Keynote at final session of the education stream of G-STIC 2020 - 28 October 2020

1. HOW COVID-19 FORCES US
TO RE-THINK EDUCATION
Dirk Van Damme
OECD/EDU

2. LEARNING LOSS, INCREASING
INEQUALITIES AND OTHER HARM
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3. Learning loss
(Belgium/Flemish sample comparing June 2020 test results with 2015-19 results)
https://feb.kuleuven.be/research/economics/ces/documents/DPS/2020/dps2017.pdf
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4. Learning loss
(NFER survey of 1782 teachers in the UK)
https://www.nfer.ac.uk/media/4119/schools_responses_to_covid_19_the_challenges_facing_schools_and_pupils_in_september_2020.pdf 4

5. 5
Learning loss
(Univ of Oxford study of Dutch schools)

6. Learning loss in hybrid teaching & learning mode
Source: http://www.nber.org/papers/w27431 6

7. • Severe learning loss as a consequence of COVID-19 induced
school closures and educational disruption
– More adequate assessments and measurements needed
• Learning loss is not evenly distributed: inequalities have increased
• Home-schooling and remote education have partly compensated
educational disruption among middle-class families, but have
aggravated the educational disadvantage for children in poor
households
Learning loss
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8. The long-term economic cost of learning loss:
Estimated impact of COVID-19 induced learning loss on GDP
-Bn $16,000
-Bn $14,000
-Bn $12,000
-Bn $10,000
-Bn $8,000
-Bn $6,000
-Bn $4,000
-Bn $2,000
Bn $0
Source: Hanushek and Woessmann (OECD, 2020)
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9. CHALLENGES, LESSONS AND
QUESTIONS
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10. • A smooth return to the ‘old normal’ cannot be expected and is not
desirable
• A number of elements in the prevailing teaching and learning
environments are in need of re-thinking to increase their
effectiveness and improve the quality and equity of schooling
• Educational research and the science of learning can help to
remediate the harm inflicted by COVID-19, but also to redesign
education
Challenges, lessons and how educational science can help
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11. Challenge 1: educational technology
“However, the costs of missing school are huge.
Children learn less, and lose the habit of
learning. Zoom is a lousy substitute for
classrooms. Poor children, who are less likely
to have good Wi-Fi and educated parents, fall
further behind their better-off peers.”
https://www.economist.com/leaders/2020/07
/18/the-risks-of-keeping-schools-closed-far-
outweigh-the-benefits
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12. Challenge 1: educational technology
• Remote learning and distance education failed to compensate for
classroom education
– Unprepared teachers, poor technology, poor eduware and resources
– Digital divides
• 1st digital divide: hardware, connectivity
• 2nd digital divide: digital skills (both at teachers’ and students’ ends)
• 3rd digital divide: usage
• Massive effort needed to speed up edtech, to prepare for (partial)
school closures and to redesign learning (without the naive
evangelist messages)
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13. • A ‘one-size-fits-all’-approach is no longer appropriate – too many
students fail because of educational standardisation
• Many more parents look for alternatives for standard public
education: private schools, home schooling, tutoring, etc., with a
further increase in inequalities as a consequence
• Remediating learning loss will require a very diversified, even
personalized approach, enabled by educational technology
(learning analytics, learning management systems, etc.)
• Improved design of teaching and learning environments for better
quality and equity
Challenge 2: diversifying education
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14. • The secondary costs of missing school are high and the social
functions of the school have become very clear
– School meals, healthy nutrition
– Social networking, friendships, community life
• Schools are places of social and emotional learning, building
resilience, perseverance and empathy, so desperately needed to
overcome crises
• Excessive individualization of learning is a risk for social cohesion
Challenge 3: understanding and revaluing the social and
emotional significance of schooling
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15. • COVID-19 caused severe disruptions in examinations and
educational trajectories
– National exams at end of primary education, end of secondary
education, entry to higher education
• The old-fashioned exam model needs thorough revision, with
increased role of new types of assessments (simulations and
games, adaptive assessments, hands-on assessment in vocational
settings, automated rating, etc.)
• New types of credentials, digital credentials (badges), blockchain
technologies
Challenge 4: rethink evaluation and assessment
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16. EDUCATION IS NOT ONLY A VICTIM
OF COVID-19, BUT ALSO THE KEY TO
DEFEAT THE PANDEMIC
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17. • The virus does discriminate
– Age, poverty, ethnicity impact on infections and death risks
– But also skills matter: lower educated people have higher risks
• People adjust their behaviour on the basis of cognitive and non-
cognitive skills
– Cognitive: understanding health risks, understanding media
messages
– Non-cognitive: various skills impact on the willingness and
motivation to adjust behaviour (social distancing, masks, etc.)
• Better education improves society’s resilience against
pandemics!
The role of education in overcoming the pandemic
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18. FINALLY, RETHINKING THE
PURPOSES OF EDUCATION
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19. • Will the current model of mass schooling survive? Or are we
experiencing a fundamental transformation of education?
• Renewed interest in educational objectives such as resilience,
risks, autonomy, ethical decision-making
• The impact of artificial intelligence yet to come
• The future-readiness of education systems is now coming very
much on the agenda
• Finally: SDG4 no longer is the main political objective. Political
support is waning
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Education for human flourishing

20. Thank you!
dirk.vandamme@oecd.org
www.oecd.org/edu
www.oecd.org/coronavirus
twitter @VanDammeEDU
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