Abstract:

UWC (United World Colleges) is a global not-for-profit educational organization that brings together young people from deliberately diverse backgrounds at one of our 18 international schools and through our online and in-person UWC short courses. We equip young people with the skills, values and perspectives that empower them to build a more peaceful and sustainable future. In the 2019/20 academic year, there were 10,786 students from over 160 countries across all UWC schools and year groups.

Like others, UWC has had to adapt and adopt new ways of working, including rapid digitalisation and the integration of digital tools into our education model. Whereas many schools - with a few exceptions - have continued only with formal (academic) education online, UWC remains committed to delivering a more holistic educational model even in the virtual space. How to do this effectively, meaningfully and powerfully online requires specific methodologies. Many educators are only now in the process of grasping the nuances of online learning, the range of digital tools and the core competencies needed for quality blended learning. These lessons will be valuable not only in times of COVID-19 but as critically to modernise 21st-century educational methodologies.

By using the concept of hope -- derived from a psychological perspective that can be broken down into principles of agency, self-determination, engagement, belonging and a sense of purpose -- we will embed a pedagogy of hope and its concomitant principles within the development of digital competencies and pedagogic methodologies. We believe that with positive learning experiences, designed to evoke these developmental assets, will support three key aims: youth wellbeing, youth action towards positive civic engagement, and improved educational outcomes.

This is an urgent necessity for young people. COVID-19, and all that it entails, has added to existing stressors for young people as they grow up in a VUCA world (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous). Young people are caught in increasing social divisions, an ecological emergency, a volatile job market, and education systems that are increasingly being seen as not fit-for-purpose. Social media influences young people significantly and is a dual force for both good and bad. Research demonstrates alarming issues of mental health and wellbeing amongst young people, which Covid-19 has exacerbated. Those young people who are already marginalised in our societies often experience this more due to systemic disenfranchisement compared to those who are from more privileged backgrounds.

In this proposed virtual session we would share with others what we have done so far and what we are planning to do.

Keywords:

UWC, Education, e-learning, COVID-19, pandemic.