Emergency remote education in Bahrain, Iraq, and Russia During the COVID-19 pandemic: A comparative case study

1.1Preamble

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a global pandemic in response to the accelerating spread of a coronavirus, COVID-19, citing 118,000 confirmed cases across 114 countries, 4,291 deaths, and thousands of people hospitalized [1]. Most countries mandated education ‘lockdowns,’ closing schools and universities to contain community spread of infection. The World Bank estimates 1.5 billion children and youth are impacted [2], arguing that extended closures result in loss of learning in the short-term but also diminished human capital that will affect economic opportunities over the long-term.

Faced with this crisis, most institutions attempted to maintain provision using alternative learning modes. Many leading universities had already invested in various types of distance and e-learning, so simply extended these services during lockdowns. This was not the case across all tertiary institutions, nor in most schools, where what has been termed “emergency remote learning” [3] was implemented. This case study explores the challenges that faced educators from diverse education systems in Bahrain, Iraq, and Russia during the pandemic. Themes emerging from this comparative case study will be discussed in the context of pre-pandemic global trends to identify issues requiring consideration in future education planning. Given high levels of economic uncertainty, a particular emphasis will be on enabling the education sector to better prepare young people for the post-COVID workplace.

1.2Rationale

Given the high probability of further epidemics caused by new mutations and periodic re-infestations, the International Institute of Inspiration Economy (IIIE) Self-Sufficiency Network reasoned that many of the educational changes implemented in the wake of COVID-19 will continue. During the pandemic, a group of IIIE members involved in delivering emergency remote learning collaborated virtually to develop this case study. By sharing their ‘lived’ experiences, educators in Bahrain, Iraq, and Russia provide a clear path towards a more inclusive and quality education moving forward, where quality is seen as ‘fit-for-purpose’ and linked with parallel economic and employment changes.

This journey begins by reviewing the literature to illuminate the educational context pre-pandemic.

2.1Technology in education

The use of technology is transforming whole industries, including the education sector, enabling many modes of learning, along with face-to-face classroom learning.

In the period of emergency remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, educators improvised “quick solutions in less-than-ideal circumstances” [3]. Thompson’s report of 127 countries [5] indicated that television was the main channel adopted by three-quarters of governments to provide learning continuity. Half of the countries were offering take-home printed resources as their main approach, with radio ranked as third most-used. As with television, radio ownership varies widely, with urban children twice as likely as rural counterparts to have access. Television, radio, and printed resources were typically used in developing countries, or remote rural areas, where the internet is not available, or the signal is weak.

Less than half the population has access to the internet, yet three-quarters of governments used online platforms to deliver education. A majority of countries used SMS, mobile, or social media as an alternate delivery mode during the pandemic [5]. Almost all technologies used to deliver education while schools were closed require electricity but in seven (mainly African) countries, less than 10 percent of the poorest households have electricity [5]. Such findings suggest that the remote emergency learning provided during the pandemic may be widening inequities between the rich and the poor, between rural and urban. But what was the situation pre-COVID?

2.2Inclusive and quality education

In 2019, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) reported substantive progress towards universal primary education, with 91 percent of children in developing regions enrolled in school and a “dramatic increase in literacy rates” [6]. But even before COVID-19 broke out in 2020, there was limited progress in regions suffering from poverty and conflict, with 57 million primary-aged children not attending, and rural-urban disparities that affected girls more. School completion rates are low in developing countries, with 103 million youth lacking basic literacy skills (60 percent being female).

In a global study of Goal 4 targets for ‘inclusive and quality education for all’ [7], the United Nations found increased participation in early years learning (from 62% in 2010 to 67% in 2018), despite wide variation amongst the 74 participating countries. Primary school completion rates rose from 70 percent in 2000 to 84 percent in 2018, with an 89 percent school completion rate predicted globally by 2030. However, given the impact of COVID-19 on education in 2020, is this likely?

This United Nations study also showed a disparity between students from the richest and poorest sectors of the population, with parity achieved by 25 percent of countries for primary and lower secondary education, but by only one percent at upper secondary. Consequently, some 773 million adults, two-thirds of them women, remain illiterate, even though the global adult literacy rate for the population aged 15 years and above, was 86 percent in 2018. Has the COVID-19 pandemic widened such disparities?

Teacher education is an important factor in educational effectiveness. Data comparing 129 countries showed the percentage of primary school teachers receiving the minimum pedagogical training has stagnated at 85 percent since 2015, with some countries significantly below [7]. It is unlikely that this minimum training will include the use of technology in teaching and learning. How prepared were teachers for the shift to remote learning during the pandemic?

And what of the students? Symonds’ study of both undergraduate and postgraduate students’ responses to the coronavirus crisis [8] indicated a general acceptance of online learning as a pragmatic solution for education continuity during lockdowns but reported concerns about safety and welfare, particularly access to sanitizers, medics, a helpline, and classroom protection when classes resume. Prospective students wanted to know about institutional plans for stopping virus infections as much as academic study options.

The pandemic changed students’ education pathways [8]. Half reported changed plans, such as canceling or delaying overseas study. Most students (80%) did not regard online study highly, believing it was easier to administer, and therefore should be cheaper. A high proportion (40%) refused to study online, with only 10 percent considering studying remotely towards qualifications offered by a foreign university. These students may be atypical, but their apparent reluctance to embrace online learning raises questions about how the education sector can best prepare them for an uncertain future, especially given that a core element in the successful adoption of e-learning is their motivation [9].

2.3Unemployment and employability

Last decade, high levels of youth unemployment were concerning, a trend exacerbated by recent lockdowns. In the wake of COVID-19’s containment measures, came business closures and job losses, with unemployment increasing by 2.9 percent in April 2020 to reach 55 million (8.4%) [10]. Country differentials are overlaid by gender and demographic variances, with women’s work availability declining as their family responsibilities increased during school closures. Younger people were particularly affected, with the unemployment rate of 15 to 24-year-olds increasing by 5.5 percent (to 17.6%) [10]. What are countries doing to prepare youth for future employment?

The pandemic highlighted the economic vulnerability of an over-dependence on international trade, so as business resumes, a ‘green’ recovery is advocated [11], increasing productivity and cost savings by locally sourced products and reduction of waste [12]. This more sustainable economic model will require new skillsets [13]. Lockdowns have increased unemployment but also highlighted skill-shortages and misalignment of education outputs (graduate competencies) with new industry demands [14]. With high unemployment post-pandemic, there is a need for the education sector to focus not just on technical skills, but on the development of employability skills. ‘Employability’ is the set of knowledge, skills, and attributes that make school leavers and graduates more likely to gain employment and be successful in their chosen occupations. ‘Employability Skills for the Future’ are communication: teamwork; problem-solving; initiative and enterprise; planning and organizing; self-management; learning; and last but not least, technology [15]. To prepare graduates for an uncertain future, many education providers embed employability into their curricula through work placements and industry cooperative projects. What impact have COVID-19 social-distancing requirements and the introduction of emergency remote learning had on the development of employability skills?

2.4Research questions

This study aims to explore the challenges educators faced during emergency remote learning so that others may learn from their experiences.

The driving question is how was education continuity provided in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020?

Supplementary questions include:

To answer these a comparative case study methodology was adopted.

3.1Case study

3.1.2Selection of the case sites and participants

In case study, there is a rational selection of one or more instances of the phenomenon. Some case studies illuminate issues through detailed immersion in one case, but a comparative approach [17] is more reliable for global phenomena, especially where the aim is to learn from the experience of others in dealing with common issues [18], as exemplified by the DEIMP project [19]. For the case study of education during the pandemic, countries for which there was little information available in the public domain were targeted. Three countries that had comparable rates of primary enrolments but diverse economic and demographic profiles were selected by applying a modification of Shafer’s typology [20]. As shown in Table 1, using a classification system ensures that there is enough variation to provide a meaningful comparison of the phenomenon under study.

Table 1

Comparative case studies: Typological framework

Definitive comparative factors			Variable 1: Population
			Low	Medium	High
Variable 2: Wealth		Low		Iraq
		Medium			Russia
		High	Bahrain

As shown in Table 2, Russia had the largest population and Bahrain the smallest, though it was the wealthiest, whereas Iraq was the poorest, with negative economic growth even before the pandemic financial recession hit.

Table 2

Country comparison of key differentiating factors

Variable	Bahrain1	Iraq2	Russia3
*Net primary enrolment rate	97.4%	93.3%	97%
*Lower secondary completion rate	97.3%	48.1%	98.9%
*Literacy rate of 15-24-year olds, both sexes	94.1 % (data missing).	52.3%	99.7%
Schools (# students)	281 (189,244)	14,000(M4.3)	70,000 (M20)
Higher Education (# students)	18 (27993)	28 (240,000)	741 (M4)
Population4 (urban dwellers)	M1.7 (89%)	M40 (73%)	M146 (74%)
GDP/capita4 (Rate of change 2017)	USD$$23,715 (+3.88%)	USD$5,114 (-2.07%)	USD$10,846 (+1.55%)

* [21] 1. 2018 data [22] 2. [23]. 3. [24] 4. Population (24 August 2020) and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data [25].

This study was opportunistic in selecting participants, as all three countries had active IIIE networks. This enabled easy access to educators, and by a ‘snowball’ technique [26], to other reliable participants (twelve in total).

3.2Methods

3.3Analysis and reporting findings

The in-country investigations and literature reviews were analyzed using a grounded theory approach [27], which allowed for themes to emerge, which were then explored further in an iterative manner using both group and individual Zoom interviews, as shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 1

Research design following selection of comparative cases.

Based on the emerging themes, selected segments from Zoom interviews were extracted and spliced together to form composite narratives that were enriched by published opinion pieces and reports representing a wider stakeholder view for each country. Each full country profile comprised three sections:

A comparative analysis of these full country-profiles refined the emerging themes into storylines [27]. A condensed ‘story’ of each country’s experience was derived for publication. Member checks [28] ensured the accuracy of these, the overall rigor of interpretation, and the academic content of the case study comparison with its storylines.

3.4Confidentiality

To preserve confidentiality educators participating are not identified, higher education institutes and schools are unnamed, and the common word ‘teacher’ applied. Only audio recordings of Zoom sessions were utilized in analysis and, as a further protective measure, slices of narrative (identified by italics) from several different Zoom events, are spliced together to prevent disclosure by association.

3.5Reliability and generalizability

Drawing on the personal experiences of educators from Bahrain, Iraq, and Russia enabled rich stories to be developed within this case study. Storytelling, has the advantage of being able to engage participants within the comfort and security of their own environment [29], hence improving the trustworthiness of findings. It is a “powerful way to exchange and consolidate learning” [30, p. 1].

Whilst it can be argued that case study lacks representativeness, the typically rich stories enable a deeper understanding of the situation than is provided by other methods. Case studies are contextually situated, so what works best in one country, may not be appropriate in another. It will therefore be up to the reader to take from this case study what seems relevant to apply to their organization.

4.1Timeline

Aggregated school closure data between 21 January and the end of July 2020 [31] established a timeline. This showed the early stages of virus infections, where no measures were put in place (January, February), were followed by official recognition of the spread of infection (early March), with containment measures typically followed by widespread education closures at the height of the pandemic in April. The course of the disease was slightly different for each country, with Iraq seeing the earliest spread of cases, but all suffering second-waves of infection.

4.2Context

To provide an educational context, each country’s progress against the United Nation’s Sustainable Development targets for quality education in the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) report are compared in Table 2 [21]. Participation in primary education was similar, with enrolments ranging between 93% (Iraq) to 97% for Bahrain and Russia, results above world averages [7]. The SDSN reported progress towards inclusivity and quality targets (SDG 4) was on track for Russia and Bahrain, although the gap in participation levels widened at the secondary level and beyond, especially for Bahrain, with missing data for adult literacy. Iraq progress data for 2019 was unavailable, but Table 2 shows significant challenges in secondary completion and overall adult literacy masking gender inequities noted in other reports [32].

5.1COVID-19 timeline

In Bahrain, from Feb 24 to 12:48 pm CEST, 23 August 2020, there were 49,038 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 183 deaths.

5.2Bahrain’s experience

5.3Discussion

Bahrain’s relative wealth and historical investment in education eased the adjustment from face-to-face to distance learning during the pandemic. Private schools and higher education had varying exposure to online learning on which to build, but educators clarified that this experience was an emergency response to provide continuity. Lack of preparedness for the changed direction raised issues of quality, equity, and meeting the changing needs of the labor market. Bahrain’s education system had resisted the adoption of e-learning for many years, and this persisted during the pandemic, “they resisted more change in the mindset of how the classes should be delivered and managed” [4].

Social-distancing requirements during the pandemic prevented students from gaining hands-on experience in their field [14], so their education became more theoretical than practical, limiting the development of employability skills and technical competencies. Based on this realization, and the results of a recent study of students’ experience and graduate requirements [13], greater use of the ‘flipped-classroom’ is advocated to better prepare students “for the new normal” [4] by developing the problem-solving and collaboration skills essential in an uncertain labor market.

The Bahrain experience revealed concerns about staff and student well-being during the pandemic. The absence of contingency plans and inadequate IT support raised staff anxieties. In some institutions management of the crisis lacked empathy and clarity. This highlighted the importance of engaging employees effectively through the mediating effect of knowledge sharing for employees of higher educational institutions aiming for optimum organizational performance as the physical workplace is converted into a virtual workplace [33].

With the likelihood of future hybridization of education, Bahrain needs to use the learning from the crisis to develop a more sustainable, user-friendly, approach to online learning.

6.1COVID-19 timeline

In Iraq, from Feb 24 to 12:48 pm CEST, 23 August 2020, there were 201,050 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 6,353 deaths.

6.2Iraq’s experience

6.3Discussion

Iraq’s historic challenges, with children and adolescents missing out on formal education due to conflict and shortages of qualified teachers have been exacerbated by the advent of COVID-19, but this was not mentioned in the Zoom interviews. That access to education is limited by movement restrictions and availability of civil documentation required to facilitate enrolment is, however, well-documented [32], with 1.4 million people (658,000 children) internally displaced, mainly in the north and west. There are 14,000 registered primary schools in Iraq, but only 11,368 buildings available to house the 4.3 million primary-aged children, so shifts are run, reducing classroom time (especially for Kurdish children [34]). To support equity of access, Iraq had gained international funding for the digitalization of learning across both schools and in higher education. While the internet is available in five percent of homes, and 80 percent of the population owns a mobile phone [35], 88 percent can access a television set, so broadcasts of learning and health promotion in Arabic, Kurdish (Sorani), and Syriac languages were the main way of supporting learning continuity during the pandemic [36]. Electricity supply is intermittent in some areas, affecting all forms of e-learning provision.

As shown in Table 2, many Iraqi children do not complete high school [21, 23, 37], posing a barrier to continuing education. Supported by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization and Iraq’s Ministry of Higher Education, a virtual campus project was launched to integrate e-learning systems within higher education in 2015. Implemented in Basrah and Salahaddin universities, this e-learning pilot used virtual lectures and Google Classroom to support post-graduate students [38] and was so successful that training for online learning was extended to all university teachers mid-2019. Students recognized the benefits of e-learning for their studies but had concerns about the level of support and infrastructure [39]. During the pandemic, students were frustrated by their inability to instantly ask questions, to confer with classmates, and to engage actively in discussions, making for a static experience [40]. They lacked a quiet study environment at home, a modern laptop, and working internet. Anxiety levels during the pandemic meant that it was harder than usual for students to focus and remain disciplined [40].

In conclusion, the clear leadership directives that built on existing foundations of remote education provision, coupled with previous training of teachers in higher education and international funding support, enabled learning continuity in Iraq, despite the many historic challenges that the country faced. Lessons that Iraq’s education community has learned from this crisis include the:

The use of television and m-Learning widened opportunities for students to continue to learn, so as a result of the pandemic, the adoption of e-learning has been accelerated in Iraq.

7.1COVID-19 timeline

In the Russian Federation, from Jan 31 to 12:48 pm CEST, 23 August 2020, there were 956,749 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 16,383 deaths.

7.2Russia’s experience

7.3Discussion

The blended approach to learning already being promoted across the Russian education sector was accelerated by the pandemic. This story was not well-differentiated by sector but illustrated-well two different perceptions of emergency remote learning, students, and academics. The organizing of online connection and establishment of systems to monitor students’ class presence and attendance appeared relatively straightforward, given the clear leadership directives during the pandemic, and prior experience beforehand, but the lack of student engagement and group participation remains a challenge. Members of the learning communities exhibited varying degrees of stress about online learning and anxiety about the pandemic.

Perepelkin and Guseynova maintain that the need for professional skills, and active interaction in the virtual space and electronic environment, is dictated by the rapidly changing requirements for the training of specialists and their awareness of this problem, as well as new occupational and social communication requirements [41]. Technical skills, as well as ‘employability skills’ are needed to meet the demands of today’s changing world. The use of short courses to upskill competencies, supported by longer e-learning programs, form an effective strategy to meet changing requirements [42]. Consequently, e-learning has become a distinctive feature of education development in Russia, informed by global trends in information and telecommunication technologies. This change revolutionized the educational process, forming a global environment for intercultural and interdisciplinary integration that has paved the way for life-long learning, a necessity given today’s knowledge economy. This transformation opens a new set of challenges: organizational, cognitional, and psychosocial. The organizational aspects have already been touched on, but the other dimensions are elaborated below.

From his experience during the pandemic, Perepelkin’s [unpublished data] analysis of cognitional aspects indicated the need for a more effective, model of knowledge acquisition for use in remote education. He argues that information is acquired differently through digital sources, partly attributable to age segmentation (older people prefer hard-copy), but also to concentration times, which he found differed in online and offline events—remote and internet communications take longer to prompt a response.

Psychosocial aspects he identified included the need for success in studying, provision of a stimulating level of competition, and the possibilities of collaboration. With the disruption to daily routines, Russian students demonstrated a lack of self-discipline and poor time management, struggling to concentrate on study tasks. Their communication and interpersonal skills need to be developed in ‘live-action’, not simulations, with the possibilities of learning from each other being ‘priceless’, Perepelkin argues,

Post-pandemic, a new model of education is required to address the concerns identified about the educational process and its management. This model needs to build on the benefits online learning brings, especially access for mature working students and learning anywhere, anytime, whilst addressing concerns for health and security and promoting innovative teaching and engaging learning.

9.1Implications for practice

Each country had previously invested in distance and e-learning, so built on this foundation during the lockdown period to provide learning continuity. Despite issues such as electricity supply, Wi-Fi strength, and access to equipment, most providers ensured continuity through a mix of distance and online learning delivered by committed staff. The importance of clear and empathetic leadership in harnessing the human factor (motivating both staff and students [9, 43]) during the stress of the crisis was one of the key learnings from this case study.

Both synchronous and asynchronous strategies were implemented, with online learning and television the most common media, depending on access to technology. Learning provision ranged from traditional sessions (with teachers simply videoing a lecture and students completing questions) to more interactive sessions that reflected best practice, with online class discussions, group collaborative activities, and individual presentations [4, 19]. This study demonstrated that delivery quality was improved by efficient IT services, timely training, and collegial networking that promoted the use of e-learning and developed a supportive culture. An area warranting further attention in planning on-line lessons is student engagement. This posed one of the biggest challenges, with female students particularly reluctant to be seen online in Arab countries.

Educators were aware of students’ feelings of isolation and the difficulties that they experienced in learning remotely. A highlight was the consistent evidence of educators’ care and responsiveness, with community provision of equipment, multiple delivery modes, and, in the case of Bahrain, special programs for gifted students and those with identified learning needs. Whilst technology can be used very effectively to identify, monitor, and respond to the diversity of learning needs, the potential widening of the performance gap between higher-achieving learners and their peers was a concern voiced. Whilst students’ stories about their experience were limited to secondary sources, except in Russia, the anytime/anywhere benefits of asynchronous learning already known to working students may provide learners who were not succeeding in the face-to-face system the opportunity to succeed by allowing them to work at their own pace. This benefit of remote learning provides a clear pathway for developmentally delayed or disadvantaged learners to optimise their performance, potentially reducing any achievement gap with peers. Monitoring to ensure continuous academic progress for the diversity of learners, as well as more effective systems for the pastoral care of remote learners, are aspects that require greater attention by the sector in moving e-learning forward.

For those students able to access online learning, they will likely have gained a better understanding of the ethical use of technology, as well as becoming more self-directed as learners. Such skills will better prepare these young people for the new way of working in the changing business world, an emerging conclusion that needs verification. However, the development of practical skills that the workplace also requires was not well-catered for in online education. Rarely were industry projects and laboratories incorporated into remote emergency learning during the pandemic. The use of simulations, virtual reality, problem-solving using industry problems, and other best-practice work-integrated-learning strategies were seldom reported. As businesses set to reopen, many governments are calling for a green recovery, with a greater focus on sustainable practices, recycling, and environmental awareness. This change flags a major implication for the education sector, necessitating urgent curriculum review to ensure the continued relevance of programs in the ‘new normal’. With rising unemployment post-pandemic, the curriculum needs to include a greater focus on sustainability, as well as the development of students’ enterprise, innovation, and entrepreneurship skills.

The education sector was not well-setup to offer dedicated online and remote learning. What was hurriedly put in place was an emergency response to ensure continuity in a crisis. Consequently, academic staff felt unprepared and under-resourced. Many had been using applications such as Moodle, Blackboard, and Google Classrooms before, but being fully reliant on these applications to deliver engaging learning experiences was quite a different situation and very challenging. Any crisis needs clear direction and empathetic leadership to avoid the kind of stakeholder disenfranchisement this case study reveals may have occurred with both students and staff, in some institutions. An unanticipated benefit of leaders’ lack of contingency planning was an increased level of social networking amongst academic staff, as they grappled to solve common problems facing the sector. This best-practice collaboration developed a greater awareness of e-learning pedagogy and with it an interdisciplinary understanding that might, in turn, be reflected in more innovative teaching programs in the future.

This case study, congruent with the findings of others [13, 14] indicates that education post-pandemic will slowly readjust to a new reality which, through building on the lessons learned during the period of emergency remote learning, will facilitate a more effective blended approach. Issues requiring consideration to achieve educational quality and greater inclusivity will be enhanced responsiveness to the learning needs of a diversity of students, new ways of regulating quality, especially the credibility of assessments, and more effective pastoral care for students and staff who feel anxious and isolated when programs run remotely. The concept of quality in education is a fit-for-purpose system that produces work-ready graduates, able to take a positive role as citizens in the wider society. Educational quality is therefore closely linked with parallel economic and social changes, so the development of twenty-first-century skills remains a key focus in both schools and universities. Specific issues, such as how practical skills can best be developed and assessed online, will require particular consideration.

9.2Recommendations for further research

In summary, this case study provided a useful exploration of the challenges facing the education sector, which can be seen to fall into three main categories: crisis management and decision making, infrastructure readiness, and student receptiveness. But whether the three countries that make up the case study are representative of the international community’s experience is open to question. Like many country-wide comparative case studies, this unstructured qualitative research can be critiqued for its “generality and explanatory imprecision” [20]. Further, more quantitative studies are recommended to assess the depth and extent of the impact of the pandemic on education, how it affected teachers and teaching, how it affected learners and learning, and how the role of schools and universities needs to change to better prepare young people for the ‘new normal’.

While ensuring equity of access in smaller countries, such as Bahrain, was relatively easy given the structures already in place, in Iraq, beset by conflict, poverty, and geographic spread, the situation was much more challenging. Indeed, e-learning has faced many unique challenges in Arab and developing countries, some of which software companies can help to address. Language barriers exacerbate learning difficulties and, recognizing this, some software designers have improved learning efficacy by producing Arabic versions of the software. By adapting platforms for mobile phones, with their anytime/anyplace advantages, they improved access to learning [43]. Further studies are recommended to investigate the extent and nature of e-learning in Arab and developing countries to facilitate further collaboration with industry for mutual benefit.

Despite such initiatives, UNICEF claims that inherent inequalities in access to tools and technology during the COVID-19 pandemic have deepened the global learning crisis [5]. Educators’ stories showed awareness of inequities but also evidenced proactive community support to redress access and equipment issues. How effective these strategies have been, and how widespread, requires further investigation. Whether the challenges facing children and young people, as they grapple with the realities of remote learning, have resulted in higher drop-out rates, for example, requires access to quantitative data not available at the time of this study.

And last, but not least, it is recommended that governments focus on the viability of education institutions in the post-COVID recession. Given the funding and staffing shortages predicted, without additional support, some may fail to make the rapid adjustments needed to become effective ‘hybrid’ institutions that offer a more blended learning approach.

One cannot help but be amazed, humbled, but at the same time also proud, of the dedication shown by educators in this case study. Despite very different circumstances, very different education systems, highly variable levels of preparedness, and inadequate resourcing for remote learning, they did their very best to ensure learning continuity in a time of crisis. They had to work very hard to develop new skills, new resources, and new programs, to support learners’ survival and growth in these challenging times. An outcome is the revaluing of social relations in teaching and learning. And parents have a new-found respect for teachers!