This paper is based on the analysis of the reporting during the Covid pandemic as well as on the analysis of guideline-based interviews with managers, teachers and lecturers of educational institutions and participants of qualification programmes.
The Covid pandemic and the related lockdown in the education sector was and still is linked with great challenges for educational institutions and especially for the group of already disadvantaged young people.
The challenges for educational institutions were, the need to quickly switch from face-to-face to distance learning. This meant digitalising the learning offer, including new methodology and didactics as well as technical equipment.
The participants in educational measures, especially participants from disadvantaged groups, were often not up to distance learning. They had neither the technical equipment nor the space to learn in the home environment. The lack of personal contact, self-motivation and self-organisation skills made learning very difficult.
However, the Covid pandemic has also createtd new opportunities. The digitalisation has made education providers fit for e-learning and opened up new topics and market opportunities for them. They are now more crisis-resistant and can react more quickly to changing demands. New topics and goals can make education providers a driving force in social change.
With regard to disadvantaged young people, the pandemic has acted like a burning glass and made their problems more visible. In the medium term, these groups will benefit from the processes of change that have been initiated, assuming that the needs of this group are taken into account, and that qualification and further education can contribute to closing the social gap and become a motor of social innovation.
Read the paper here.
