5 - Locally Driven Innovation Through Teacher Peer Mentoring in Times of COVID-19: A Professional Learning Community in Rural El Salvador

Summary

Introduction

At the start of 2020, Latin American countries had low levels of learning: 51 per cent of students could not read proficiently by late primary age; in Central American countries such as Guatemala and Honduras, 67 per cent and 75 per cent of students, respectively, could not read proficiently (World Bank, 2021). Educational inequity was exacerbated by the closure of schools due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In El Salvador, where schools were closed between March 2020 and April 2021, the loss in the average number of years of schooling is estimated to be 1.5 years (from 7.6 years of average schooling to 6.1 years) (World Bank, 2021).1 The global trend in the educational response to the closure of schools due to COVID-19 was, in most countries, to switch to 100 per cent virtual instruction, while others moved to hybrid instruction (UNESCO, 2020). Central American governments followed this trend, trying to mitigate the loss of learning through online instruction and the provision of printed and digital learner guides for students to work on independently at home. Yet this option was unfeasible due to the high percentage of students that lacked access to the internet and/or a digital device and printing options. For most students, schooling was reduced to filling out worksheets and infrequent contact with teachers through the WhatsApp messaging service with a smartphone (of their own or belonging to a family member). The relationship between teachers and their students was weakened, making it difficult to keep track of learning. This lack of interaction led to education delivery that was neither meaningful nor engaging for students.

The recently dominant trend in international donor support has been to fund large-scale early grade literacy programmes globally that prioritize students increasing their reading speed and fluency and measuring for this continually, while de-emphasizing meaningful learning (Dowd and Bartlett, 2019). Many governments, including those in Central America, have adopted such approaches, which leave little room for critical thinking and socioemotional learning. While some reform efforts have emphasized quality through improved curriculum and teacher training, the poorest and most remote public schools remain at a disadvantage due to the alreadyexisting learning gaps and geographical isolation.