MORE THAN 200,000 teachers from 20 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean are actively participating in the regional survey “The teacher’s voice, educational practices in the context of COVID-19”.

The survey was launched by SUMMA, the first Laboratory for Research and Innovation in Education for Latin America and the Caribbean; the Knowledge and Innovation Exchange Hub for Latin America and the Caribbean (KIX LAC); and the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), in partnership with the Ministries of Education of each participating country. According to a release, the survey is still open for teachers in the region, and to answer it, they only have to enter a link provided by the respective Ministries of Education.

Teachers and professors from Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Antigua and Barbuda, Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St Lucia, St Kitts and Nevis, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Peru, and Uruguay, among others, have already responded to the survey. The joint work with the Ministries of Education of these countries has been fundamental to achieve contact and dissemination of this important project that will allow us to learn about the challenges, collect lessons and propose strategies for improving education in times of Covid.

The purpose of the study is to provide updated and comparable information to support decision-making at the macro (international organizations and governments), meso (local authorities) and micro (schools and households) levels, as well as to generate regional collaboration and promote the exchange of experiences and lessons learned among countries.

The survey will also provide valuable information on teachers’ strategies to maintain the link with their students and management teams during the pandemic; the way in which distance school work is organised; the types of pedagogical activities and the availability of digital resources available to teachers; curricular prioritisation practices and availability of support materials for students and teachers; their socio-emotional well-being, as well as the main challenges and needs of teachers in the region.

Javier Gonzalez, Director of SUMMA, stated that “although countries in the region have implemented emergency remote teaching initiatives, the prolonged closure of schools will have repercussions on learning”. In this regard, he added, “We want to hear the voice of the teachers, to know the wide range of strategies generated, their responses to maintain the link with students and management teams, and the great work done by you to carry out your work remotely and adapt your work in this new context”.

Raúl Chacón, director of KIX LAC, commenting on this initiative said “we want to contribute to face the current educational challenges in our region, paying attention to the different elements that teachers report regarding the teaching and learning processes together with their students, highlighting at the same time the good experiences and lessons learned in times of pandemic”.

Denisse Gelber, Director of Studies at SUMMA, states that “this study is unique for two reasons. First, because the questionnaire was discussed and agreed upon with each of the Ministries of Education of the countries involved, in order to investigate those aspects that the entire region considers relevant and on which the authorities can have an impact. Secondly, because it will allow us to know the general situation of Latin America and the Caribbean, complementing the local and national brushstrokes we have had so far. Therefore, the more voices we can hear, the better reflection we will have of the general situation and what is needed to guarantee the right to quality education for all in the current context and in the future”.