(MENAFN- The Peninsula) A Qatar Foundation education expert has called for the world's education systems not to allow 'a crisis to go to waste, in an international discussion on the future of learning organized by an Italian charitable organisation.
Dr. Asmaa Al Fadala, Director of Research and Content Development at the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) Qatar Foundation's education think-tank told a webinar that brought together leaders of educational programs, politicians, and UN representatives that the COVID-19 pandemic has already shaken up traditional concepts of school leadership.
And speaking during Educational Responses to COVID-19 hosted by the Fondazione per la Scuola Compagnia di San Paolo, the education branch of one of Europe's largest charities she explained: 'There is so much we can take from this experience and so much we can learn to improve our systems for today and for the future.
'We are all in this together, and we need to respond in a space of collaboration and deeper understanding.
Focusing on the role of teachers and school leaders during and after the pandemic, Dr. Al Fadala highlighted how education systems have the opportunity to look at successful examples of leadership against the backdrop of COVID-19, and consider whether this can be translated into 'a blueprint to redesign our educator development programs to prepare teachers and school leaders for the realities of 21st century schooling.
'Overnight, the school leadership hierarchy has been flattened in a way that we've never seen before, going beyond what we have referred to as distributed leadership, where students, parents, teachers, and school leaders are working side-by-side, in tandem, on leading learning, she said.
'The idea of learner agency has been a huge theme and takeaway from this crisis. This is what I call learning to learn teaching students and all parts of our education ecosystem to be lifelong learners, and to lead their learning for the sake of learning.
'We need to take a systems approach, and build on and adapt to what is there already. We should identify opportunities to build back better and align our thinking for the long-term. We also need to document, reflect, and adjust our own learning to build better, more resilient, future-ready education systems.
Speakers also included Stefania Giannini, Unesco's Assistant Director-General for Education, who warned that in countries where school and university closures mean distance learning is currently the only available form of education, 47 percent of students do not have Internet access including 34 percent in the Arab world while 60 percent of teachers do not feel prepared to teach virtually in the same way they do within classrooms.
'The priority is to safeguard the health and wellbeing of students and the wider community, but the longer schools stay closed, the higher the risk of learning loss, she said. 'We can't neglect that.
'However, schools reopening after a global crisis such as this does not simply mean a return to normal. We must think better, encourage the testing of new pedagogies and learning models, and support teachers all the way. It's not just about technology —that's an important component, but it's about making education systems more inclusive and better-prepared to face and overcome similar crises in the future.
Meanwhile, Anna Ascani, Undersecretary at Italy's Ministry of Education, claimed schools had been 'held back for too long by bureaucracy, delays, and outdated systems, and 'now we have proof things can change.
'This crisis can represent an opportunity if we put things perspective, observe the strength of our education systems at such a critical point, and — most importantly — recognize the centrality of schools, and of education, in our societies, she said. 'We must embrace innovation, and we must invest, invest, invest in schools.
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