Research consultancy - Research and analysis of school closure responses in the Americas

The Covid-19 pandemic has seen the Americas particularly affected, with most countries in the region suffering total or partial school closures and having to adapt to alternative means of education. As of 1 September, more than 50 per cent of the cases and more than 50 per cent of the total deaths worldwide have been in the Americas. At the start of the pandemic in March 2020, nearly 155 million children in the Americas were not in school. As of September, it is estimated that globally more than 800 million children, or over 45 per cent of enrolled learners are not at school. UNESCO estimates that one billion students, two-thirds of the global student population, face either school closures or uncertainty.

Insight and data into the effect of the pandemic has been collected by multiple organisations, including the British Council, the World Bank and UNESCO. There has also been research into the effectiveness of the responses including remote teaching, online guided learning, mobile learning, TV and radio. 

What is needed now is evidence-based qualitative and quantitative research into how education systems in the Americas have been affected and what can be done by those responsible for educational systems to effectively respond to the ongoing pandemic and potential future partial or complete closure of educational establishments, with a focus in particular on inclusivity and how teachers can be best supported to ensure students can continue to learn. It seems certain at the time of writing that the shift to remote teaching, remote learning, blended learning, use of educational platforms and the concept of the ‘flipped classroom’ are not transient tools to manage a short-term pandemic-induced crisis in educational systems globally – but represent a sudden and possible permanent shift in how we teach, and how children learn. British Council Argentina would like to commission desk research on the following research questions:

1. How have educational systems in individual countries in the Americas been affected by the pandemic over the 6 months from March 2020
2. How effective has each country been in terms of the response
3. What strategies have been more successful than others
4. Have any particular innovative models been adopted

Timescales of the project

Apply by: 28 September 2020

Start date: 1 October 2020

End date: 16 December 2020