Assisting teachers to support learning recovery
Anna Riggall
Dr Anna Riggall leads Education Development Trust's global programme of academic educational research and promotes evidence engagement across the organisation. She has over 20 years’ experience leading international educational research and holds an MA in Education & Development Studies and PhD in Education. She specialises in the areas of education system reform, education for marginalised groups including children with disabilities, girls and refugees, teacher development, leadership, accountability and education in emergencies.
Elnaz Kashefpakdel
Dr Elnaz Kashefpakdel joined Education Development Trust in 2021 and is leading the public research portfolio working in partnership with global education leaders, to deliver an internationally recognised portfolio of research. Elnaz has ten years of research experience in the field of careers, school-to-work transitions, youth labour market and employability skills, with her work cited in UK government policies including The Career Strategy 2018 and the Industrial Strategy 2017, and other major sectoral publications and events such as World Economic Forum, OECD Career Readiness and the Careers and Enterprise Company. Elnaz is a trained quantitative researcher and has published numerous academic and professional papers over the course of her career using quantitative research methods. Elnaz has a PhD in Education from the University of Bath, with a focus on widening participation in higher education and teenage aspiration. Elnaz is also a Visiting Research Fellow at the International Centre for Guidance Studies (iCeGS) at the University of Derby where she is advancing her academic credentials working with rounded academic experts in the field of careers.
Ella Page
Ella is a researcher with particular expertise in girls’ education with ten years of experience in monitoring and evaluation, research and literature review. She has worked for clients including FCDO, Plan International, the Varkey Foundation and UNGEI on research around girls’ access to schooling, skills development and tackling discriminatory social norms. Ella works closely with our programme teams in East Africa and is committed to the transformative impact of education for the most marginalised. Ella holds an MSc in Gender, Development and Globalisation from the London School of Economics.
Susy Ndaruhutse
Susy consults on projects and research with Education Development Trust, having previously worked for the organisation as part of her 20 years’ experience of working collaboratively with low- and middle-income governments, multilateral and bilateral donors, and NGOs on policy, strategy, finance and capacity development initiatives. She strongly believes in drawing from the best available global evidence on what works, but consistently highlights the need to take local political, economic and social contexts into account to not only ensure that education systems are responsive to local needs, but that successful interventions leave a lasting legacy for future generations of young people.
Rosie Leonard-Kane
Covid-19 caused considerable disruption to education around the world. Disadvantaged and marginalised learners have been particularly hard-hit. Naturally, earlier in the pandemic, the focus of much attention was on how to safely reopen schools, often with a preoccupation on hygiene and social distancing considerations. With schools in many jurisdictions reopening partially or fully, there is now a growing interest in the immensely important area of recovering the learning lost while pupils have been away from face-to-face education.
These reports are a result of the first phase of a collaborative research programme undertaken with UNESCO.
Globally, our teachers will be charged with the heavy lifting when it comes to leading learning recovery. As school systems continue to reopen, teachers will need to respond not only to students’ deepened academic losses but also to their socio-emotional needs.
Education Development Trust and UNESCO are collaborating on a research initiative as part of UNESCO’s Global Education Coalition.
The first phase of work has resulted in three reports – a rapid evidence assessment, a policy and grey literature review and a summary paper summarising the key gaps in knowledge. The reviews identify gaps in knowledge on learning recovery and school reopening.
Specifically, there is little evidence about:
• Innovative programmes that support teachers at a fast pace;
• What teachers need to know about areas such as digital curriculum design, effective digital delivery and engagement and online/offline learning assessment tools;
• How we can best prepare teachers to respond to the rising challenges of school closure and re-opening;
• The effectiveness of training in specific classroom or instructional techniques and how these might assist teachers in helping children in their classrooms;
• How schools, local or national governments can support teachers back into classrooms and prevent workforce attrition, as well as teacher anxiety and trauma caused by Covid-19 and working conditions; and
• What the most effective catch-up approaches are in a range of contexts.
Read more in the full reports on the right.
The Global Education Coalition launched by UNESCO is a platform for collaboration and exchange to protect the right to education during this unprecedented disruption and beyond. It brings together more than 175 members from the UN family, civil society, academia and the private sector to ensure that #LearningNeverStops.