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In the second part of this two-part interview, Melanie Ehren talks with Thomas Hatch about the five “waves of funding” designed to help the Dutch education system respond to the learning challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic and related school closures. The first part of this interview focused on the initial school closures and the suspension of exams in the Netherlands. Ehren is Professor and Director of Research of LEARN! at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. This interview is one in a series exploring what can change in schools after the pandemic? Previous interviews and posts have looked at developments in Italy, Poland, Finland, New Zealand, South Africa, and Vietnam. Other blog posts from Melanie Ehren include A view from the Netherlands: Melanie Ehren on school closures and the pandemic; Lead the Change Interview with Melanie Ehren; A call to action in the Netherlands: Addressing rising inequality in a decentralized system.

Thomas Hatch (TH): You and your colleagues spent a considerable amount of time studying how the Dutch government has used a series of funding initiatives to help schools and students in the Netherlands recover from the pandemic. Can you give a sense of these “waves” of funding and how schools and school networks used them?

Melanie Ehren (ME): The Dutch government provided funding to help schools respond to COVID pandemic in five different “waves,” with the first wave in July, 2020, after the initial school closures. At first, consistent with the decentralized Dutch system, schools and local school boards could decide on the type of “catch-up” approach to pursue and which pupils were eligible for the additional support. However, after the first round of funding there was considerable negative press about the unfocused nature of the approaches and the fact that some of them had little, if anything, to do with instruction. For example, in one meeting, I heard some people complaining about a school that used the funds to take their students on a trip to an amusement park (like Disney-land), with the rationale that children had experienced such socio-emotional suffering that they needed a break and a chance to re-establish their relationships with peers and their teachers.

After the initial round, the requirements for the funding were tightened and schools had to use student achievement results to target students with “learning loss” and to choose from a ‘menu of effective interventions’ to help them catch-up.  This menu was modelled directly on a “Toolkit” developed in England to ensure that schools used “catch up” approaches that had some “evidence of effectiveness.” The first version of this was what the Dutch called a “menu card,” which was essentially the English toolkit translated into Dutch.

The “Toolkit” created by the Education Endowment Foundation used in England and the Dutch version based on the English model

I think this move was made because the government felt that schools were not very evidence informed in their thinking about what interventions and programs to implement in the first wave. In fact, when we interviewed schools that had applied for funding about why they picked a particular intervention – asking things like “why are you thinking that this program might lead to improved outcomes for this particular groups?” – many of them had a hard time answering. In some cases, the decisions appeared to be based on professional expertise and their previous experiences of what had worked or didn’t work well for their students. But some schools also told us they were choosing these programs out of convenience or building on partnerships with external agencies that were already in place. For example, they might say “this is a tutoring agency we’ve worked with before; we’ve had good results with them, so we thought that that might be a good way to use the funding” or “this is something that we know we can organize for our school.”

For this second wave of funding, we studied the applications of schools and found that the schools planned to focus mainly on three types of outcomes:

1. School performance (primary education: language and arithmetic; secondary education: core subjects)
2. Well-being/social-emotional development of pupils
3. Learning skills

Despite these plans, we found that many schools actually ended up using the funding quite differently. For example, a school might have planned to spend the funds on after school tutoring; on providing additional remedial instruction at the start of the school day; or on having additional teachers in the classroom.  But then when it came time for implementation, another issue or need might have emerged or  they might have found they couldn’t secure additional teachers. Overall, schools were really struggling to organize these programs as planned because of the constant disruptions to in-person teaching and then there was a second lockdown so they were constantly changing and revising. I also had many conversations with school leaders who said “we did not apply for this funding, because we need more time to actually think about what makes sense for our kids.” We detailed some of this at the time in a blog post “Catch-up and support programmes in primary and secondary education.”

Overall, schools were really struggling to organize these programs as planned because of the constant disruptions to in-person teaching and then there was a second lockdown so they were constantly changing and revising.

Over time, the government did add more background information and context to the menu to help schools to use the information to make choices. For example, the new version produced by the Ministry of Education, Culture & Science (which they referred to as an “Intervention card improving basic skills“) included links to guidance and support for choosing and using the guidance and urged the schools to consider the demands of their own context, stating: “it is important how your school implements a chosen intervention. For a concrete step-by-step plan, you place each approach in the context of your school: does this approach suit the education you provide, your students and the issues you face? The professionalism and autonomy of the teacher are paramount here.” All of this has led to much more emphasis on evidence-based and evidence-informed work in schools, and particularly how the government can support that. That’s another consequence of the pandemic in the Netherlands, I think: A belief that we need to build more capacity in schools for using research evidence to improve education.

TH: What’s happening now and what’s likely to happen in the future? 

ME: Building on the catch-up schemes, the national government has developed a broader funding scheme – the National Program for Education – that is continuing to help schools, particularly schools with a high level of deprivation, to improve reading, writing, and literacy. This program provides an additional investment of 8.5 billion for 2.5 years for the entire education system. This National Program offers funding to improve education in these basic areas, and schools are expected to use the same approach as under the catch-up funding: the schools have to identify children who need additional support and use the menu card to decide on what kind of interventions are effective. But the national program of education has a much wider infrastructure to improve basic skills, including support teams that are initiated by the Ministry of Education to work with schools, but all around this idea of evidence-informed interventions.

“Get started with the NP Education” [translated] a graphic depicting how Dutch schools should select, implement and monitor “catch-up” programs.

Despite the huge amount of funding there have been a lot of critiques of the national government, given the short time span in which the money has to be spent, which doesn’t allow schools to implement more sustainable solutions to improve education and learning outcomes. The funding for example doesn’t allow schools to hire additional staff as these would have to be offered permanent employment which cannot be guaranteed with temporary funding.

Given that the most pressing problems in our education system are teacher shortages, high inequality and a decline in student outcomes in literacy and numeracy, there is an understanding that a long-term investment and program of reform is required to improve education. The short-term catch-up programs seem to have done relatively well in getting students back on track, but they have not been able to buck the wider trends in declining outcomes and increasing shortages of teachers.

In some ways, all of this a natural consequence of problems coming out of the school closures, but it’s reinforced by the fact that the Netherlands’ performance has been declining in international surveys like PISA at the same time that inequality has been increasing. That’s also something that the Dutch Inspector of Education has reported on in their annual reports. All of these reports have been alerting people to the facts that children are not reading at home and that reading scores are declining, and that’s having an effect on other outcomes. All of these things come together in the drive towards trying to improve basic skills.

TH: Can you talk a little about how the response in NL compares to those in other systems you’re familiar with, particularly the UK? 

ME: During the pandemic, the Netherlands had a decentralized approach to allow schools to choose a contextually appropriate response to school closures within a centralized funding framework. This is different from other countries such as the UK that saw a highly centralized roll-out of a tutoring programme. Now, however, we are seeing a much more centralized approach to improving education. Recently an ‘interdepartmental investigation into education (IBO Koersen op kwaliteit en kansengelijkheid) was published with a range of proposals for stronger governmental coordination/control over education to reduce inequality and enhance learning outcomes, including more centralized coordination of the curriculum, compulsory assessments, more inspection, enhancing evidence-informed work in schools (including through an application for funding to hire a school support team to work with a school). Given the Netherlands’ tradition of high autonomy and freedom of education, this is being described as ‘a committed and responsible government’, but it is essentially a move towards greater centralized control.

Now, however, we are seeing a much more centralized approach to improving education... Given the Netherlands’ tradition of high autonomy and freedom of education, this is being described as ‘a committed and responsible government.’

TH: Have you seen any particularly innovative or promising new practices or policies that have grown out of the COVID response? 

ME: Schools are much better equipped to move to online learning when needed. With the train strikes we had in some regions last year, schools closed again but they have been able to take advantage of the new infrastructure and teachers’ skills to teach online. In Higher Education there is some discussion of having a COVID-generation of students (who also talk about themselves in these words) who sometimes find it difficult to engage in on-campus education and feel they should have more support.

Teacher shortages are also increasing and this is partially attributed to the high levels of stress and workload during the pandemic and reduction of the status of teachers in society and the cost of living in relation to teachers’ salaries. Our most recent research also suggests that there may be an increase in the number of teachers working on private contracts (through recruitment agencies). The amount of temporary funding for catch-up programmes and the National Education Program may also lead to an increase in private agencies and what some are calling “edubusinesses,” but I have not yet seen the evidence on this.

Related Resources & Articles:

Subsidie en basisteams voor scholen om basisvaardigheden te verbeteren [English: Subsidies and basic teams for schools to improve basic skills], Rijksoverheid

Eerste inzichten over inhaalprogramma`s in het po en vo [English: Catch-up and support programmes in primary and secondary education], LEARN!

Informatie voor onderwijsprofessionals [English: Information for Professionals], LEARN!

Rapport De Staat van het Onderwijs 2021 [English: Report on The State of Education 2021], Inspectie van het Onderwijs

Rapport De Staat van het Onderwijs 2022 [English: Report on The State of Education 2022], Inspectie van het Onderwijs

This week, IEN scans the headlines of stories reporting on OECD’s Education at a Glance for 2023. Trends in high quality Vocational Education and Training (VET) programs were in focus for this year’s report. OECD’s Education at a Glance provides an annual overview of comparative education statistics. The headlines shared below reflect aspects of the report emphasized by media outlets around the world. See IEN’s Education at a Glance 2022 Scan, Education at a Glance 2021 Scan, Education at a Glance 2019 Scan for comparison.

44% of upper school students are enrolled in VET programs across countries, yet work-based programs–in which students can gain practical skills during vocational programs–remain rare. Less than half of students within VET programs (45%) participate in this type of work-based learning, that’s the conclusion of OECD’s latest Education at a Glance report. Other topics featured in the 2023 report include trends in early childhood education and care enrollment, declines in teacher wages and professionalism, and notable variation in spending per student among OECD countries. Continued learning for Ukrainian refugees forcibly displaced around the world was also featured as a special issue. 

Corresponding to this year’s theme, many of the headlines from articles discussing the report highlighted VET trends within specific countries. Shares of domestic spending on education, as well as issues related to teacher payment and retention, were also featured in this year’s headlines. In-line with past years, nearly all of the headlines focused on problems revealed in the report (Australia, Brazil, Ireland, Israel, Italy, New Zealand, Portugal, South Korea, Turkey), while only a few emphasized the report’s positive findings (Finland, Hungary, Spain).

Global

The Launch of Education at a Glance 2023: OECD Indicators, OECD

“Andreas Schleicher, OECD Director of Education and Skills, presents data and reveals insights from the 2023 Education at a Glance report, which includes a special feature on Vocational Education and Training, with the aim of empowering educators, policymakers, and stakeholders with the data and analysis to shape their education systems.”

Expand vocational education and training, demands OECD, University World News

“OECD analyst Viktoria Kis told University World News their data clearly shows that ‘young people who benefited from work-based learning while pursuing VET have better employment outcomes’ and that ‘apprenticeships or internships are a powerful way of connecting VET to labor market needs.’ She said: ‘Some countries have a strong tradition of extensive use of apprenticeships, like Germany and Switzerland. The Norwegian VET system is mostly composed of ‘2+2’ apprenticeships: two years spent at school, followed by two years in workplaces.’”

Australia 

OECD report amplifies calls to boost public school funding, The Educator Australia

“The OECD’s latest ‘Education at a Glance’ report, released on Wednesday 13 September 2023, found Australia spends just 1.5% of total government expenditure on upper secondary school education, 28.6% lower than the OECD average of 2.1%. This is despite spending more than twice as much as the OECD average on funding private schools.”

Brazil

Brazil invests less in education than OECD countries, Agência Brasil

“Investment in Brazil fell between 2019 and 2020. In the OECD, total government spending on schooling grew 2.1 percent between 2019 and 2020 on average, at a slower rate than total government spending on services, which was up 9.5 percent. In Brazil, total government spending on instruction went down 10.5 percent, while spending on all services increased 8.9 percent. According to the study, this may have been due to the COVID-19 pandemic.”

European Union

OECD Education at a Glance 2023 – How Europe’s Business Leaders Can Help Widen Access to Education for Europe’s Underserved Youth, EU News – Business

“The OECD report found that 44 per cent of all upper secondary students are enrolled in vocational education and training across the OECD; they also note that these programmes are still seen as a “last resort” to many countries. European policymakers have a role to play in shifting this narrative and highlighting the unique benefits of vocational learning to bridge the gap between privilege and potential. Vocational training is also a viable way to attract underserved youth, who may feel rejected or discouraged from mainstream education.”

Finland

Education at a Glance: Vocational education and training is more popular in Finland than in other OECD countries, Finnish Government 

“In Finland, 68% of all those in upper secondary education are enrolled in vocational education and training, whereas in OECD countries the corresponding figure is 44% on average. The high figure in Finland is explained by the number of adult students. A total of 44.8% of 15-19-year-old upper secondary school students in Finland are enrolled in vocational education and training, which is slightly higher than the OECD average (37.4%).”

Hungary

Hungarian vocational training 3rd in OECD rankings, The Budapest Times

“38% of 24-34 year-olds obtain a vocational diploma and are less exposed to the risk of unemployment than those with general secondary education, and can expect a 31% higher salary, the ministry said in a statement.” 

Ireland

Ireland ranks last in spending on education ‘as a percentage of GDP’, study finds, The Irish Times

“Ireland ranked last in a league table of 38 countries based on education expenditure as a percentage of GDP with 3.2 per cent in 2020. It compared to an average of almost 5 per cent for OECD countries.”

Israel 

OECD education report shows Israel’s investment in public education lower than average, Y Net News

“According to the report, which refers to data from 2020-2022, the total government expenditure on public education in Israel (excluding higher education institutions) was significantly lower than the OECD average in 2020 – $8,865 per year compared to $10,949.”

New Zealand 

How does New Zealand’s education system compare? OECD’s Education at a Glance 2023, Education Counts

How Aotearoa’s education compares with other OECD countries, The Post

“While the share has declined, the actual increase in government education expenditure in 2020 was significant, amongst the top five, in percentage terms, across OECD countries.”

Portugal

Portugal spending less on students, The Portugal News

“Portugal spent an amount similar to the average of OECD countries on Education, but expenditure per student is 14% lower in Portugal, at around €10,000 compared to the OECD average of €11,700.”

South Korea

Entry-level teachers’ wages below OECD average, The Korea Herald 

“Korea had the highest percentage of people aged 25-34 who had completed higher or tertiary education — at 69.6 percent in 2022 — among the OECD member countries and 11 others, ranking No. 1 for four consecutive years.”

Spain

Almost 88% of Spaniards aged 15-19 years are in school, six points more than a decade ago, La Moncloa

“In the case of the adult population aged 25-64 years, 41.1% have tertiary education (40.4% in OECD and 37.7% in EU25), 8.5 points more than a decade ago. At the other extreme, the percentage with less than upper secondary education has reduced by 9.5 percentage points, from 45.3% in 2012 to 35.8% in 2022.”

Turkey

Turkey spent less money on education than the OECD average in 2020: report, Turkish Minute 

“The report further revealed that the cumulative spending on each student between the ages of six and 15 adds up to a total of around $112,000 on average across OECD countries, while the figure is less than $50,000 in Colombia, Romania and Turkey.”

United States

From Education Week

U.S. Teachers Work More Hours Than Their Global Peers. Other Countries Are Catching Up, Education Week

“U.S. elementary school teachers’ work hours haven’t changed much since 2019, but at more than 1,000 a year on average, American educators work more than 200 more hours than their peers worldwide. U.S. elementary and high school teachers work more hours than those in any OECD country but Costa Rica, and middle school teachers work more hours than their peers everywhere but Costa Rica and Mexico.”

In this month’s Lead the Change (LtC) interview, Minahil Asim shares her work regarding educational reform in low and middle income countries. Asim currently serves as an Assistant Professor of Education Leadership and Program Evaluation at the University of Ottawa. She previously completed her Ph.D. in Educational Policy at the University of California, Davis, and an M.A. in International Comparative Education at Stanford University. The LtC series is produced by Alex Lamb and colleagues from the Educational Change Special Interest Group of the American Educational Research Association. A pdf of the fully formatted interview is available on the LtC website.

Lead the Change (LTC): The 2024 AERA theme is “Dismantling Racial Injustice and Constructing Educational Possibilities: A Call to Action.”  This theme charges researchers and practitioners with confronting racial injustice directly while imagining new possibilities for liberation. The call urges scholars to look critically at our global past and look with hope and radicalism towards the future of education. What specific responsibility do educational change scholars have in this space? What steps are you taking to heed this call? 

Minahil Asim:  I am a scholar based in North America, and my scholarship is primarily in low- and middle- income country (LMIC) contexts. I have projects in Pakistan and Ghana, both post-colonial states, that have strongly emphasized education reforms to address a wide range of educational challenges related to disparities in access to, and quality of, basic education. In my view, racial injustice is inextricably linked to imperialism – whether that manifests in global politics, through international aid organizations, or through scholarship originating from academia in the Global North. 

Minahil Asim

Piper (2016) describes scholars based in Western academic institutions and working in the Global South as those who “…place too much faith in their own knowledge rather than that of local education experts, and where development practitioners rarely appreciate the privilege of working in countries which are not their own” (p.1). In light of this, I believe that educational change scholars based in the Global North have two responsibilities. First, they must understand what injustice looks like in the contexts they study without imposing their ideals of what injustice is in the contexts in which they live. This includes critically looking at their own scholarship and questioning what is being produced and for whom. Second, they are responsible to actively build partnerships in the contexts being studied that are not extractive. These may include collaborations with academics in the Global South (with the caveat that local academic institutions can be elite spaces with power hierarchies and removed from local realities), or practitioners working in the space of educational change in communities.  

As a former development practitioner with training in quantitative social sciences, my work has mostly drawn on theoretical frameworks focused on individual behavior change to improve outcomes in education, for example, principal-agent models (Eisenhardt,1989), Pygmalion effects (Rosenthal & Jacobson, 1968), accountability and incentives (The World Bank, 2003). I have used tools such as randomized control trials and quasi-experimental research methods to understand the effectiveness of policies aimed at improving student outcomes. This scholarship can be dangerous as it presumes models of behavior that may be detached from local realities, overlook complexity in the way organizations and systems function, and think of “outcomes” in narrow, and quantifiable ways. I have taken a few steps to change this in my scholarship. I have developed and continue to foster relationships with academics, policymakers, and organizations in Pakistan and Ghana, where our collaborations serve as a steppingstone to understand the complexities in the context, the priorities that drive reform and change, and the ways local expertise can be leveraged to drive change. I have also expanded my theoretical and methodological repertoire to take an interdisciplinary approach towards addressing policy questions. This includes collaborating with researchers across disciplines and actively using mixed methods in my research. I still have a long way to go. 

LTC: In your work, you examine the effects of different education policies on under-served students’ access and engagement both in local and international contexts. What are some of the major lessons the field of Educational Change can learn from your work and experience?  

MA: The questions I grapple with as I work in policy and program evaluation in Pakistan to improve educational outcomes for students are 1) What is it that we are trying to change, and where are the priorities for change/reform coming from? 2) How can our scholarship facilitate that change, such that it sticks? In other words, how do we ensure sustainability of programs and policies that are truly transformational?  

“How do we ensure sustainability of programs and policies that are truly transformational?”

Both these questions are complex and context dependent. In my work with school councils or school management committees (SMCs) in Pakistan, I draw on the idea of isomorphic mimicry. Prichett (2013) explains that in the context of India, reforms can serve to provide the organizations with legitimacy, support, and resources from key stakeholders, but may not align with the goals of the organization. Reforms may end up becoming tools of compliance for the bureaucracy. In the program I studied, SMCs in Pakistan’s largest province were given funds to spend on school improvement (including improvements in enrollment, infrastructural changes, hiring of contract teachers) and were reminded through an information campaign of the process of spending the money and fulfilling their roles and responsibilities.

We found improvements in enrollment and attendance of students in the pilot project (Asim & Dee, 2022); however, there were no changes to any outcomes, including learning, once the program was scaled up (Asim, 2023). I concluded that the program led the SMC to perform their job well for a short period of time and comply with the bureaucratic processes (as seen in other contexts too (e.g., Aiyar, 2015)), but the changes did not stick. This is because the priorities were top-down i.e., the SMCs or school teachers were not consulted on what they wanted to change; priorities were measurement centric (i.e., focused on reporting of enrollment and attendance numbers; and priorities were not aligned for learning within the system (Prichett, 2015)). 

For any kind of change to be transformational, it is important to understand what communities are looking to change and what change looks like in particular contexts. From my research, I understand that transformation cannot solely rely on process-focused mechanisms. It may require, for example, questioning the power structure within the SMC membership to understand how decisions are being made, democratizing the process to choose outcomes that they would like to change (e.g., female attendance in schools, as opposed to, or in conjunction with, improved overall enrollment), and then establishing routines beyond measurement systems that help achieve those priorities. 

For any kind of change to be transformational, it is important to understand what communities are looking to change and what change looks like in particular contexts.

LTC: In some of your recent work, you explore how scholars understand and study district-level leadership and its role in student outcomes. How might your findings inform the future of district-level research both in North America and abroad?

MA: In LMIC contexts, we know very little about middle-tier leadership and management, and even less about how that influences school improvement and student outcomes. My colleagues and I systematically review the role of subnational actors and organizations in LMICs and highlight the disciplinary divide in how the middle-tier is conceptualized (Asim et al., 2023). In economics and development studies, subnational actors are discussed as agents, with capacity to deliver change (Beg et al., 2020; Cilliers et al., 2022). While in public/education administration or organizational sociology, actors are discussed in the context of their agency within organizational units (Bantwini & Moroosi, 2018). While the former studies the role of subnational actors in monitoring and ensuring school-based accountability using quantitative methods, the latter discusses networks and feedback loops that exist between middle-tier organizations and schools to improve teaching and learning using qualitative research methodologies. I advocate for more conversations across these disciplinary and methodological divides to better understand how the middle-tier actors and organizations can be leveraged to improve educational outcomes for students. 

In our current work in Ghana, and future projects in development, we use this two-pronged approach to examine both the bureaucratic structure and the work of bureaucrats at the district-level. Our interdisciplinary team of economists, sociologists and scholars of education administration has employed a variety of research methods to understand management practices of district staff, along with the role of the subnational level in improving teaching and learning at the school level. My colleagues conducted a large survey, adapted from the Development-World Management Survey (D-WMS) (Scur et al., 2021) to describe actors’ management practices and their interactions with schools (Boakye-Yiadom et al., 2023). Coupled with a qualitative process tracing methodology, we describe that policy and regulation, authority for decision making, and organizational routines as well as the skills, actions, capacities, and constraints of a range of professional managers shape districts’ ability to set and reach goals (Asim et al., 2023). While preliminary, our work has theoretical and methodological implications for future work on district level research in LMICs. First, we highlight ways the middle-tier of education hierarchy can be conceptualized – in a technical or accountability-focused way that focuses on performance management of the actors, or a problem-solving approach that relies on relational trust, feedback loops and networks within the education administration hierarchy (Williams et el., 2021). How effective this dichotomy is in understanding district-level leadership, is an empirical question. Second, we have attempted to use mixed methods that combine quantitative and qualitative data and methodologies. We are inspired by Darling-Hammond’s work in California (Podolsky et al., 2021) that effectively uses an explanatory mixed methods design to study “positive outliers.” I anticipate future district-level research bridging disciplinary and methodological divides in creative ways. 

LTC: Educational Change expects those engaged in and with schools, schooling, and school systems to spearhead deep and often difficult transformation. How might those in the field of Educational Change best support these individuals and groups through these processes? 

MA: In LMIC contexts, one paradigm for improving public bureaucracies or changing schooling systems is described as a form of “control” or “accounting” based accountability in which actors are held accountable by their supervisors for meeting quantifiable targets through regulation, monitoring, and evaluation systems (Anderson & Cohen, 2015; Gruening, 2001). Described as Route X (Honig, 2022) or Pathway A (Williams et al., 2021), this type of accountability-based management reform manifests in a set of management practices focused on performance review, managerialism, and standardization, which recent research suggests may lead to a culture of compliance and performativity within the bureaucracy (Aiyar, 2015; Anderson & Herr, 2015; Honig & Prichett, 2019). 

A second paradigm posits that instead of “accounting” or “control” based accountability, public sector bureaucracies can leverage a “Route Y” (Honig, 2022) or “Pathway B” approach (Williams et al., 2021). In this paradigm, accountability is characterized by partnerships, professionalism, shared responsibility, collegiality, and feedback loops within educational organizations (Schultz & Ravitch, 2013). It fosters relationships characterized by guidance, support, and trust between different actors (Ehren & Baxter, 2020; Bryk, 2010). It provides opportunities for bottom up, horizontal, as well as top-down accountability (Leithwood, 2013; Williams et al., 2021). 

As a field committed to deep and transformative change, it would be a shame if we let schools and schooling systems in LMICs focus on one of these approaches, or worse let one approach be applied at the expense of the other. As discussed previously, I would also fear that we let these scholarly conversations continue in silos and widen the theoretical divide in conceptualizing change in schools.

“I fear that we let these scholarly conversations continue in silos and widen the theoretical divide in conceptualizing change in schools.”

LTC: Where do you perceive the field of Educational Change is going? What excites you about Educational Change now and in the future?

MA: I am always inspired and humbled by the brilliant scholarship being produced in this field and beyond which truly cares about improving the lives of students around the world. I am very excited by the methodological and theoretical diversity with which educational change is being pursued – in terms of the scholarship on technical/rational and relational paradigms to understand change within educational organizations, the emphasis on the importance of bridging the divide between these paradigms and research traditions, and pursuit of more “emergent” approaches in the study of districts and schools in North America (e.g., Costanza-Chock, 2020; maree brown, 2017; Podolsky et al., 2021; Yurkofsky & Peurach, 2023).

However, in my understanding of this literature, scholars have not always engaged with questions of equity and social justice in the field. I do see conversations opening up towards a more critical perspective, such as the role of districts in sustaining racial inequities, or obstacles managers face as they navigate racism in districts (Farrell et al., 2022; Shah et al., 2023; Shah & Grimaldos, 2022). However, there is a lot more work that needs to be done to understand structures of power in LMICs, challenging those structures, and pursuing questions of equity and social justice that are relevant to the reality of the contexts. In the future, I hope to see scholarship that is more generative than prescriptive, and I hope to find my own place within it.

References: 

Aiyar, Y., Dongre, A., & Davis, V. (2015). Education Reforms, Bureaucracy and the Puzzles of Implementation: A Case Study from Bihar [Report]. International Growth Centre.

Anderson, G., & Herr, K. (2015). New public management and the new professionalism in education: Framing the issue. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 23, 84–84. https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.v23.2222

Anderson, G., & Cohen, M. I. (2015). Redesigning the identities of teachers and leaders: A framework for studying new professionalism and educator resistance. Education policy analysis archives, 23(85), n85.

Asim, M., & Dee, T. S. (2022). Mobile phones, civic engagement, and school performance in Pakistan. Economics of Education Review, 89, 102254.

Asim, M. (2023). Local governance of schools, a double-edged sword.

Asim, M., Mundy, K., Manion, C., & Tahir, I. (2023). The “Missing Middle” of education service delivery in low-and, middle-income countries. Comparative Education Review, 67(2), 353-378.

Asim, M., Bell, S., Nudzor, H., Boakye-Yiadom, M., Mundy, K., (2023). Management Practices and Implementation Challenges in District Education Directorates in Ghana

Bantwini, B. D., & Moorosi, P. (2018). The circuit managers as the weakest link in the school district leadership chain! Perspectives from a province in South Africa. South African Journal of Education, 38(3), Article 3. https://doi.org/10.4314/saje.v38i3 

Beg, S., Fitzpatrick, A., & Lucas, A. (2020). Successful interventions at scale: The importance of managers.

Boakye-Yiadom, M., Leaver, C., Mansoor, Z., & Iocco, M.P., (2023). Management and performance in mid-level bureaucracies: Evidence from Ghanaian education districts.

Bryk, A. S., Sebring, P. B., Allensworth, E., Easton, J. Q., & Luppescu, S. (2010). Organizing schools for improvement: Lessons from Chicago. University of Chicago Press.

Cilliers, J., Dunford, E., & Habyarimana, J. (2022). What do local government education managers do to boost learning outcomes?. The World Bank Economic Review, 36(3), 629-645.

Costanza-Chock, S. (2020). Design justice: Community-led practices to build the worlds we need. The MIT Press. 

Eisenhardt, K. M. (1989). Agency theory: An assessment and review. Academy of Management Review, 14(1), 57–74. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1989.4279003

Ehren, M., & Baxter, J. (Eds.). (2020). Trust, accountability and capacity in education system reform: Global perspectives in comparative education. Routledge.

Farrell, C. C., Singleton, C., Stamatis, K., Riedy, R., Arce-Trigatti, P., & Penuel, W. R. (2022). Conceptions and practices of equity in research- practice partnerships. Educational Policy, 37(1), 200-224. https://doi/10.1177/ 08959048221131566 

Gruening, G. (2001). Origin and theoretical basis of New Public Management. International public management journal, 4(1), 1-25.

Honig, D. (2022). Managing for motivation as public performance improvement strategy in education & far beyond. CID Faculty Working Paper Series.

Honig, D., & Pritchett, L. (2019). The limits of accounting-based accountability in education (and far beyond): Why more accounting will rarely solve accountability problems. Research on Improving Systems of Education (RISE). https://doi.org/10.35489/BSG-RISE-WP_2019/030

Leithwood, K. (2013). Strong districts and their leadership. Toronto, Ontario: Ontario Institute of Education Leadership.

In this two-part interview, Melanie Ehren talks with Thomas Hatch about how the Dutch education system responded to the COVID-19 pandemic and what has happened since. Ehren is Professor and Director of Research of LEARN! at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. This interview is one in a series exploring what can change in schools after the pandemic? Previous interviews and posts have looked at developments in Italy, Poland, Finland, New Zealand, South Africa, and Vietnam. Other IEN blog posts from Melanie Ehren include A view from the Netherlands: Melanie Ehren on school closures and the pandemic; Lead the Change Interview with Melanie Ehren; A call to action in the Netherlands: Addressing rising inequality in a decentralized system.

Thomas Hatch (TH): Can you give us an overview what happened in schools in the Netherlands after the COVID-19 outbreak? When did schools close and how long were they closed?

Melanie Ehren (ME): The national government closed schools three times. The first national closure lasted from March 16 to 10 May 2020 (for primary schools) and until the 2^nd of June (for secondary schools). Teaching and learning was fully online during that time. The second national closure went from the 16^th of December 2020 until the 8^th of February 2021 and then the third national closure went from 14 December 2021 until 10 January 2022, although this was more of an extended Christmas break. All the closures were in response to a rise in cases, but around the time of the second closure there was also a discussion about whether closing schools was the best measure to prevent virus spread. The argument for closing schools included that it would help enforce the working from home policy. Too many people were still going into work and by closing schools, parents had to stay home with their children.

Melanie Ehren

When schools reopened after the first and second closures, schools had to ensure social distancing of 1.5 metres between people inside and ensure good hygiene. Schools were allowed to decide on how to meet these guidelines, with support and proposed models by the national councils for primary and secondary education. In response, schools did things like splitting classes in half with some students attending during the first part of the week and the rest attending at the end of the week. Even though the periods of national school closure were relatively short in comparison to some other countries, the disruption lasted much longer. For example, even when schools were technically open, many teachers and classes had to quarantine for periods of time. Since the beginning of the school closures, the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture, & Science has monitored the reduction in lesson hours due to COVID over the pandemic in a series of monthly reports. The Dutch Inspectorate of Education also documented the timeline of COVID-related decisions in 2020 (including the start of the second closure in December of 2021) and then again in 2021 in their annual reports on the state of education.

TH: What was the initial response from policymakers and others in terms of support?

ME: In the Netherlands, there was a coordinated approach by the national councils for primary and secondary education, the ministries for education and economic affairs and a national association of school boards. That approach focused on ensuring that all students had access to online learning when schools were closed. These organisations collectively investigated how many students and teachers did not have internet connections or laptops at home. Based on this information, telecom providers searched for the best solutions together with the parties involved. Those solutions included issuing hotspots and creating public Wi-Fi networks and arranging laptops for children who needed them. In addition, NPO Z@ppelin, a national broadcaster, initially offered instruction on television for children without a laptop/tablet.  But I also saw schools where teachers would just hop on their bicycle and tour around the city to check in with families and have conversations on the doorstep.

A lot was left up to the initiative of the boards of each school and the networks responsible for ensuring inclusive education in each region. Honestly, because the Dutch school system is so decentralized, we just don’t know what happened at the school level in a lot of communities. All this raises a really interesting question: are highly centralized systems or more decentralized systems are best equipped to deal with a crisis like the pandemic?  To me, the examples of teachers going door to door to check in with kids really speaks to teacher agency and how teachers understand their role and responsibility.  That agency is a really important thing to have during a pandemic, but also when thinking about school quality in general. My colleagues and I wrote about some of these issues of teacher agency from the perspective of several different education systems (Teaching in the COVID-19 Era: Understanding the Opportunities and Barriers for Teacher Agency).

[A]re highly centralized systems or more decentralized systems best equipped to deal with a crisis like the pandemic?

Overall, though, there was not much focus on internet access because the entire country has good coverage and good broadband access. At the same time, the Dutch government created some exceptions to online learning so that children from parents in key professions like health, education, police, public transport and the fire department could go to school. Local schools could also make exceptions so that children from what the government called “vulnerable populations” could come to school. That included children who were living in confined spaces, did not have access to devices, or who were experiencing other problems at home that might be preventing them from accessing online education.

TH: What happened with exams and testing at the end of the 2019-2020 school years?

ME: The school closures in 2019-2020 meant that standardized tests at the end of primary education (8^th grade; age 11/12) and in secondary education were cancelled. The cancellations of the exams at the end of primary education had a particularly significant impact because, in the Netherlands, students are tracked into different types of secondary schools according to tested ability level. Only those students in the highest track in secondary school will get access to a university. Getting into a higher secondary school type is therefore a defining point in a child’s life. In a normal school year, students are placed into secondary school types on the basis of their primary school teacher’s advice. This can be adjusted upwards (never downwards) on the basis of the national standardised test at the end of primary education. However, estimates from the national planning bureau (CPB) suggest that in the year 2019-2020 when the test at the end of primary school was cancelled, 14,000 pupils were placed in a lower track for secondary school than they would have been if they’d been able to sit the national test. This group represents 8% of all pupils – 2 to 3 students per class in a secondary school – and includes an over-representation of students with parents with low levels of education.

[W]hen the test at the end of primary school was cancelled, 14,000 pupils were placed in a lower track for secondary school than they would have been if they’d been able to sit the national test. This group represents 8% of all pupils – 2 to 3 students per class in a secondary school – and includes an over-representation of students with parents with low levels of education.

Due to these results, the Minister of Education sent out a letter to secondary schools, asking them to implement a range of formative assessments in year 1 to target the students who might have been mis-placed and to put in place transition arrangements to enable them to move upwards if warranted. The next year, in 2020-2021, primary schools were advised to give children the benefit of the doubt in their recommendations for secondary education and err towards a higher track. However, for the most part, this does not seem to have happened.

In contrast, the cancellation of standardized secondary school exams had a more positive effect for students in the Netherlands who wanted to enter university because their final grades were based only on their school-based assessments with no information from the cancelled national exams. Normally, at the end of secondary school, students receive a mark for each subject where 50% is based on school-based exams and 50% on a standardized national exams. The Government decides on which content should be included in the school-based exams and which will be assessed in the national exams. The school decides when and how it assesses the school-based component and can spread this over multiple months and even school years. The only requirement is that the assessments are finalized before the national exams and that the organisation of the school-based assessments (including how it is marked and how the assessment is quality assured) is included in a formal programme of assessment which is approved by the school’s exam board. The exam board decided on the adaptations so this would vary by school (for the official description see School Examens 2023).

For the 2019-20 school year, when the national exams were cancelled, estimates by from the national planning bureau (CPB) suggest that 8% of secondary students would have received a different outcome if they had sat the national exam. To mitigate negative consequences and to give everyone a fair chance to pass, the Dutch Ministry of Education offered all students additional re-tests of their school-based assessments in up to three subjects. This resulted in an overall pass rate above 98%, with almost 7% higher than in preceding years.

Then in 2020-21, standardized tests in primary education returned as normal. However, exams in secondary education were adapted in two ways.  First, following a formal in-school consultation process and including adaptations in the formal ‘programme of assessment’ which is scrutinized by the Dutch Inspectorate of Education during regular inspections, schools were allowed to make their own adaptations to the school-based assessments.

Second, national exams were adapted by having an additional opportunity to sit for the exam, so if you failed twice, you were given a third try.  Schools were also allowed an extended timeframe in which students could sit exams in their various subjects, and students could choose one subject that wouldn’t count towards their final pass/fail decision.

(To be continued in October…)

The final post in IEN’s 2023 Back-to-School series features some of the latest issues – like the use of AI – that many teachers and students are dealing with and surveys some of the education-related topics that are in the headlines in different states and cities in the US. Part 1 of the series shares headlines highlights some of the critical challenges that students, educators and schools are facing in 2023. Part 2 focuses on the stories that covered the natural disasters and climate-change related heat that many schools have had to deal with this year as well. For back-to school headlines from fall 2022 see Hope and trepidation: Scanning the back-to-school headlines in the US; “Over it” but unable to escape it: Going back to school with Covid in 2022; Going back to school in 2022 (Part 3): Scanning headlines from around the world; for fall 2021 see Going back to school has never been quite like this (Part 1): Pandemic effects in the US; Going back to school has never been quite like this (Part 2): Quarantines, shortages, wildfires & hurricanes; for fall 2020 see What does it look like to go back to school? It’s different all around the world…; for 2019 see Headlines around the world: Back to school 2019 edition.

Even as the school year continues for many students in the southern hemisphere, the end of summer vacation and the start of school in many northern school systems provides an opportunity to see what education issues are being covered and highlighted. Among them, the impact of AI – and how to prepare for it – as well as the consequences of the end of COVID relief funding are common topics in the US.

Take a round-the-world tour of the return to school, Education Week

From left to right: “1.) Schoolchildren attend a ceremony for the first day of school in a safe place in an underground subway station, in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Sept. 1, 2023; 2.) A teacher adjusts the posture of a little boy as children attend a school opening ceremony in Ghergani, Romania, on Sept. 11, 2023. 3.) A classroom sits empty at the closed National School of Republique des Etats-Unis d’Amerique, a public school in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Sept. 11, 2023, on what should have been the first day back to school after summer break. According to a few teachers and a parent on site, classes did not resume due to parents’ inability to afford tuition, uniforms and school supplies, as well as families being afraid to go out amid gang violence.”

New Year, New AI?

How widespread will AI be in classrooms this year? Teachers offer some clues, Education Week

A version of OpenAI’s GPT-4 will be ‘teaching’ thousands of kids this fall, Popular Science

“The education nonprofit service Khan Academy, is expanding its Khanmigo AI access to over 8,000 educators and K-12 students as part of its ongoing pilot program for the new technology.”

Beyond ChatGPT: The other AI tools teachers are using, Education Week

Instructors rush to do ‘assignment makeovers’ to respond to ChatGPT, EdSurge

How can educators respond to students presenting AI-generated content as their own?, Open AI

Issues in the Education News around the US

5 signs a district will be at risk when elementary and secondary school emergency relief fund runs out, Education Week

“Once federal relief funds expire, districts nationwide stand to lose an average of $1,200 for each student… That’s an 8 percent reduction in the average amount spent per K-12 pupil nationwide. In some states where per-pupil spending is lower than the average, that $1,200-per-student loss will account for an even larger share. In Arizona, for instance, the end of federal relief funds will translate into a 12 percent loss.”

When can schools consider race in classrooms and events? Biden officials have guidance, ChalkBeat

K-12 teachers shift away from textbooks, K-12 Dive

“Use of printed textbooks has declined in K-12 classrooms by 9% and a slight increase in digital-only textbook usage by 2% during the past school year, according to a survey by Bay View Analytics. The findings indicate a growing utilization of digital and teacher-created materials, with 77% of teachers saying they are supplementing or replacing textbooks with their own content and 78% saying they are sourcing supplemental materials online.”

For teachers, a new year — and new book bans — means more work, Rolling Stone

Issues to watch in States and Cities

California

Gov. Newsom poised to sign legislation to counter book bans and school boards’ censorship, EdSource

“The bill, authored by first-term Assemblymember Corey Jackson, D-Perris, in Riverside County, would expand existing state law, including the 2011 FAIR Act, which requires instructional materials to accurately portray the history, viewpoints and experiences of California’s diverse and underrepresented racial, ethnic, and other groups, including LGBTQ+ Californians.”

Temecula Valley Unified School District anti-CRT resolution prompts lawsuit from parents and teachers, Education Week

Florida

New laws make teachers anxious about school year, Axios Miami

“[Teacher] Hernandez-Mats says the first couple weeks of school are typically filled with excitement, but this year feels different… She says teachers are confused about what they’re allowed to teach in the classroom. Some have removed literary or historical posters from their walls and others have blocked access to their bookshelves.”

Florida’s new rules for classrooms could get teachers in trouble, Tampa Bay Times

Iowa

An Iowa district used AI to figure out which books to ban, Education Week

“While book bans have proliferated across the country over the past two years, this is the first time a district has relied on artificial intelligence to determine which books should be removed from school libraries, according to Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom.”

How Des Moines Metro Schools are applying anti-LGBTQ law, Iowa Starting Line

Massachusetts

School meals in Massachusetts will remain free next school year, Axios Boston

“Massachusetts lawmakers passed a budget agreement, allocating $172 million to continue the pandemic-era program that offers free school meals to all K-12 students, ensuring access to essential nutrition and removing social stigma. Governor Maura Healey is expected to sign the budget, freeing up funds for schools as they prepare to reopen in the upcoming weeks.”

Montana

Montana scores rare federal testing waiver in favor of through-year assessment, K-12 Dive

“Montana has been granted approval by the US Department of Education to field test a revamped through-year assessment system in reading/language arts and math for third-through eighth-grade, replacing the existing annual assessment. The move is expected to offer timely insights into student progress while allowing participating schools some waivers from federal assessment and accountability requirements for the 2023-24 school year.”

New York

As NYC’s school year kicks off, here are 5 issues to watch, ChalkBeat

Enrollment drop and fiscal cliff loom as NYC starts school year, The City

NYC school year set to begin with thousands of new migrant students, Gothamist

“Schools Chancellor David Banks said in a briefing on the asylum seeker crisis that… ‘Our focus remains undeterred on the education, well-being and holistic development of every student that steps into a New York City public school, regardless of where they come from or the language that they speak at home.’”

New York City Schools preparing for influx of children of asylum seekers: “We are very confident that the students will be ready“, CBS News

Some migrant families still waiting for school placements, ChalkBeat

“Some families have waited weeks for school placements or don’t have seats at all yet, sparking concerns that some kids won’t have their school plans finalized by the start of classes on September 7.”

Ohio

The Great Recession offers insight about the impact the impending fiscal cliff will have on Ohio school districts, The Fordham Institute

Pennsylvania

All Philadelphia schools set to open in September amid asbestos challenges, ABC

Texas

State takeover ushers in changes to Houston schools, The New York Times

“A state takeover of the Houston Independent School District in Texas, one of the nation’s largest, has sparked contentious changes, including firing librarians and repurposing school libraries for discipline and computer rooms. The takeover, imposed by Governor Greg Abbott, aims to improve reading and math scores in struggling schools, but critics argue the changes are disenfranchising and may further divide the district’s predominantly Black and Hispanic students.”

First day of school comes with mixed student emotions after Texas took over Houston ISD, The New York Times

Part 2 of IEN’S Back-to-School series shares headlines and stories focused on the natural disasters, heat and climate change-related crises that have interfered with the start of school in many parts of the US. This three part series highlights some of the key issues that the education sources we follow are talking about as school resumes in many parts of the Northern hemisphere. Part 1 pulled together headlines that highlight some of the other critical challenges that students, educators and schools are facing in 2023. Part 3 collects some of the back-to-school guidance and the issues to watch in the coming year — including the use of AI in schools. For back-to school headlines from fall 2022 see Hope and trepidation: Scanning the back-to-school headlines in the US; “Over it” but unable to escape it: Going back to school with Covid in 2022; Going back to school in 2022 (Part 3): Scanning headlines from around the world; for fall 2021 see Going back to school has never been quite like this (Part 1): Pandemic effects in the US; Going back to school has never been quite like this (Part 2): Quarantines, shortages, wildfires & hurricanes; for fall 2020 see What does it look like to go back to school? It’s different all around the world…; for 2019 see Headlines around the world: Back to school 2019 edition.

This fall, a number of the back-to-school headlines have shifted focus from the COVID crisis to the many climate change related concerns and disasters like the intense heat in many parts of the world and the tragic fires in Hawaii. As Alexander Russo and colleagues with The Grade, who regularly document and summarize the latest education-related journalism in the US, noted, the big education story of the first week of school “was the heatwave that blanketed much of the Northeast and other parts of the country. The unusually high heat created a major challenge for schools trying to launch the new year — and an irresistible topic for news outlets. Reporters covered schools closing, kids sent home early, canceled recess time, and the lack of AC in many buildings” (Heat wave welcome: The big story of the week).

“The big education story of the first week of school ‘was the heatwave that blanketed much of the Northeast and other parts of the country. The unusually high heat created a major challenge for schools trying to launch the new year — and an irresistible topic for news outlets.’”

Hawaii wildfires thrust educators into disaster response roles, Education Week

“Schools across Maui closed Wednesday—days after the start of a new school year—after a wildfire ravaged a historic region of the Hawaiian island”

Are the challenges of Puerto Rico’s schools a taste of what other districts will face? The Hechinger Report

“Sweltering classrooms due to inadequate cooling systems are hindering student learning and causing health concerns among educators in several US states. Budgetary constraints and the increasing frequency of heat waves are exacerbating the issue, prompting educators to call for better classroom conditions and investments in upgraded cooling systems.” 

Hot classrooms are impairing student learning and health amid record-hot year, teachers say, NBC News

Are heat days the new snow days? Schools are canceling class as temperatures soar, CNN

“Schools really need to be thinking about how climate change is going to impact them and how they can develop and build plans in place to adequately respond…”

As classes resume in sweltering heat, many schools lack air conditioning, NPR

“Heat days:” More than a dozen Denver schools releasing students early Tuesday, ChalkBeat

“With outdoor temperatures soaring into the high 90s, some Denver schools without air conditioning are releasing students early Tuesday. Roughly one-fifth of Denver schools lack cooling systems.”

Chicago public schools teachers adjust to keep classrooms cool as extreme heat bakes city, ChalkBeat

“Teachers, parents and union organizers said they are managing the tough conditions, but it’s time for the district to commit to long-term upgrades instead of “quick fixes and bandaids.”

Philly school dismissals: How extreme heat impacts families, NPR

“What we’re seeing is that climate change is boosting heat not only in Philadelphia, but all over the world.”

Seattle-area teachers brace for sweltering classrooms during heat waves, Seattle Times

“Heat waves have historically fallen outside of the school year, sparing kids and educators. But not so over the past six or seven years.”

What educators need to know about schools and hot weather, Education Week

“With record-setting high temperatures, schools struggle to keep their students cool.”

To get a sense of some of the key issues people are talking about as the new school year begins in many parts of the Northern hemisphere, we’re scanning the back-to-school related headlines of the education sources we follow. Part 1 of 2023’s Back-to-School Series pulls together headlines that collectively show many of the different problems that students, educators and schools are facing in 2023. Part 2 will share the many headlines and stories focused on the natural disasters, heat and climate change related crises that have interfered with the start of school in many parts of the US. Part 3 collects some of the back-to-school guidance and the issues to watch in the coming year — including the use of AI in schools.

For back-to school headlines from fall 2022 see Hope and trepidation: Scanning the back-to-school headlines in the US; “Over it” but unable to escape it: Going back to school with Covid in 2022; Going back to school in 2022 (Part 3): Scanning headlines from around the world; for fall 2021 see Going back to school has never been quite like this (Part 1): Pandemic effects in the US; Going back to school has never been quite like this (Part 2): Quarantines, shortages, wildfires & hurricanes; for fall 2020 see What does it look like to go back to school? It’s different all around the world…; for 2019 see Headlines around the world: Back to school 2019 edition.

If it’s not one crisis it’s another. That sentiment seems to sum up many of the 2023 back-to-school headlines. Around the world, those crises included the:

• Impact of warfare and conflict in Ukraine and Ethiopia ( Ukrainian children brave bombs to return to school;  Kharkiv’s subways are now classrooms as school starts under Russian attacks; In Ethiopia strife in Amrha region threatens to disrupt academic year, University World News)
• Challenges of continuing teacher shortages in places like the Netherlands, Canada and elsewhere (“One in nine children will not have a teacher after the holiday; Principals in Ontario face daily staffing challenges)
• Closures and fallout from England’s failure to deal with the crumbling concrete used in some school buildings (School is back in session … so long as your classroom hasn’t collapsed, The Guardian; ‘An absolute nightmare’: teachers and parents shocked by concrete closures in England’s schools, The Guardian)

In the US, along with the threats from heat and natural disasters, reporters chronicled start of the year challenges for students, teachers, and schools like continuing concerns about COVID-19; lack of funding and supplies; the need to support the many immigrant students who arrived in in cities like New York this year; shortages of teachers, bus drivers, and other personnel;

Under these circumstances, perhaps it’s no surprise that one Washington Post headline declares “In some schools, dread over the new year: ‘We’re scared to teach’.  At the same time, some articles try to set a happier tone even as they chronicle the challenges: “For many students,” Chalkbeat NYC reported, “Thursday marked a joyous return to school. But a possible bus strike and air conditioning issues dimmed some of the good vibes (“First day of school for NYC’s nearly 900,000 kids: Smiles, sweat, and bus strike concerns.”)

COVID-19 & Health Concerns

A new school year, a new COVID-19 variant. What are schools to do?, Education Week

Cleaner air could keep schools open, The New York Times

Some US schools return to face mask requirements, The Washington Post

“Cases of COVID-19 have risen in some areas of the US, and some schools have reinstated face mask mandates, rekindling debate about whether the requirement is necessary or an impingement on personal freedoms. COVID-19 hospitalizations are well below what they were a year ago, but some experts have expressed concern about the fall season as most Americans have not yet gotten the latest updated booster vaccines that are due out soon.”

As children return to school, parents fret over shortage of ADHD meds, KFF Health News

Colorado launches free school lunch, mental health support, CBS Colorado

“The Cherry Creek School District in Colorado is welcoming students back with the launch of “Healthy School Meals for All,” a free school lunch program funded by Prop FF, aiming to support learning. Superintendent Christopher Smith also highlights partnerships with Hazel Health, offering free virtual mental health sessions, and the upcoming opening of Traverse Academy, a unique facility for students dealing with serious mental health challenges.”

Concerns about costs and funding

Enrollment, funding, supply chain issues throw wrench into school construction projects, K-12 Dive

Schools’ insurance costs are soaring—and climate change isn’t the only reason, Education Week

“Districts are seeing higher premiums thanks to a surge in natural disasters and other challenges.”

Cost of school supplies is at an all-time high, NPR

As back-to-school costs soar, more parents & teachers turn to charities for help, The 74

Most teachers spend their own money on school supplies. Should they?, Education Week

School supply funding varies widely across US, Education Week

‘Food is the biggest expense’: Mass. families welcome permanent free school meals for students, WBUR

School lunch prices rise amid challenges, USA Today

“As the new school year approaches, schools nationwide face the challenge of increasing lunch and breakfast costs due to inflation, the end of federal subsidies and potential new regulations — causing the School Nutrition Association to urge federal action. “School meal programs need permanent reimbursement-rate increases to cope with long-term, higher labor costs — especially as many schools still struggle with labor shortages and need to raise wages to fully staff their kitchens,” said Diane Pratt-Heavner, SNA’s director of media relations.”

More students eating for free as growing number of states offer universal school meals, Chalkbeat

Shortages

From ‘crisis’ to ‘catastrophe,’ schools scramble once again to find teachers, NBC News

To fight teacher shortages, schools turn to custodians, bus drivers and aides, Hechinger Report

West Virginia schools facing staffing problems amid new teaching assistant law, The 74

Districts aim to address teacher housing crisis, Axios

“School districts in the US are turning to homebuilding to address the chronic teacher shortage and housing affordability challenges. The move aims to improve teachers’ quality of life and educational outcomes, as many educators struggle to afford living near their schools, potentially leading to increased burnout and reduced time spent with students.”

The shortage in school bus drivers is getting worse, The New York Times

Wake County school bus driver shortage affecting 2,000 students, ABC 11

Severe bus driver shortage in Baton Rouge leads to an emergency school board meeting, WAFB

A district’s bus ‘disaster’ highlights a nationwide driver shortage, Education Week

GOP lawmakers call for special session after school bus debacle, canceled classes, The 74

“After a disastrous first week of school, when some buses didn’t get students home until 10 p.m. and classes were subsequently canceled for two days, Jefferson County Republican lawmakers want to call a special legislative session to enact changes — including a school choice amendment and the possible splitting up of the district. In our latest partnership with the Kentucky Lantern, McKenna Horsley reports that 12 lawmakers signed an open letter last week, saying the district failed to “keep our kids safe” and that structural changes are needed.” 

Why is there a shortage of school bus drivers? Problem worsened by COVID reaches crisis level, USA Today

We’re off until the beginning of September, but we will be back with new posts about the start of the 2023-24 school year, an interview about the COVID response and “catch-up” efforts in the Netherlands, and virtual visits to schools in Chile. In the meantime, please revisit some of our back-to-school posts from previous years and be sure to check out our twitter feed for the latest international education news.

Hope and trepidation in 2022: Scanning the back-to-school headlines in the US

 Going Back to School Has Never Been Quite Like This (Part 1): Pandemic Effects in the US

Going back to school in 2022 (Part 3): Scanning the headlines from around the world

What does it look like to go back to school in 2020? It’s different all around the world…

Headlines Around the World: Back to School 2019 Edition

IEN is on vacation, but we will be back in two weeks with new posts about the start of the 2023-24 school year, an interview about the COVID response and “catch-up” efforts in the Netherlands, and virtual visits to schools in Chile. In the meantime, please revisit some of the interviews we did over the past school year and be sure to check out our twitter feed for the latest international education news.

A view from Poland (Part 1) – Jacek Pyżalski discusses the impact of school closures and the COVID-19 Pandemic on students and teachers

The Recent Development of Innovative Schools in China – An Interview with Zhe Zhang (Part 1)

← The Evolution and Scaling of the Whole Child Model (Part 1): An Interview with Cynthia Robinson Rivers

School Closures, Internet Access and Remote Instruction in Vietnam:  A Conversation with Chi Hieu Nguyen (Part 1)

In case you missed it, earlier this summer, Sam Abrams shared some of his latest reflections on what he’s learned about vocational education in Finland. Abrams is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. At Teachers College, he also serves as Director of the National Center for the Study of Privatization in Education. During the 22-23 academic year, Abrams was a Fulbright Visiting Professor at the University of Turku in Finland. This post was originally published on June 15th, 2023, by the Fulbright Finland News Magazine.

In studying Finnish primary and lower-secondary schooling for a book I was writing on comparative education policy early in my academic career, I took a detour in 2010 to visit an upper-secondary vocational school in Lohja called Luksia. The late Matti Saarinen, a Social Democratic MP from Lohja I had come to know, told me that to understand Finnish education, I had to spend time at a school like Luksia, which he knew well as a former administrator there.

Esa Karvinen, the head of Luksia, hosted me for breakfast at the start of the day and then showed me one sparkling program after another, from cosmetology and culinary arts to auto maintenance, before returning to the cafeteria for lunch prepared by students in the culinary arts program. Karvinen afterward gave me a tour of the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) program and then drove me around Lohja to visit businesses where students were doing apprenticeships.

The final stop was a serpentine drive from the center of town. Karvinen didn’t tell me where we were heading. He merely said that he was now going to show me something truly special. He pulled the car over at the edge of a flooded former stone quarry. For a minute, I thought this was the end. I had entered a chapter in an unwritten Stieg Larsson novel.

Karvinen beamed, “This is our diving program!” Karvinen explained that students dive in this former quarry 365 days a year and learn how to do underwater ship and pipeline repair and much more. The visibility is unparalleled, he added.

“The world has as much to learn from Finland’s robust vocational system as it does from the country’s progressive pedagogical philosophy and rigorous approach to teacher preparation.“

With that introduction to Finnish vocational education, I knew Saarinen was right. In particular, it was clear that all the attention to Finland’s impressive results on the OECD’s Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) had obscured an equally if not more important story. The world has as much to learn from Finland’s robust vocational system as it does from the country’s progressive pedagogical philosophy and rigorous approach to teacher preparation. I resolved after that visit to someday write a comparative analysis of vocational education. To that end, I applied in 2022 for a Fulbright to study the evolution of vocational education in Finland.

With the University of Turku as my base, I have been shadowing teachers at the Turku Vocational Institute as well as visiting similar programs in Raisio and Jyväskylä and interviewing apprenticeship counselors.

Differences Between Systems

U.S. vocational education does not compare to the Finnish version. While 40 to 45 percent of students at the upper-secondary level in Finland attend vocational schools, only 5 percent do so in the U.S. While Finland spends 1 percent of GDP on job training, the U.S. spends only 0.1 percent.

The consequences of these distinctions for the U.S. are grim. So many students at the upper-secondary level in the U.S. miss out on working with their hands as well as their minds. In addition, while passage of a trillion-dollar infrastructure bill in 2021 marked an important victory for President Joe Biden, we don’t have the skilled labor to meet the bill’s goals to build solar and wind farms, expand broadband, and upgrade mass transit. More fundamentally, without a strong vocational school system, we don’t have the foundation for a healthy middle class.

Replicating the Finnish model, however, represents a daunting task because the success of the system has as much to do with the country’s social contract as it does with teaching methods and facilities. The wage and benefit penalties for someone in the U.S. with a diploma in auto maintenance or culinary arts, for example, can be severe. Not so in Finland. Because of income compression, the salary of a garage mechanic or baker will not, as in the U.S., be dwarfed by that of a doctor, lawyer, or engineer. Because of everyday equity, the garage mechanic or baker will not, as in the U.S., have to worry about maternity/paternity leave, solid health-care coverage, affordable daycare, paid vacation, and decent retirement funding.

The challenge to improving vocational education in the U.S. is accordingly steep. Conceding that is the necessary first step to making progress.