Documentation of education response in Turkey during the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on children’s access to and retention in education

8th March 2022 : 17:00 - 18:15

***Register in advance***

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected children’s educational experiences around the globe. Turkey was one of the countries that kept schools closed more than 200 days listed to be one of the longest closures across OECD countries (OECD, 2021). Many students had limited access to internet or technological devices, which led to major educational losses for children across the country (Ergun & Arik, 2020). Given these circumstances, policymakers and researchers expect the educational repercussions of the pandemic to be the most detrimental for children, who are at risk for low school achievement. This seminar will present the factors linked with learning losses during the pandemic, demonstrate the estimates of educational outcomes for disadvantaged children in relation to their home learning environments, and evaluate the educational policies and programmes implemented in Turkey. Speakers will also outline what future policies might look like to support children during their return to school. Micro-simulation analyses of existing datasets on pupil outcomes and family predictors from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS), and interviews with national stakeholders will inform the findings of the study. The study has been commissioned by the UNICEF Turkey Office and is carried out by Development Analytics.