Covid, migration and sadness, factors affecting student learning around the world

The ravages of the Covid-19 pandemic, migration and unhappiness are the factors that over the past three years have most harmed – compared to previous years – the development and learning of the world’s students.

A few days ago, the OECD published the results of its PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) test, applied worldwide and measuring the academic performance of students in mathematics and reading.

The exam was presented to more than 700,000 students from 81 countries and regions of the world, including 13 from the American continent: Chile, ranked 37th among the 81 examined, is the best evaluated in America; Uruguay, at 53rd in the ranking, is second in the region; Mexico, which finished in 57th place, is third; Peru (59), Costa Rica (63), Colombia (64), Brazil (65), Argentina (66), Panama (74), Guatemala (77), El Salvador (78), Dominican Republic (79) and Paraguay ( 80).

The above means that the educational level that exists between the different continents evaluated is deep in America; Asian boys and girls continue to top the list, with Singapore number one and Japan number two. In the case of the 13 Latin American countries assessed, none exceeded the OECD average.

And what about our beautiful Mexico, which despite its geographical position (referring a little to geopolitics) cannot reach first place, since 2018 it has been ranked third and fourth in mathematics and reading; Chile is a case to highlight, since it has been in first place for the same time.

However, all regions where the PISA test was applied showed a drop in their results, this due to the arrival of the coronavirus pandemic, which sent students home for months when no one was ready to take online courses. problems, an increase in domestic violence, anxiety, depression, sadness, among many other situations already documented and which directly affect the academic results of boys, girls, adolescents and teachers, explains l Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). ).

The PISA report recorded an overall drop of 15 points, to 472, in the mathematics average of students in the countries and regions assessed, compared to the previous exams taken in 2018 and whose results were published in 2019.

Large waves of migrant caravans have also not favored younger children, who interrupted their studies due to external social and political problems that displaced their families in search of safety and better living conditions. Speaking specifically about the American phenomenon, the governments of transit countries, such as Mexico, do not currently have educational programs guaranteeing the education of the thousands of minors who pass through their territories daily; The closest attempts are those of civil organizations which have few possibilities regarding the scale of the needs.

And from all of the above comes sadness, an emotion that is reflected more in minors due to isolation, family disintegration, deaths and other complex situations that many have experienced.

The OECD examined, in a separate study, students’ happiness in the classroom, using nine aspects that include their engagement with school, their material, cultural and psychological well-being or their openness to diversity.

In the case of Asian students, they have been shown to experience greater stress and express fear of failure; In the case of Spain and Peru, with lower test scores, they showed a lower degree of anxiety and a higher degree of happiness.

Thus, we see that different governments continue to misdirect their educational policies, giving priority to who knows what things that have nothing to do with improving student learning, quite the contrary.

BY: KARINA ÁLVAREZ
FACEBOOK: @KARINAPERIODISMOSOCIAL

TWITTER: @KAFARK84

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