C Explanatory memorandum
by the rapporteur, Mr Constantinos Efstathiou, rapporteur
1 Introduction
1. The motion for a resolution
Note which has launched the preparation
of the present report, rightly states from the outset that: “Education
and culture are sources of intellectual renewal and human growth.
Access to education and exposure to culture help people to acquire
knowledge, a critical mind and a broader understanding of the world,
to interact with others, to have a voice and to define their role
in society”.
2. Both sectors have been hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.
In spring 2020 – during the total lockdown in most European countries
– nurseries, primary schools, high schools and universities have
been closed. A mixed solution of limited physical presence and distance
learning has become the norm afterwards. Lessons must be drawn to
avoid that inequalities in access to education do not deepen with
time. Investments in technical equipment, teacher training and adequate
assistance to pupils and their families are crucial.
3. Due to physical distancing, lockdown and the halt of tourism,
most cultural institutions have been forced to close. This sector
has been particularly hard hit by the second and third wave of the
pandemic in autumn 2020 and the first half of 2021. The economic
losses are substantial. For instance, European museums show an average
drop of 80% in their revenues. Smaller independent cultural institutions
are particularly at risk of disappearing if left without any public
support. Seven million artists and cultural professionals in Europe
are under threat of losing jobs due to the precariousness of their
situation.
4. Long periods of isolation during the Covid-19 pandemic have
shown to what degree access to education and participation in and
exposure to culture are vital for individual and collective well-being.
Both sectors must continue to play their fundamental role to uphold
an inclusive and democratic society, by reducing inequalities, by
creating opportunities particularly for young people, develop positive
attitudes and competences to be proactive and creative citizens
in a healthy and vibrant democracy.
5. In my report
Note and in line with the motion, I
will strongly argue that education and culture are integral parts of
the democratic processes and stability in Europe and that the Parliamentary
Assembly should call on the member States to ensure that they both
remain a political priority not only for emergency support measures, but
equally in national recovery strategies. The pandemic years are
a turning point and perhaps an opportunity to develop new models
to ensure a viable, sustainable and innovative functioning of education
and culture sectors and to develop stronger synergies in the future.
2 Impacts of the pandemic and lessons
learned
6. The Covid-19 pandemic has so
radically and rapidly changed our lives. Digital technologies became indispensable
to ensure continued access to education and in the case of different
culture sectors to provide a digital online presence to ensure cultural
continuity during lockdown periods and to compensate for the loss of
physical audience. While such a hasty digital transition provided
quick solutions in this emergency, it has at the same time increased
discrepancies in digital infrastructures and skills between bigger
and digitally more advanced institutions and smaller disadvantaged
institutions with less resources and skills. Consequently, the increasing
gaps in digital access to education and culture have only amplified
the existing inequalities between people, communities, institutions,
public and private organisations, cities, regions and countries,
and it may cause new forms of inequalities as a consequence of the
Covid pandemic.
7. While digital technologies have proven instrumental during
the emergency, I would strongly argue that they cannot be a substitute
for human contact and social interaction that are so fundamental
to both education and culture activities.
2.1 Impacts
on education
8. Most educational sectors in
Europe gave a speedy response to sustain the learning process despite social
distancing and closure of schools. According to the World Bank website,
Note the most common approaches co-ordinated
by education authorities were: a shift to online education, broadcasting
educational content through TV and radio stations, launch of e-learning
systems and platforms, telephone helplines, publication of printed
materials for learners, developing guidelines for distance learning
delivery and creating repositories of e-learning resources.
9. Schools were forced to replace face-to-face compulsory instruction
with online learning and home schooling, in most cases facilitated
by teachers and parents. Higher education institutions organised
their distance learning independently. Cloud solutions, e-learning
and collaborative platforms from companies like Microsoft and Google,
offered for free during the lockdown period, gained unprecedented
popularity. According to the UNESCO-UNICEF-World Bank joint database
all European countries have chosen online remote instructions for
100% of primary, lower secondary and upper secondary sectors and
approximately 50% for the pre-primary sector. Almost 50% of the
countries broadcasted educational content through the TV, while
25% of countries used radio stations broadcasting and paper-based
learning.
Note School
closures caused disruptions to the process of assessment of students
and evaluation of learning outcomes. In many countries exams were postponed,
in a few countries they were cancelled and in others they were replaced
by continuous assessment or alternative modalities, such as online
testing for final exams.
Note
10. There were also less common solutions, undertaken by certain
countries, such as adaptation of legislation concerning assessment
and grading to the context of distance learning, intensification
of training and experience exchange among teachers, adaptation of
online classes to learners with special needs, inclusion of learners
into decision-making processes while transferring teaching and learning
to distant forms, provision of psychological support for learners
and their parents, provision of free internet access or distant learning
equipment to learners in a difficult financial situation.
Note
2.1.1 Disadvantaged
learners
11. For students with a disability
and specific learning needs, the move to remote learning has presented additional
challenges, including various barriers to engaging with technology,
reduced access to educational support and individualised learning,
and the loss of social connections. Materials that were developed
for online knowledge delivery were not fully available in the accessible
formats required for persons with visual, hearing, intellectual
and learning disabilities.
12. Parents of children with special needs were faced with significant
challenges during this period, for which they were often unprepared
and without necessary support. Many cases have been reported of
regression in terms of competences, due to the loss of connection
with the school. Parents were left to address alone the complex
needs for care, learning and emotional support for their children
with special needs. In families with more children, this was often
accompanied by limited attention given to the other children, with
negative consequences for well-being and for learning.
13. Teachers struggling to adapt to distance learning chose in
many instances to consider mostly the situation of those students
who had the technology and the conditions for learning and simply
ignored the needs of those who did not and who were not able to
comply with general requirements. Even teachers who in the past
had made efforts to adapt their teaching to the diversity in their
classes, felt compelled to prioritise and accept that some students
remain out of contact.
14. However, there were examples of specific and adapted support
provided, and additional efforts made by teachers and schools. These
include:
- adapting the online
teaching methods, the learning assignments and the way they are
communicated, in such a manner as to make them accessible to a larger
number of students;
- distributing printed materials and homework to students
without online access;
- providing digital devices and/or free access to internet
to students with disadvantaged backgrounds;
- keeping school premises partially open for students who
lack a proper learning environment at home;
- providing adapted learning resources to be used with family
support or for self-learning.
15. Such responses from within the education systems were generated
according to the perceived reasonable possibilities, not according
to the actual needs incurred for equal access to education to be provided.
Moreover, this did not solve the more complex and subtle effects
of exclusion, which may produce significant negative long-term consequences,
including the feeling of being disconnected from class peers, negative
image and self-image, frustration, and even pressure towards dropping
out of school early.
2.1.2 Lessons
learned
16. While online teaching and learning
became the norm across education systems, such a hasty transition has
exposed the gaps in digital infrastructures and skills between schools,
regions, countries and socio-economic backgrounds. In my report
on “Role of education in a digital era: from “digital natives” to
“digital citizens”
Note I
observed back in 2019, that in the EU countries less than half of
the children were in digitally equipped schools and only 20-25%
of students were taught by teachers who were themselves confident
using technology in the classroom. The divide was even wider in
the greater Council of Europe area.
17. While there is plenty of educational material available in
most spoken languages, not much can be found in regional or minority
languages, needed to secure language rights and to contribute to
social cohesion and inclusion of all. Although remote e-learning
brings a lot of benefits for meeting the particular needs of learners, one
of its main disadvantages is that it can also deepen inequalities
and reinforce stereotypes.
18. As European education systems move now from an emergency situation
to a more sustainable response, it will be important that the lessons
from this experience are collected and evaluated to identify ways through
which innovative teaching and learning environments can be more
fully integrated into schooling. The first lesson that was learned
during the lockdown is, that technology is not a substitute for
the physical classroom and that direct human contact is irreplaceable
in education. However, technology can nevertheless greatly facilitate
teaching and learning, bringing more freedom, flexibility, inclusion
and accessibility.
2.2 Impacts
on culture sectors
2.2.1 Sector
by sector analysis
19. Closures of most cultural institutions
and activities during the first and then second or third wave of
the Covid-19 pandemic, have been devastating for culture sectors
and in particular museums; theatres; libraries and bookshops; cinemas,
performing arts and festivals, publishing, cultural heritage, crafts,
audio-visual sector and its production.
2.2.1.1 Performing
arts
20. Performing arts are among the
most affected sectors, due to their venue and visitor-based nature.
The cancellation of events, shows and festivals generated a chain
of negative effects, which were very difficult to compensate even
when venues were able to reopen with limited capacity.
21. The missing income for various performing arts disciplines
(theatre, dance, opera, circus, outdoor performance, etc.) is linked
to loss of ticket sales, subsidies, sponsorship, and donations.
In addition, other types of revenues were lost, for example, commercial
deals related to catering, revenues from advertisers, participation
fees for workshops and masterclasses. Self-employed artists were
particularly hard hit due to the precariousness of their situation
and weak social and contractual rights when venues withdrew from agreements
without compensating for losses. In some countries, artists could
not rely on public support as they were not eligible to receive
it. Most freelance performance artists are portfolio and project-based
workers, who additionally suffered because of closures of international
borders and the halting of international projects.
22. Behind every performing art show and/or festival there is
a large ecosystem of people carrying out support activities (technicians,
stage builders, costume and make-up designers, light designers and
companies in charge of organisation of events). The scale of the
damage is therefore massive, well beyond the loss of ticket sales.
The direct loss of income deriving from the cancellation of festivals
and events also had indirect negative effects on local economies.
2.2.1.2 Music
23. Covid impacts differently to
recorded music in comparison to live music. According to the Live
DMA Network
Note an estimated 17 million visits instead
of 70 million planned visits equated to a 53 million loss in audience
visits to music venues in 2020. This represents a 74% decline compared
to 2019. Loss of income to 2 600 live music venues that are members
of the Live DMA Network is estimated to € 1.2 billion, which represents
a loss of 64% for 2020. The impact on freelance live performing
musicians and accompanying technical staff has been dramatic. By
contrast streaming revenues and digital sales for recorded music
suffered a less severe impact although they are closely linked to
live performance for promotion. However, the crisis affected physical
sales since listening to music switched rapidly to digital platforms
and therefore accelerated the trend which had already started before
the Covid pandemic. The closure of retailers and the impairment
of supply chains had strong consequences on trade. For example,
the German music industry had estimated Covid related damages of
almost € 5.5 billion within the first six months in 2020.
2.2.1.3 Museums
and cultural heritage sites
24. Museums, art galleries and
cultural heritage sites closed in March 2020 with sporadic reopening
in summer 2020 before the second wave closures in autumn 2020 and
progressive reopening in May 2021. While museums and heritage sites
in the public sector had emergency support in most European countries,
the magnitude of job losses varied by size and location of institutions
and were severe, particularly for smaller institutions in the private
sector. The loss of revenue in ticket sales for museums and cultural
heritage sites was accompanied by reduced sponsorships and charity
funding. It did not concern only core activities, but also auxiliary
services, which are outsourced activities in many cases.
25. To compensate for the loss of a physical audience, most larger
museums and heritage sites increased their digital online presence
(online communication, virtual tours, online exhibitions). However,
smaller institutions lacked trained staff to make a rapid shift
to digital communication and displays, which now requires additional
funding sources.
2.2.1.4 Arts
and crafts
26. Artists and craftsmen were
particularly hard hit with loss of income, cancellation of sales,
orders and events such as fairs, festivals and workshops. It was
only partially offset with a shift to digital platforms and access
to support schemes. The significant decrease in the number of international
tourists across Europe is another factor that had and will continue
to have a strong impact on this sector.
2.2.1.5 Audio-visual
sector
27. The film industry suffered
severe consequences of Covid containment measures throughout its
entire value chain. Cancellations or postponement of shootings and
production affected the entire artistic and technical crews, as
most people involved are generally freelance. The distribution side
experienced a severe loss in income since most cinemas in Europe
have been closed for very long periods of time. Consequently, they
could not recover the technical and marketing expenses invested
for the release of movies. Small and independent cinemas are particularly
at risk.
28. The Covid measures have also led to cancellation and postponement
of European and international film festivals, which are important
marketplaces for the film industry. Some festivals moved digitally
in 2020 such as the Cannes Film Festival with 12 500 participants
attending virtual shows with 4 000 movies presented from 120 countries.
29. Online streaming has been much less affected by the Covid-19
pandemic. Video on demand subscriptions had already been on the
rise before the pandemic and this trend has just accelerated. The
big streaming portals such as Netflix and Prime Video (Amazon) have
acquired a bigger share of the market because of successive Covid
lockdowns.
2.2.1.6 Book
publishing
30. Due to the loss of main distribution
channels with closures of bookshops and retailing, coupled with restriction
of movement and activities, many publishers experienced massive
reduction of their work. Consequently, many planned new titles were
cancelled or postponed, which affected revenues. Publishers’ licences
were made more flexible during the crisis, like in France where
several publishers provided libraries with improved licensing conditions.
In the United Kingdom, libraries saw a two-fold increase in eBook
library loans.
31. Many publishing costs were already sustained or not recoverable.
Rights acquisitions, translations, promotion, logistics, etc. were
impacted. Loss of income concerns also writers and translators due
to cancelled lectures, workshops, book fairs, or delays in royalty
advances or cancelled commitments. For example, Amazon had lowered
significantly the prices of e-books, with repercussions for the
remuneration of authors. Due to the increasing demand of digital
content, many publishers chose to release certain titles only digitally. Compared
to severe losses suffered by small booksellers in Europe, online
sales increased sharply particularly for big distribution companies
such as Amazon.
2.2.2 Initial
assessment and lessons learnt
32. Accurate assessment of the
overall economic and social impact on the culture sector in Europe
is still lacking since each sub-sector estimates and national estimates
vary in methodology and content, but also due to uncertain future
circumstances. Nevertheless, available estimates provide a snapshot
of the seriousness of damage suffered across different cultural
sectors.
33. For instance, in spring 2020 European museums have shown an
average drop of 80% in their revenues according to the Network of
European Museum Organisations (NEMO). A follow up survey is currently underway
to map where museums in Europe stand now and how they deal with
issues that emerge from the second wave of the pandemic. The long-term
damage will also come from the diminishing philanthropy, since both
businesses and foundations suffer economic losses due to the crisis.
34. It is of great concern that smaller independent cultural institutions
are particularly at risk of disappearing if left without any public
support. Moreover, seven million artists and cultural professionals
in Europe are under threat of losing their jobs due to the precariousness
of their situation since they are predominantly self-employed.
35. In addition, many artists and cultural institutions have put
part of their current or past productions on-line in order to ensure
cultural continuity during lockdown. But having made their work
available for free on the internet, will they be able to recover
funding for their work after the recovery of the situation? I believe
this issue will remain important to resolve, given that on-line
cultural productions are likely to increase, setting a new trend towards
democratisation of culture in the post-pandemic era.
36. Since March 2020, policy makers in Europe have launched considerable
and unprecedented emergency measures with great vigour, to support
the cultural and creative sectors to survive the crisis. However,
the support measures in place are far outweighed by the losses of
income.
37. In many countries, emergency support was accessible also for
artists and freelance cultural workers despite their general lack
of social rights. However, the emergency measures were temporary
and too fragmented to ensure sustainable working and living conditions.
38. Whereas public actors primarily focused on launching income
generating support and cost reduction measures, those providing
non-public support were keen to invest in innovation-related measures
to overcome the crisis. However, the concept of “innovation” was
generally reduced to digital transition and lacked a broader perspective
to address other major challenges for society.
3 Vision
for education and culture in national recovery strategies
39. Our societies will need open-minded
people with a strong attachment to democratic values and human rights,
ready to interact in a constructive way and to accept the challenge
of differing opinions, able to make critical judgments and to value
what can bring people together instead of asserting divisions. Such
positive attitudes will be fundamental to address the numerous social,
cultural, economic, and environmental challenges of the 21st century.
40. The Covid-19 pandemic is therefore an opportunity to develop
new models to ensure a viable, sustainable and innovative functioning
of education and culture sectors in the future. Governments and parliaments
will have a prominent role to determine a clear vision for the future
and to define long-term comprehensive strategies for education and
culture sectors that are fully integrated in the Covid recovery
plans.
41. National strategies ought to build on synergies and acknowledge
that culture and education are intertwined. Education and culture
policies should be mutually reinforcing. The Council of Europe Reference Framework
of Competences for Democratic Culture
Note – which defines 20 competences in
four key areas including values, attitudes, skills and knowledge,
and critical understanding – provides, in my view, an excellent basis
to develop innovative partnerships and projects between schools
and different culture sectors to guide young people in developing
these key democratic competences.
42. Such creative partnerships between education and culture sectors
would also widen and democratise young people’s access to culture
and offer an opportunity to actively and creatively engage in different
cultural expressions.
Note In
her report entitled “The right of everyone to take part in cultural
life”
Note Ms Muriel Marland-Militello (France,
EPP/CD) emphasised the role of the State and of local authorities
to cultivate the “desire for culture” among young people, arguing
that such initiatives would draw on subjective sensitivity and creative imagination,
giving young people a considerable freedom of initiative and self-confidence
at a critical time in their lives when they are building a future
for themselves as adult citizens.
43. In her report entitled “Culture and democracy”,
Note Ms Vesna Marjanović (Serbia, SOC)
has argued not only for a more systematic integration of cultural
activities in the system of education as a way to improve access
for marginalised and underprivileged children and youth, but also
for policies that aim to integrate cultural activities in other
sectors such as health, social services, prisons and penitentiary
rehabilitation schemes. Culture and education are both powerful
means to fight exclusion, to inspire, give hope and to empower the
most vulnerable or marginalised people in society.
44. In the context of the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals
and the European Green Deal initiative which aim to address the
multiple challenges we face globally; I would argue that investments
in education and in cultural and creative sectors could also be
an integral part of investments in innovation leading towards more sustainable
and creative economies for the future. Mainstreaming culture and
education in other sectors and providing incentives for creative
partnerships with private sectors could therefore be key for future
post-Covid policies. As part of this process, legislators have the
responsibility to ensure that such partnerships are respectful and
balanced, based on a set of well-defined rules.
45. Digital technologies are fundamentally reshaping European
society and the economy, a trend which has only accelerated during
the Covid-19 pandemic. Digital space became the main area for education
and numerous actors in the cultural and creative sectors to perform
and connect with their audiences. While this can be a very positive
trend to democratise access to education and culture and trigger
individual activity, it also brings serious threats, in particular
deepening the existing digital divide and inequalities on the one
hand and depriving artists and cultural workers of fair revenue
due to lack of regulation on the other hand. It would be therefore
urgent to resolve persisting challenges with global digital providers
including GAFAM
Note and to establish
a strong European digital framework that would be well-adapted for
on-line education and different culture sectors.
4 Reinforcing
democracy by sustaining cultural vitality and diversity in Europe
46. The cultural and creative sectors
have shown exceptional inventiveness during the Covid crisis in providing
access to arts, culture, and creativity for the well-being of citizens,
local communities and societies at large, despite the difficult
working conditions. The cultural and creative sectors have shown
their potential to contribute more widely to a reflective process
to re-formulate our collective ambitions for a better, more inclusive
and more sustainable society – a genuine “reset”.
47. Supporting artists and micro-enterprises that provide a very
rich and diverse cultural fabric in Europe and investing in cultural
vitality is a powerful political means to actively engage citizens,
to open public debates on key societal issues and to ensure a long-term
democratic stability in Europe. In co-operation with the European Union,
the Council of Europe has developed a set of indicators
Note to demonstrate this correlation
between investments in cultural vitality and democracy. This set
of indicators should be valuable to decision-makers at European,
national and local level to argue and justify investments in culture
as medium- and long-term investments in more resilient and democratic
societies.
48. The European cultural sectors however are characterised by
a very fragmented ecosystem structure with small and medium-sized
enterprises and micro-sized enterprises that dominate the vast majority
of cultural activities in Europe. A large number of freelance artists
and cultural workers take part in this system. They live in rather
precarious conditions, based on temporary contracts. A few countries
including France offer an “intermittent” work status to artists
and cultural workers in order to provide them with some degree of
social protection for periods in-between projects.
49. The cultural and creative sectors in Europe are consequently
characterised by fragmented value chains, with numerous non-standard
workers and organisations of various size and nature that need to
closely collaborate. While this may be perceived as a weakness in
economic terms, I would argue that this is also a real strength
since a variety of small actors provide a high diversity in cultural
and creative expressions, services and goods, as well as linguistic
diversity, that we should cherish and preserve in Europe.
50. Income generation and project financing have always been challenging
for the culture and creative sectors in Europe, and for this reason
the structural, financial, and social weaknesses have only become aggravated
during the Covid-19 pandemic.
51. A fair income from decent fees and rates would be of the utmost
importance for the culture sector and especially for the working
life of artists and culture workers to become more resilient and
sustainable. Working arrangements for standard and non-standard
cultural workers must be improved to provide social security and decent
income levels. States should put in place supportive regulatory
and information systems to ensure the level of transparency and
reduce the administrative burden related to contractual settings,
taxation and social security systems, as well as copyrights. Strong
networks and representation of cultural workers in different sectors
are needed to enforce rights and to ensure an equal and level playing
field.
52. Digital technologies are accelerating major cultural transformations
and have the potential to democratise culture in society. However,
this trend should not be to the detriment of artists and cultural workers.
Digital transformation in Europe should be strongly anchored in
democracy, humanism, co-operation and solidarity. The European digital
space is still very fragmented and fragile. The digital economy
and related cultural activities must be rules-based, including a
clear regulation of copyrights. The digital divide among citizens,
regions and states but also among different cultural organisations
must be overcome by developing digital competence and access.
5 Investments
towards a more resilient society through quality education and inclusiveness
53. According to the UN Sustainable
Development Goals (Goal 4) “Quality education” includes complete free
primary and secondary schooling, provides equal access to affordable
vocational training, eliminates gender disparities in education
and helps to achieve universal access to a quality higher education.
The Council of Europe advocates quality education to prepare young
people not only for employment, but also for their lives as active
citizens in democratic societies, and to ensure their personal development
and the development and maintenance of a broad, advanced knowledge
base in society.
Note
54. Quality online education can therefore be characterised as:
accessible to all, inclusive, providing a secure and non-violent
learning environment, ensuring personal development, preparing for
life as active citizens in democratic societies and maintaining
a broad, advanced knowledge base.
5.1 Access
to education
55. For quality online education
in the future, education systems need to take care that technology
does not further amplify existing inequalities in access to online
learning. A key factor to ensure accessibility of online learning
is common access to broadband internet coverage. Examples from member
States show that there is a wide range of solutions possible, such
as reduction of internet access costs for low income households, equipping
learners with free SIM cards, establishing public wifi hotspot areas
at schools and other designated areas. The experience of some countries
shows the need for the additional broadcasting of educational content through
television and radio channels.
56. The second essential component is access to learning devices,
such as computers, laptops and tablets. Some countries report successful
use of mobile phones to help bridge the equipment divide. There
is a wide range of possible solutions to ensure availability of
learning equipment for quality online education, including surcharges
for equipment purchase, free distribution of equipment or lending
school equipment, to name a few. Member States report that schools
could be very helpful in tracking learners that need learning devices
and offer their support to obtain them.
57. Access to online learning also means access to safe learning
conditions, physical learning space and a conducive environment
at home. Schools and social welfare centres can monitor the situation
of vulnerable learners to increase motivation, provide support and
ensure relevant learning conditions. Open learning spaces should
be available in schools, community centres, libraries and other
public institutions.
58. Finally, States should guarantee free access to virtual learning
environments, which give access to open educational resources and
they should facilitate remote learning. Students should have access
to the software and the tools they need for learning, like simulators
and virtual reality programmes. Open educational resources must
be prioritised; public education cannot be dependent on digital
platforms provided by private companies.
Note
5.2 Personal
development
59. In the remote learning situation,
more attention has been given to ensuring the continuity of academic learning
than to the socio-emotional development of students.
Note The absence of
socialisation and the personal development aspects of education
has been a real and essential cost of the pandemic. The physical
health of learners has also been negatively affected by the extended
use of digital devices for education. These factors, combined with
enforced loneliness of learners and the ambiguity of their situation,
have posed challenges to their mental health and well-being.
Note
60. Quality online education needs to recognise collaborative
group work as a powerful tool to help change behaviours and get
better results. Sharing of experiences, giving feedback and working
to a common plan increases motivation, leads to richer and longer-lasting
outcomes, supports higher levels and creative forms of thinking
and equips learners with relevant social and emotional skills.
61. Education systems and institutions can combine different models
of delivery ranging from classroom teaching, through working in
smaller groups, to making use of quality online and blended learning
resources and possibilities, and further develop the role that schools
play in developing students social competences.
Note Online
educational programmes that are designed following a hybrid approach,
for example initiating learning online asynchronously, followed
by real life implementation and concluded by experience exchange,
reflection and drawing conclusions in an online synchronous mode,
seem to be the most beneficial for both – acquisition of knowledge
and the personal development of learners.
5.3 Preparation
for life as active citizens
62. With the main focus on academic
learning, there was a definite decrease in opportunities for students
to participate in decision-making processes in their schools, contribute
to their communities, express their opinions and develop their competences
for democratic culture. The participation rights of children and
young people have been massively affected.
63. Loss of faith in democracy among young people is a particularly
alarming trend to which no response can be found without education
Note and cultural activities. The Council
of Europe has developed innovative education materials to help teachers
and learners discuss important issues arising out of the current health
emergency, which are flexible and easy to use. They can be taught
in a variety of distance-learning situations and adjusted to suit
available e-learning platforms or devices, age of learners, local
context, time on-line and level of digital skills.
Note
64. Educational systems of member States might benefit from the
Council of Europe project on digital citizenship education,
Note that provides an example of innovative
approach to online learning building on the tried and tested principles
of education for democratic citizenship and human rights, such as
dialogue, critical thinking and active, social and co-operative
learning. Moreover, innovative partnerships with artists and cultural workers
from different culture sectors would be a way forward to put into
practice the Council of Europe Reference Framework of Competences
for Democratic Culture.
Note
5.4 Maintenance
of broad, advanced knowledge base
65. When rethinking education for
the future, e-learning should be treated as a supplement that leads
to better outcomes, not a substitute or replacement for classroom
learning. The knowledge and experience gained with various modalities
of remote learning are assets that could be deepened and deployed
in the future, creating blended modalities of teaching and learning,
also in service of greater personalisation of education, and to
extend learning time and learning opportunities for all students.
Note
66. Education systems and institutions need to reassess and review
the way in which they teach, and students learn. Quality online
learning should go beyond replicating the physical lecture or transfer
of knowledge through video and use a range of collaboration tools
and engagement methods to ensure active experimental learning. Traditional
pedagogical methods used in the physical classroom should be modernised by
establishing guidelines and standards for blended learning and also
expanding partnerships with different cultural institutions or individual
artists.
67. Education systems and institutions need to introduce a variety
of assessment methods, relevant to new approaches to teaching and
learning. As with traditional education, States should establish
an accreditation scheme for online programmes to regulate offerings
and ensure quality, and it is necessary to use the momentum to reshape
curricula to the needs of the 21st century.
Note The
new curricula should be less based on consuming information and
memorising facts, as those are widely accessible due to information
and communication technology. More attention should be paid to the
development of competences – starting from critical thinking and
reflective approach to information technology and information itself,
and expanding with problem-solving, communication, collaboration,
decision making, creativity, adaptability, responsibility and self-efficacy,
which are necessary to deal successfully with new and unknown challenges,
like the present health crisis.
5.5 Inclusive
education and partnerships
68. Despite public statements made
at the Council of Europe level,
Note public
declarations of education officials in various countries expressed
prevailing concern for the loss of content matter during the Covid-19 crisis.
This reveals an implicit focus on knowledge acquisition. However,
the pandemic emphasised once again that school is not just a place
where you acquire knowledge, but also a place of interaction and
of socialisation.
69. Quality education must be inclusive.
Note The Reference Framework of Competences
for Democratic Culture
Note also explicitly promotes an inclusive
approach to education. It has proved to be a very relevant conceptual
and practical tool for addressing various challenges that our societies
are facing, and this is valid also for the response of education
systems to the Covid-19 pandemic and its follow-up.
70. To guarantee quality online education in the future, the provision
of education for students with special needs should be reassessed
and reviewed. Attention should be paid to making Information and communications
technology applications and distance learning available and accessible
to learners with varied disabilities. This includes assistive technologies
which can improve communication, allow mobility and increase participation.
“Edtech” can be an indispensable tool to assist and empower learners
with disabilities and improve their social and economic integration
in society by enlarging the range of activities available to them.
71. Special attention should be paid to the right of learners
from language minority groups to learn in their own language, especially
in primary education. It is necessary to develop mechanisms that
will ensure that quality online education eliminates gender, ethnicity,
culture, age and other stereotypes.
72. For example, developing self-efficacy is especially important
to overcome a negative self-image, that may lead to lower school
achievement and even dropping out of school. Moreover, developing
empathy, communication and co-operation skills and civic mindedness,
can enhance the motivation and ability of children belonging to
more privileged groups to relate to their peers that need additional
support and provide such support themselves. For both categories,
valuing human dignity and human rights, together with a critical understanding
of social inequalities, would be essential to develop a rights-based
approach as part of inclusive education.
73. Better results were obtained in cases where schools established
a systematic and adapted communication with the parents of children
with special needs. For teachers, this implied switching from their usual
role of working directly with children to the new role of designing
adapted and personalised learning paths for the children with special
needs and instructing the parents, and/or other adults volunteering
to support, in working with the children. Ensuring a two-way communication,
supporting parents to also provide feedback on the progress made
by children has proven to be essential for the effectiveness of
such co-operation.
74. Governments should take the necessary actions to effectively
train all supporting staff including caretakers of the disabled
children. Such training should be based on adequate professional
guidance, as well as on developing sensitivity and empathy. Necessary
means, technology, alternative communication methods and training
materials should be provided. Parents’ preferences should be taken
into account to a greater extent when selecting the adequate supporting
staff, provided that they are aligned with the best interest of
the child. Additionally, and most importantly, the child’s own opinion
should become the decisive factor as to the selection of supporting
staff, whenever applicable. The supporting staff and caretakers’
actions ought to principally focus on equality and inclusion of a
disabled child with other children.
75. There are good examples of schools which managed to provide
appropriate support for students who need it and for engaging in
a systematic and explicit process of promoting inclusion by using
existing local community resources. Such co-operation takes various
forms, including:
- co-operation
with NGOs, for example NGOs specialised in working with children
with specific needs, or NGOs that can prepare online or offline
activities to respond to the need for contact and socialisation
of children;
- co-operation with cultural institutions and artists who
have the ability to develop creative and alternative approaches
for learning and for socialising and gaining self-confidence that
would be well-adapted for children with specific needs;
- establishment of informal groups of volunteers that can
provide adapted support to parents and children. Some of the most
successful such experiences were those in which volunteers were
properly guided and prepared, while teachers focused more on the
design of appropriate educational interventions and on ensuring
that the needs of all students are considered;
- peer support groups among parents, helping each other
with ideas and resources, while also providing psychological support
and the feeling of not being alone and facing challenges together;
- co-operation with psychologists and various other relevant
categories of professionals who can offer pro bono support, counselling
or advice to parents or children;
- assistance pro bono provided by IT specialists or simply
people with advanced digital skills for exploring new ways of using
technology, or innovative applications and adapt the technology
for use by children with various special needs;
- setting-up a school-based or local support group consisting
of various stakeholders ready to assist the schools in responding
to the challenges they face in providing inclusive education.
76. In my opinion, it would be crucial to invest and support vulnerable
groups and especially children with learning difficulties, bearing
in mind that not all members of society are healthy or empowered.
The quality of our democracies is dependent upon our ability to
address those special needs and provide comfort, care and empathy
and the means for all – including those who are more vulnerable
– to participate fully in public life.
5.6 The
key role of teachers and supporting staff
77. With the new learning reality
of the post-pandemic world, it is becoming necessary to redefine
the role of the teacher. The shift from teaching culture to learning
culture means that teachers are no longer sources of information
but increasingly becoming guides to help learners navigate various
sources of information, build values, socialise with peers and address
social reality. The success of quality online education will depend
on teachers, as the emergency learning measures depended on them.
Teachers were able to implement emergency distance learning modalities
often without sufficient guidance training or resources. But even
in contexts with adequate infrastructure and connectivity, many
educators lack technological and methodological skills to facilitate
quality distance learning.
Note
78. High quality blended and online learning must be supported
by highly skilled education professionals, enjoying good working
conditions and quality resources. Digital learning opportunities
for teachers should include relevant methodological training and
access to educational resources. Schools and institutions, teachers
and students, as well as parents, must be equipped with both the
required infrastructure and the competence to make good use of it.
Note
79. Teachers need also to be better prepared to promote an inclusive
approach and consider risks related to unwanted effects of labelling
“students with special needs”, as well as those associated with
subtle forms of institutional discrimination and interpersonal racism.
Note The pre-service and in-service
training of teachers should focus on these aspects and adapted training
and support can be built and offered based on the resources provided
by the Council of Europe in relation to the Reference Framework
of Competences for Democratic Culture. Teachers would also benefit
from broader and more systematic partnerships with cultural and
creative sectors to help them develop innovative and inclusive methods
to apply the Reference Framework.
80. The Council of Europe has developed the Reference Framework
Teacher Self-Reflection Tool
Note and new pedagogical resources, based
on the Reference Framework
Note to be adapted and used online, in presence,
or blended learning. The Reference Framework Teacher Self-Reflection
Tool is designed to support teachers in reflecting on their own
competences, but also to support them in addressing with their pupils
some complex and sensitive issues such as disinformation, bullying
and discrimination. It also provides guidance, based on previous
Council of Europe materials, for teaching controversial issues and
for encouraging students to make their voice heard in the life of
the school. The Council of Europe is also offering from the school
year 2021-2022 a training pack that can be used to deliver training
for teachers at both European and national levels, based on the
Reference Framework and with a focus on promoting inclusive education.
Note
6 Conclusions
81. The European Union has proposed
a variety of measures to mitigate the socio-economic impact of the pandemic
and in particular: the ambitious emergency European Recovery instrument
(Next Generation EU); with reinforced long-term EU budget for the
period 2021-27.
Note Both
the European Commission and the European Parliament have taken important
political steps to ensure that education and culture sectors are considered
priority and will be eligible for support under the Next Generation
EU programme. However, it is the responsibility of the EU member
States to include education and culture in national recovery programmes
in order to benefit from these measures.
82. Particular attention should be given to the situation of education
and culture in non-EU countries, that are not benefiting from similar
funding measures. Especially since public funding in the culture
sector has been severely cut in numerous non-EU countries and used
to fund the health sector and socio-economic recovery which are
given priority. I therefore hope that this report could serve as
guidance for national recovery strategies in a wider Council of
Europe area.
83. In the context of the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals
and the European Green Deal initiative which aim to address the
multiple challenges we face globally, I would argue that investments
in education and in cultural and creative sectors could also be
an integral part of investments in innovation leading towards more sustainable
and creative economies for the future. Mainstreaming culture and
education in other sectors and providing incentives for creative
partnerships with private sectors could therefore be key for the
future.
84. We must do our utmost to argue at the level of the Parliamentary
Assembly and nationally in our parliaments that investments in education
and culture sectors are fundamental to support democratic, cohesive,
more sustainable and resilient societies, able to address the numerous
social, cultural, economic, and environmental challenges of the
21st century. As our committee rapporteur
and former President of the Assembly, Ms Anne Brasseur, has rightly
stated it in her report,
Note parliaments
have a prominent role to determine a vision for the future and to
define long-term comprehensive strategies for the education and
culture sectors and an oversight role to make sure that they are
properly implemented.
