Second KIX LAC Colloquium ‘Educating in Times of Crisis and Emergency’
The second KIX LAC Colloquium, organized by SUMMA and the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States – OECS – with the support of IDRC and the Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies –INEE-, once again generated a meeting space around the different knowledge and tools developed by the countries during the recent crises.
The first panel “The challenge of research for strengthening educational actions focused on contexts of crisis and emergency” opened with a keynote presentation by Dr. Joel Warrican, Director of the School of Education at the University of the West Indies, on “Research in the Caribbean: how to combat the biases of Western frameworks”, who remarked that the way in which research is conducted, the results and interpretations do not reflect the truth of the situation of education in the Eastern Caribbean, which is itself a crisis, “It is important to know the context of the Caribbean, where we have a history of people colonized, enslaved and indoctrinated by Western culture. The education we were introduced to came from the stratification system of the upper classes, where everyone else is marginalized, which is why the certification that says you are prepared for the world of work or college reaches only 25% of students, who are the ones who meet the minimum standard requirements to achieve enrollment.”
Next, Sonja Anderson, Data and Evidence Coordinator, and Nathalie Bienfait, INEE FLC Communication Assistant, presented “INEE and the Learning Agenda: Networking and Research Support”, where they shared the work carried out with Latin American countries from the organization.
Concluding the first panel, Raúl Chacón, director of KIX LAC and Dr. Maciel Morales Aceitón, researcher at KIX LAC, spoke about “Teachers’ Perspectives on the Pandemic: Practices, Challenges and Learning”, who assured that there are many opportunities for further analysis and research at the local, national and regional levels, to generate evidence, mobilize experiences and develop strategies to recover the learning lost during the last few years.
The second panel “Territorial Experiences of Educational Research in Emergency and Crisis Situations,” moderated by Judy-Ann Auld, director of the Victoria School for Special Education, featured presentations by:
- Dr. Verna knight, coordinator of the University of the West Indies Bachelor of Education Program: “In School but Struggling to Succeed: Critical Barriers to Learning for All in Caribbean Schools”
- Dr. Charmaine Bissessar, Head of Online Educational Services at the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, University of Guyana: “Coping Mechanisms of Two Grenadian School Teachers during the Pandemic. Methodologies and strategies in the classroom”
- Idelia Ferdinand, Senior Education Officer, Ministry of Education, St. Vincent and the Grenadines: “Education in times of crisis and emergency – A systemic approach to education sector resilience in the multi-hazard environment of SVG”
- Dr. Lefranc Joseph, from Haiti State University: “The crisis and digital transformation in education in Haiti: Opportunities and challenges”, who reaffirmed that “The crisis is a structural part of the educational system in Haiti. Between 78 and 81% of schools are private, they were created to respond to the educational demand but do not meet the real need”.
