Mapping Education and Training Responses to the Health Crisis in ETF Partner Countries. Coping with COVID-19 [April 15, 2020 Update]

As school closures enter their second month (and more in some countries), the European Training Foundation's (ETF's) second report, as part of their #learningconnects campaign, on how 27 countries neighbouring the EU are coping finds that more structured responses to the COVID-19 pandemic are emerging in education and training. This update finds: (1) Increased attention to support for and delivery of vocational education and training, including practical training, in most countries; (2) Most countries are advancing their reflections on final examinations and certification, including starting training for online assessments and rolling out systems for online evaluation; (3) Research and evidence collection is gathering momentum, both through the activity of donors (several surveys and data collection exercises are under way either on general measures and responses, or on specific subjects) and at national level (in particular surveys targeting teachers and trainers, families and students), as well as through the research community; (4) Support to teachers and trainers is provided through dedicated platforms and through peer support at provider level, as well as through tutoring programmes delivered centrally by national authorities; and (5) Bottom-up initiatives are multiplying, including cooperation with the private sector to boost connectivity and access to equipment for teachers, trainers and learners and civil society organisations. Providers are sharing good practice and organising peer learning and support and upscaling models and approaches. These trends pertain to 27 ETF partner countries making up South Eastern Europe and Turkey, Eastern Partnership and Russia, Southern and Eastern Mediterranean, and Central Asia. [For the ETF's first report in their #learningconnects campaign, see ED607357.]