Assistant Professor at the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, in Northern Italy. Bozen-Bolzano is in South Tyrol, a region bordering Austria, where almost 70% of the population speaks German as their primary language. Some of Gross’ work explores this linguistic diversity as Italian is the language of instruction in Italian language schools and taught as a second language in German-language schools; German is the language of instruction in German-language schools and taught as a second language in Italian-language schools (Further Language Learning in Linguistic and Cultural Diverse Contexts: A Mixed Methods Research in a European Border Region). Because of the right to schooling in these official languages teacher education in the region also has to prepare future teachers to work in each system (Approaches to Diversity: Tracing Multilingualism in Teacher Education in South Tyrol, Italy).This interview is one in a series exploring what has and has not changed in education since COVID. Previous interviews and posts have looked at developments in Poland, Finland, New Zealand, South Africa, and Vietnam.

Thomas Hatch: Can you share a little about what happened in schools in Italy when the COVID-19 pandemic erupted, and then how the education system there has responded?

Barbara Gross: Obviously, Italy was one of the first societies to feel the effects of COVID so the schools closed very early, with the first school closures in Europe taking place in Northern Italy on the 21^st of February, 2020. Then, because Italy has a centralized education system, the decision was made to close schools and universities nationwide on March 4, but initially they only announced a closure until March 15^th. The governments’ decision to close the schools focused on protecting the health of children and young people, and they ultimately decided to leave schools closed until September 2020. I assume the long lockdown was influenced by the fact that there are a lot of schools in Italy with small classrooms and a lack of teachers which made it difficult for social distancing and for staffing smaller groups.

Bozen-Bolzano Province started a multilingual campaign, “before it is too late,” to sensitize citizens to the risks of the COVID-19 pandemic

When the government closed schools, they also announced there should be an immediate switch to online teaching, but in Italy there is something called “school autonomy” and within it “didactic autonomy,”which meant that schools also had autonomy to decide how to deal with online teaching and remote teaching. School autonomy took effect in 2000, and within the School Autonomy Regulations there are rules regulating teaching autonomy (art. 4) and organisational autonomy (art. 5). The application of these rules is the direct responsibility of the school, which implements them with flexible criteria, but respecting the families’ freedom of educational choice and, in any case, recognising and valuing diversity, promoting the potential of each pupil, and adopting all the initiatives useful for achieving educational success. The educational institutions ensure the implementation of remedial and support, continuity and school and career guidance initiatives for pupils. On the basis of autonomy, educational institutions can change the annual number of hours of teaching disciplines (subjects) by a quota of 20%.

In terms of the response to the closures, generally, the tendency was for schools to go to remote teaching immediately and to do a lot of online teaching.  That was a challenge, because neither the teachers nor the children were well prepared for the transition. It was difficult also in some regions where the internet connections still are not very good. In those areas, the Ministry of Education encouraged teachers to contact children via phone if they didn’t have access to the internet or to send materials to children or parents. Locally, there were also a schools where teachers would leave materials for the students and then return to pick up the work that the parents brought back to the school after the students worked on them In some primary schools, it went on like that until the end of the 2020 school year so those schools never even had remote teaching. However, some schools reopened for children whose parents had to go back to work, and the government did discuss opening up some “catch-up programs” during the summer, but the teachers’ unions said that the health of teachers also had to be safeguarded.  That’s why schools didn’t open up again until September, 2020.

TH:  What about other aspects of the response? Was there a local or regional effort to get people connected or to get them devices?

BG: Because the internet access in some places was so sporadic, getting everyone devices wasn’t really a viable solution. But there were funds for devices, especially for what they considered “vulnerable children.” However, from the beginning of the outbreak the decision was to leave the schools closed to protect the health of children, so the focus wasn’t really on education. The expertise that was considered was always the expertise of medical experts. Then the government started to consider the economy and opening up businesses, and it wasn’t until after that that they thought about education.

[F]rom the beginning of the outbreak the decision was to leave the schools closed to protect the health of children, so the focus wasn’t really on education. The expertise that was considered was always the expertise of medical experts. Then the government started to consider the economy and opening up businesses, and it wasn’t until after that that they thought about education.

The Guardian depicts the effects of COVID-19 in Northern Italy

TH:  And what happened with the exams during the closures?

BG: Generally, the government had a very pragmatic way of dealing with exams, stating that grading should not disadvantage learners. In high schools, for example, exit exams for graduating students were simplified, and in the composition of the final grade, the oral part received a higher weight; however, the oral part was held in person, with social distancing.  For younger students, you can see from the data that students’ grades for the year were higher than normal. That probably reflects the concern about inequality and not wanting to penalize students who didn’t have the support to study at home or to get the help they would have gotten in schools. They didn’t want the students’ grades during the closures to hold anyone back.  

TH:  What happened when the schools came back in person in September 2020?

BG: After the schools reopened, there was no other national shutdown, but in the spring of 2021 there were some local school closures. Again, these decisions were made at the national level, in response to data health, for example, on the number of cases in a particular area. When the students did come back in September 2020, schools in certain regions tried different kinds of social distancing. Some had different entrances and exits. Some schools also continued with hybrid education, having some students in class at school and some at home online at the same time. There was also priority placed on keeping schools open for younger children, to try to make sure they can be in school, every day, in person, but then for secondary school students, it was more of a hybrid mixture.

In terms of other changes, primary schools in my area in South Tyrol introduced a new period of  “self-organized learning” during the first hour of the school day. This was supposed to allow for flexible entrances – and thus lower the risk for infections – and, at the same time, help students to adjust to going back to school and catch up on possible learning losses.

“As far as the newly introduced learning format of self-organized or independent learning is concerned, around 80 percent of the teachers and pupils in primary and secondary schools stated that they got along well with the learning format of self-organized or independent learning. A similar picture emerges for parents and guardians: 82 percent believe that their child coped well with this learning period. A point of criticism in connection with self-organized learning is that, especially in primary school, the pupils were often given too few challenging tasks in this learning area. It was also criticized that the use of digital media was limited at this school level.”

From the School year 2020/21: External evaluation of the South Tyrolean Provincial Administration

The national government also took other steps, for example, they were very committed to enhancing or fostering the wellbeing of students. Even though Italy doesn’t normally have school psychologists, they provided funding so that schools could get a psychologist or find other ways to support students and even teachers and parents, if needed – the aim was preventing and treating negative consequences that emerged during COVID-19. That was a national decision, and it meant that schools had a right to a certain number of hours of support from a psychologist in 2022 – however, they also discussed the need for a permanent  systemic introduction of the function of psychologists in educational institutions.

References

Gross, B., Kelly, P., & Hofbauer, S. (2022). ‘Making up for lost time’: neoliberal governance and educational catch-up for disadvantaged students during the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy, Germany and England. Zeitschrift für Diversitätsforschung und -management 2, 161-174. doi: 10.3224/zdfm.v7i2.04

Kelly, P., Hofbauer, S., & Gross, B. (2021). Renegotiating the public good: Responding to the first wave of COVID-19 in England, Germany and Italy. European Educational Research Journal, 20(5), 584-609. doi: 10.1177/14749041211030065

Francesconi, D., Gross, B., & Agostini, E. (2021). The role and facets of wellbeing during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative analysis of Austrian and Italian educational policy. Psihološka istraživanja, 24(2),141-162. doi: 10.5937/PSISTRA24-32602

Gross, B., Francesconi, D., & Agostini, E., (2021). Ensuring equitable opportunities for socioeconomically disadvantaged students in Italy and Austria during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative analysis of educational policy documents. Italian Journal of Educational Research, 27, 27-39. doi: 10.7346/sird-022021-p27

This week, IEN shares the second part of Chi Hieu Nguyen’s conversation with Thomas Hatch about the after effects and developments in education in Vietnam following the school closures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. This interview is one in a series exploring what has and has not changed in education since the COVID-related school closures. Previous interviews and posts have looked at developments in Poland, Finland, New Zealand, and South Africa. Nguyen is the CEO, and co-founder of Innovative Education Group (IEG. Innovative Education Group is an umbrella group of more than 10 education ventures. Part 2 of the interview discusses concerns about engagement and well-being as well as innovation in private and public schools. Part 1 of the interview discussed what happened in Vietnam’s schools following the COVID-19 outbreak, how the education system responded and what has happened since.

Thomas Hatch: In that period where schools were just trying to get kids online, in the US but also in other countries, some kids just weren’t showing up.  In many cases that has continued, and we’ve seen chronic absence has skyrocketed. Did you see that happening in Vietnam as well?

Chi Hieu Nguyen: In Vietnam, students show up.  It’s probably because of the culture of Vietnam, where, in general, it’s a very neighborly kind of community. In Vietnam you can have a house host 20 kids from the neighborhood coming together to share a laptop and study together, or you can have a whole village come into one house to study online with the teacher. Also, everyone was locked down, so the parents were at home with the kids as well and actually helped the kids get connected with their learning.  I think the only problem that we have is the social emotional aspect. Being present in class is not an issue. It’s a social, emotional issue.

Chi Hieu Nguyen

Thomas Hatch: How has that issue manifested itself? How and when did people start to see that?

Chi Hieu Nguyen: I think it was when the country started to recover and school started to get back to normal. We saw a drop in engagement with school; kids did not want to go to school, especially kids who were beginning at a new level or a new school. Surveys of teachers across both the private and public sector reported more anxiety levels and less engagement among students and more misbehaviors than they had seen for years. Most teachers say that it’s not the academic issues they are concerned about, it’s the misbehavior and discipline issues that they are concerned about.

Thomas Hatch: Now that the issue has come to the forefront, how has the system and how have schools and the community at large responded?

Chi Hieu Nguyen: Well-being in general now is one of the top priorities, but even before COVID-19, the government required private schools to have an in-house psychologist and there has been a lot of focus on psychological services, but COVID-19 makes it more obvious. Now a lot of school events are not about academics; they’re about psychological programs or counseling. You will see parents taking their children to psychological service clinics. The national curriculum has not allowed much space for that, so it’s pretty much the effort of schools and also the private sector that provides those services and programs.

I spent part of 2022 studying in the US, and now that I’m back, every school campaign is about happiness and wellbeing. It’s good to be addressing the problems, but it also highlights the seriousness of the issues that students are facing. There’s also a tremendous increase in concern about the well-being of teachers. You see more teachers taking days off; more teachers getting sick. COVID is taking a toll on teachers because they were staying at home and teaching online and didn’t have to deal with a lot of the misbehavior. Now that they are back at their daily job, there’s an explosion of misbehavior in class, and they’re getting so stressed about it. Just this academic year, 16,000 teachers quit their job. That is one of the biggest numbers we have seen.

COVID is taking a toll on teachers because they were staying at home and teaching online and didn’t have to deal with a lot of the misbehavior. Now that they are back at their daily job, there’s an explosion of misbehavior in class, and they’re getting so stressed about it.

Thomas Hatch: Is it mostly seen as something that has to be dealt with at the local level, or is there an understanding that the national system needs to change? And have there been any moves to attack the high-pressure test-based system?

Chi Hieu Nguyen: When the new national curriculum came out in 2018, there were good and not so good aspects to it. One of the good aspects is that it is more competency-based. For the first time, there were no letter grades or number grades for primary school students. Now for primary school they only have “achieving standard” or “not achieving standard” rather than a letter degree. However, there’s more academic load in the middle school, so middle schoolers tend to take the biggest hit. Then in high school, it used to be that every high school student needed to study the same 13 subjects, but from 2018 on, with the new national curriculum, students can choose what track to focus on. If they choose the natural science track, they don’t have to do as much social studies. If they choose the social science track, they don’t have to do as much natural science. In general, the move tries to lessen the pressure, but the issue is still execution: How to transition teachers from teaching knowledge-based content to competency-based instruction over the long term.

Innovation in the private and public school systems

Thomas Hatch: In New York City there are certainly private schools that are innovative, but you also see public schools that are innovative. Is there a reason why the kinds of really innovative schools you’re referring to are all private in Vietnam?

Chi Hieu Nguyen: I think the reason is that in the Vietnamese public education system students still follow a very traditional testing system to move from primary into middle school; to move from middle to high school; and to move from high school to college. That doesn’t leave a lot of room for innovation. For example, private schools talked about competency-based curriculum and competency-based teaching and learning way before the national curriculum took it up. So when new technologies come out with lots of products and services, adding them is easier if I’m teaching in a private school, and I don’t have a test to teach my students to pass so that they can move on to a good high school.

Thomas Hatch: But are private schools still preparing students for the high school exit exams to get into university? Or are they preparing them for international settings?

Chi Hieu Nguyen: In private schools, there are basically two different groups. One group is more like the “low premium” private school, which is to say, the tuition fee is low – about $100 to $200 a month. Most of those schools follow the public school system. Then, the private schools with higher tuition fees, more like $400 – $500 month, usually prepare students for more international settings. Then even if the students stay back in Vietnam, they go to a university system that accepts alternative results not just the high-stake exam results. This is different from systems like China and South Korea, where students have to go through a very rigorous high stakes college entrance exam to get into the public universities.  I think one good move in Vietnamese higher education has been the creation of an alternative application where students can use results from international standards and tests or they can use formative assessment results from their school to apply even to the top universities, both public and private.

I think one good move in Vietnamese higher education has been the creation of an alternative application where students can use results from international standards and tests or they can use formative assessment results from their school to apply even to the top universities, both public and private.

Thomas Hatch: But is it the schools themselves that are pushing things or is there a government policy encouraging them to do that?

Chi Hieu Nguyen: I think it’s all there in the DNA of schools. But with COVID-19, Vietnam is also doing lots of campaigns to improve digital literacy as well. When ChatGPT came out, the Government started to do conferences. I think in both the public and private sector, there has been a momentum to respond every time something technological comes out in the press, which was quite rare before COVID-19.

Thomas Hatch: I just want to come back around for a minute to focus on pedagogy.  You said more recently, there’s been more focus on pedagogy. How? What does that look like? What interesting innovations have you seen in this arena?

Chi Hieu Nguyen: There are a few things that are picking up momentum. People have started talking about how to create multimodal teaching and learning, how to get students using digital resources, so they are not just textbook based. Now there’s a lot more use of audio and digital libraries, Youtube channels, that kind of thing.

The second thing is in terms of differentiation. If you look at the size of classrooms in Vietnam, some public schools have a class that may have 60 students. Even private schools may have 32 students in one classroom. But now teachers and schools are talking more about how to utilize technology to do more differentiation for students. For example, using a technology platform to provide different assessments for different types of students and then provide them with different sets of homework based on their ability.

The third thing, at some of the private schools, like Olympia, is how to adopt new technologies. There is talk about how to use ChatGPT in school, and how to use augmented reality and virtual reality to teach students in every subject. In terms of assessment, history is no longer just writing a paper. It’s building a digital museum. So nowadays there’s more talk on that alternative assessment, alternative form of teaching as well.

Looking Toward the Future…

Thomas Hatch: What about any other challenges or things that you see coming up that we haven’t talked about that you think are critical?

Chi Hieu Nguyen: I think the critical thing in general is the social emotional development of both students and teachers. I think that is something that educators and school leaders have to work on. Next month I will take part in a national movement called the Happy School Movement and we’re partnering with Oxford and others, and even corporations are willing to sponsor something like that.

But the second thing coming up started before COVID-19, and it’s the shift to competency-based teaching. Vietnam is an exciting place because we’ve started the shift, but moving the entire public system, including millions of teachers, from content-based coverage to competency-based teaching and learning is a tremendous effort from both the public and private sector.

Vietnam is an exciting place because we’ve started the shift, but moving the entire public system, including millions of teachers, from content-based coverage to competency-based teaching and learning is a tremendous effort from both the public and private sector.

The third thing is that I think there’s a movement in terms of internationalization of the curriculum, and, economically speaking, Vietnam is a very attractive destination for investment. I think within the next five years you will see a lot of investment in international schools, bilingual schools, and things like that. We’ll see it not only in the biggest cities, but in mid-sized and smaller cities as well.

This week, Chi Hieu Nguyen talks with Thomas Hatch about the after effects and developments in education in Vietnam following the COVID-19 school closures. Nguyen is the CEO, and co-founder of Innovative Education Group (IEG). Innovative Education Group is an umbrella group of more than 10 education ventures. The interview includes a brief discussion of IEG’s work before Nguyen discusses what happened in Vietnam’s schools following the COVID-19 outbreak, how the education system has responded and what has happened since.

Thomas Hatch: Before we talk about the school closures, can you give us a sense of the kind of work you and your colleagues at IEG do in Vietnam?

Chi Hieu Nguyen: We serve the entire spectrum of the education landscape in Vietnam. We work with policymakers, researchers, school leaders, teachers, parents, and students, and each venture tackles a different problem. We manage education consulting companies but we also run full scale K-12 school systems; we’re involved in publishing, assessment, online learning models, and after school learning models, and even a nonprofit foundation to rebuild public schools in remote areas or provide scholarships and mentorship to underprivileged college students. But the majority of my work focuses on K-12 schools in terms of building new schools, upgrading schools, and transforming old schools. I focus mainly on the academic operation side.

The School Closures in Vietnam

Thomas Hatch: Can you give us a sense of what happened in schools in Vietnam after the COVID-19 outbreak?

Chi Hieu Nguyen: I think Vietnam is a very interesting case. If you look at the data, for example, in South Asia in general, during COVID-19, Vietnam had a longer stretch of lockdown compared to other countries because we were quite late in getting vaccinations going. So the closures started in March 2020, and, in total, we were probably online for a year and a half, and, at least for certain areas, it could be longer.

Thomas Hatch: Was that a government-wide shutdown? Was there any discussion or planning up to it? Or was it one day the schools were open, and the next day they were closed and online?

Chi Hieu Nguyen: In Vietnam it’s usually a top-down decision of the Government to shut down. But this time, it wasn’t uniform across the country. They started shutting things down depending on where the outbreak took place. Shutdowns could also happen based on the district. For example, there are 16 districts, and when a district had an outbreak, that district got shut down, and the others districts could stay open. So the school system operated in a very flexible way, but only in the beginning.  Then there was an intense period with the biggest outbreaks in summer and fall of 2020. That’s when pretty much the entire country got shut down, including the schools. Then, as we recovered, opening schools was really based on the city again – which had the highest amount of a percentage of vaccination and things like that. But the Government decided to have a target of 100% vaccination, and that is the reason why when it got back to normal it was pretty much every city and every province that came back to normal schooling. That happened around February–March of 2022. It was almost 2 years or a year and a half on and off, but mostly off.

Source: WHO & Google, Temasek and Bain, e-Conomy SEA 2020

Thomas Hatch: Who was making the decision about closing down schools? Was it the central government who would essentially say, okay, if you have an outbreak, you need to close? Or was it up to the local officials?

Chi Hieu Nguyen: It was the local authorities. Each province or municipality made those decisions depending on the outbreak. The central government gave a very general directive, but it was the authority of the province or the city that made the decision to shut down.

Thomas Hatch: Is that typical of decision making in the Vietnamese education system? Or is it usually more centrally controlled than that?

Chi Hieu Nguyen:  Over time, they have tended to give more leeway for local authorities to make the decisions. In 2018, after many years, we had an entire revamp of the national curriculum. That revamp produced the first competency-based curriculum nationally. But before that there was only a “one textbook” approach. That meant that, before 2018, for the entire public school system, we used the same textbook. From 2018 onwards, there’s a set of textbooks to choose from, so there’s a lot more leeway and flexibility for schools in different districts and different provinces and cities. It’s still a centrally controlled system, but there is increasing flexibility for the local authority to make those decisions. Over the past 5 or 6 years, there’s certainly more loosening of regulations to support the growth of the private sector as well, but it’s more obvious in education.

“Like a Survival Instinct” – The Initial Response to the School Closures

Thomas Hatch: What was the first step, the first reaction in terms of the school closures? Was it that people said, “oh my, we’re going to have to teach online and nobody has broadband access? And nobody has computers?”

Chi Hieu Nguyen: That’s really what it was. It was like a survival instinct. Everyone got online as much as they could. It’s actually accelerated the speed of adoption of technology and the Internet in a lot of schools. Many people and schools got online quickly, within about one or 2 months. But in contrast to many other Asian countries, in Vietnam, most of the new adoption of the Internet and digital devices — almost 75% — were in the metro areas. That means that in terms of the continuity of education, the metro areas did pretty well, but that the gap between the metro areas and rural areas widened because of COVID-19. For the Metro areas, COVID was a big kick that got a lot of people online, and now there are a lot of new digital products and services that are available. But in my work, even now, we still have to provide computers and teachers to teach online for students in the most remote area of Vietnam.

Source: Google, Temasek and Bain, e-Conomy SEA 2020

Thomas Hatch: That’s a pretty incredible increase in digital use in the metro areas. How was that response possible? Was it led by the Government? Or by local authorities? Or business?

Chi Hieu Nguyen: For private schools, the schools did it themselves, but I think the local education departments were also very responsive. For example, my province, the leadership of the public schools didn’t even need to wait for the local government or the central government to decide. They got students connected very quickly. I think there’s also that agility in the teachers. It’s a very young generation of teachers in Vietnam, and many of them are technologically enabled in their daily life. I think there’s just this passion in Vietnamese teachers in general that might have helped even in more rural areas where there was less internet penetration and technology is very limited. But, overall, I think the infrastructure was in place except for the very poorest areas. Vietnam is a very fast adopter of technology in general, and we saw that kind of a quick transformation in education. Students at most of the schools I know, both private and public schools, get online very quickly within just about 2 months.

Vietnam is a very fast adopter of technology in general, and we saw that kind of a quick transformation in education. Students at most of the schools I know, both private and public schools, get online very quickly within just about 2 months.

Thomas Hatch: What about devices? Did the schools have to hand out devices or did kids have enough mobile phones?

Chi Hieu Nguyen: Phones are something very common in Vietnam. Vietnam is a very e-commerce economy so the infrastructure is there. Almost every house has a smartphone with a data plan connected with the Internet.  I think it’s only with those with the lowest incomes or in the most remote areas where infrastructure is not strong enough. The majority of the country is pretty much connected.

Managing through Remote Instruction

Thomas Hatch: Then what? What were some of the first steps in terms of making sure that remote education would be effective? Was it training teachers in zoom and things like that? Was it creating a curriculum? And was that done centrally at the national level or at the local level?

Chi Hieu Nguyen: For one thing, the Ministry of Education worked together with the national television station to produce learning programs for every subject from grade 1 all the way to grade 12, so that even when students didn’t have internet they could actually watch the TV and learn the programs. But at schools, the effort was focused on just getting kids online and using the internet as a medium to get connected with students within the first, maybe 6 months to 9 months. There was not much of any conversation about teaching methods. But then, towards the end of 2020, and for most of 2021, there were more conversations and conferences about pedagogies, methods, and how to use technology. There was also new explosion of technological products and services in 2021. But for the first 6 months it was pretty much just getting online as much as possible.

Thomas Hatch: That’s very helpful. It’s really interesting the way you describe the COVID-19 response in phases, with an explosion of edtech technologies and things that teachers could use. It wasn’t necessarily focused on pedagogy. Can you give some examples of some of the more interesting edtech developments from your perspective?

Chi Hieu Nguyen: In just about 2 months it seemed like Zoom or Microsoft Teams were in every school. Then in 2021 Microsoft education came in, and suddenly there was an explosion in the number of teachers going for Microsoft education training to become a Microsoft Education Expert or to learn how to use the entire suite of packages and services. Google education followed as well. Vietnamese parents in general are also very keen on learning English with technology, and suddenly there is an explosion of pronunciation apps, reading apps, grammar apps, tons of this. There’s even an investment company translating the entire Khan Academy in Vietnamese.

For me, I also started using ClassIn. It’s a product from China, and it’s a platform that was built for the classroom. It’s different from things like Zoom that were designed as platforms for meetings and were hijacked into the classroom. On Zoom, for example, if you want to us another education tool, you have to ask students to switch platforms: “Okay, let’s go to Padlet” or you have to share a screen. And the moment you share a screen, with limited broadband, you often can’t stream a video or anything. Everything is just disrupted. But ClassIn brought everything together in one platform. You have a blackboard. You have a timer. You can store your video and your lesson plan, or whatever you want to share in ClassIn. Even if the students have very low broadband, they can still watch the video without distraction. It’s called like an online-offline model.

Thomas Hatch: But are schools still using these technologies and online tools?

Chi Hieu Nguyen: There are different aspects. Schools are more aware that something like COVID-19 could happen again and disrupt everything, so they’ve converted from paper-based into more digital resources. Now you see Vietnamese schools are starting to think about learning management systems like Canvas and everything digital lives there.

Schools are more aware that something like COVID-19 could happen again and disrupt everything, so they’ve converted from paper-based into more digital resources.

The second aspect is the way they approach the lessons. There now might be a combination between online activities and in person activities. The students before class, during class, and after class spend a lot of time on the digital platform, and of course, in class, they have discussions and they have in-person activities. The third aspect is that classroom organization may be more flexible. It’s no longer just one teacher and the entire class. You can have the class study from a different location, doing something for a field trip and then have a class study online, for example. You can start to invite teachers from all over the world to teach and start to explore other possibilities. Of course, you see this most at pioneering schools. One I’m involved in is The Olympia Schools, a private K-12 school system that is a part of our school network. They’ve started talking about deeper learning, about virtual reality, how to take advantage of AI and virtual reality. Now they’ve started to bring ChatGPT into daily teaching as well so there is almost no resistance to the wave of technology anymore because of that COVID-19. Now they have that mentality that we have to be very agile with every new technology coming out.  I think every city, in every major city in Vietnam, there should be about 4 or 5 schools like that. They are really pushing the boundaries, and they become like model schools that others can learn from.