Schooling without barriers: improving education in the West Bank and Gaza during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to school closures and disruptions affecting 1.3 billion children worldwide. This disruption in learning has considerable consequences now and well into the future, with negative impacts on the cognitive, academic, and socio-emotional development of students. It has also stalled or even reversed learning gains. Further, it has reduced the educational attainment of marginalized children such as refugees and the internally displaced, girls, and children with disabilities. Nowhere are these challenges felt more acutely than in low-income and fragile countries like the West Bank and Gaza. Though the widespread school closures of the pandemic will eventually pass, the potential future emergencies on the horizon highlight a pressing need for evidence on effective approaches to distance learning and ways of addressing the negative consequences of school closures. This project seeks to respond to this crisis by addressing the quality of education provided to children while out of school and by improving teachers' ability to use online environments for education. The aim is to inform education policies, including content delivery, teacher training, and socialization in preparation for future emergencies.