AGENCY OF SCHOOLCHILDREN IN THE CHANGING EDUCATIONAL CONTEXT DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC: SOURCES, MANIFESTATIONS, AND EFFECTS

The study focuses on the issues of agency (proactive behavior) among schoolchildren engaged in extracurricular activities in the context of COVID-19 pandemic, including the sources of agency, its manifestations, and possible effects. Theoretically, the authors base on the sociological structure/agency debates, in which the role of education remains understudied. The empirical basis for the analysis are the results of a survey of students and their parents about the transition to a remote form of education during the self-isolation regime. The authors show that in most families, new rules have not been developed to support adaptation to novel conditions. Moreover, the existence of such rules and their sources are interrelated with the socio-economic status and educational background of the family. The authors analyze the relationship between the presence of the rules in the family and characteristics of the child's «agentic» activity with the success of the experience during pandemic and satisfaction with related extracurricular activities. Manifestations of the so-called «autonomous» agency of a child, associated with independent and not joint with parents individual proactive action, are of the greatest importance for his/her adaptation to the changing conditions and success in the educational trajectory. © 2022 Authors. All rights reserved.

“After COVID, Inshallah”: Investigating lags, challenges and opportunities of the WPS Agenda implementation in Morocco

This article aims at describing the main causes which contribute to explaining to what extent the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda does not represent a national priority for Moroccan decision makers and why the adoption of a National Action Plan (NAP) in 2022 has proceeded very slowly in the North African Kingdom. Constructed from a gender-based analysis of the Moroccan political context and drawn from 15 semi-structured interviews targeting Moroccan institutional actors, academics and civil society representatives, the study explores lags, challenges and opportunities for the WPS Agenda implementation in Morocco. Following up on new and critical approaches to the WPS agenda that expands its understanding, beyond the dichotomy of peace and security, the article brings out relevant strategic axes that the implementation of the WPS agenda could potentially imply in the country. In conclusion, the article explores the urgent need, expressed by several Moroccan scholars and activists, to reconsider the concepts of peace and security, by emancipating it from purely military issues and redirecting it to a more social and human oriented dimension. This is mainly relevant now since the COVID pandemic has made inequalities more visible and corrective measures to eliminate them more necessary, especially from a gender point of view. © 2022

A Theory-Led Evaluation of a Scalable Intervention to Promote Evidence-Based, Research-Informed Practice in Schools to Address Attainment Gaps

Evidence-based practice is a salient solution that has been presented to address the persistent educational attainment gap linked to economic disadvantage. However, most schools do not engage with research, and we know little about facilitating school-led research use at scale. Linking different approaches to studying educational effectiveness, equity and change, and drawing on cultural-historical activity theory, this study develops intermediate theory about the mechanisms influencing institutions’ success in using research. In the context of the Opportunity Area Programme, supporting place-based interventions in the UK’s most socio-economically disadvantaged regions, we conducted a theory-led evaluation of the Evidence-Based Practice Fund (EBPF), aimed at supporting school-led research engagement to improve learning outcomes. We analysed the documentation of 83 EBPF projects, 8 focus groups, and a school survey. We demonstrate that enabling schools to address locally identified needs motivates research engagement but formulating these as stimulus for change requires scaffolding. Schools were keen but needed re-translation to use research to address those challenges. Low-key school-to-school support was found adequate. Leadership support and collaboration were significant but require relational expertise and professional learning to be effective. This study demonstrates that the use of research by schools at scale is possible and can transform a school’s agency in developing their own practice to improve equity.