Digital Policy for Equity and Openness

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic ushered in an era of unprecedented challenges and transformations in all sub-sectors of education. The rapid spread of the virus necessitated immediate and decisive actions from governments and educational institutions globally, prompting a swift transition to emergency remote teaching and learning to ensure the safety of students, educators, and staff. This response marked a departure from conventional educational paradigms, thrusting the whole sector into a digital realm, which was new and disturbing to many. Beyond the pandemic, the role of remote and hybrid learning models continues to evolve, offering insights for a reimagined educational future. Indeed, it is arguable that the continuing emphasis on ‘resilience’ in education among policymakers reflects an understanding that a mode change is increasingly now the ‘new normal’ for much of the sector. The widespread increased experience of online learning provides a unique opportunity to enhance not only resilience but also flexibility and inclusivity, but given a chronic inequality in resources these will be very differently approached by nations to build upon that new normal. This paper examines the experiences of a selection of Commonwealth countries to support the building of a common framework of principles and policies that could make education systems more resilient, more open and more equitable.