Asia Education Foundation (AEF) and Australia India Institute (Aii), Delhi are pleased to announce a series of virtual events exploring Equity in Education: Shared Perspectives between India and Australia. Over the coming months, join AEF, Aii, Delhi, and a series of specialists to discuss three key determinants for Equity in Education in Australia and India; Technology, Gender, and Wellbeing 

Over the past year, schools across the world have closed their doors in response to the COVID19 pandemic, disrupting the education of 1.6 billion children of children globally (Karboul 2020). While many schools and school systems across the globe were able to provide continuity of learning through online and remote learning, more than 168 million children were shut out of education completely (UNICEF 2021).  

Now, a year on, as schools across Australia and India prepare to reopen and recommence face-to-face teaching, questions are being asked about how to best overcome the learning gaps, anxiety and trauma caused by the COVID19 disruption. Although wellbeing has traditionally been seen as supplementary to the core academic function of school education, research has long shown that there is an indisputable link between wellbeing and the social, emotional and academic development of both students and educators. As such, it is a key component of equity within schools both with India and Australia. 

With the pandemic still not contained, students in India and Australia face further disruption and uncertainty in their schooling through localised and snap lockdowns. Experts warn that a narrow focus on academic achievement and ‘catching up’ on lost learning could be detrimental to students and teachers ability to return to the classroom, thus moving the focus to the pivotal role wellbeing plays in social, emotional and academic development for students and educators. Schools and systems who had invested in wellbeing prior to the disruptions of the COVID19 pandemic are at a distinct advantage as face-to-face education recommences.  

This webinar explores wellbeing as a key component of equity in education from Australian and Indian perspectives, through the prism of policy/research, education leaders and classroom practitioners. 

This will be an informative discussion across Australia and India, bringing greater awareness and understanding to equity in education. Panelists will explore how research, policies, school leaders and classroom practitioners are shaping programs for the greater wellbeing of students and teachers in schools, with a focus on those who had invested in wellbeing programs prior to COVID19 lockdowns and those who had not.