This year, World Teachers’ Day focuses on teachers’ role in crisis response. Amidst the global pandemic, they are at the heart of mitigating learning gaps and ensuring that education is accessible for all. During these challenging times, Aflatoun International keeps supporting teachers through its global network of partner organisations. We are constantly working to ensure that despite the pandemic, children and young people receive the best practices of Social and Financial Education (SFE) for making positive changes in their own lives.
The COVID-19 pandemic immensely affected children and young people around the world. Currently, close to one million learners cannot go to school. Education-focused non-profit organisations play an important role in education systems in many countries and often provide critical resources to the most vulnerable. This includes providing support to teachers who are at the forefront of ensuring that education is accessible for all children and young people, especially the most vulnerable.
Since the outbreak of COVID-19, Aflatoun International has launched several initiatives to support teachers. In April this year, we conducted the survey among our partners in order to assess how they are affected, learn more about how they are continuing to reach children and youth, and help us identify the best ways we can provide support.
The results showed that more than half of the organisations (57%) were working to continue the education of children and youth. This includes support and guidance to parents (41%), digital interventions (34%), and lessons via radio/tv (15%). These efforts are essential to ease the pressure on teachers in their role to continue the learning process.
We also worked together with UNICEF Regional Office for the Middle East and North Africa on the Ready to Come Back: Teacher Preparedness Training Package. The package focuses on practical tips for teachers on how to keep them and their students safe and healthy as well as ways of addressing missed and regressed learning during school closure. It’s contextualized to the MENA region, but can be excellent informational and planning tool for teachers everywhere during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Another way to support teachers and educators is our multiple training for partner organisations. For instance, recently we facilitated an online refresher course for UNICEF Jordan staff and partners who are implementing a tailored financial literacy curriculum, also created for them by Aflatoun. The workshop provided an orientation on the curriculum and key aspects of financial literacy and enterprise training, and on adapting active learning pedagogy for distance learning.
Aflatoun’s overall mission is to socially and economically empower children and young people to make a positive change for a more equitable world. Watch a video postcard for teachers from Aflatoun International Secretariat staff here.
