The pandemic once again made it clear just how crucial education and teachers are. In addition to problems related to children's mental health and well-being, school closures led to many concerns about learning loss. As a result, governments have started learning recovery programmes, specifically focusing on basic skills such as maths and language.

Citizenship education refers to the aspects of school education intended to prepare pupils to become active citizens, by ensuring that they have the necessary knowledge, skills and attitudes to contribute to the development and wellbeing of the society in which they live.

In this instalment of Education Talks, we are joined by three members of the Working Group on schools of the European Education Area. Tune in to hear their thoughts on how blended learning and school-community partnerships can make schools more inclusive.

We need to attract young teachers into our schools who share a passion for teaching and are committed to their profession. Teachers who will remain in teaching for years to come and who feel that school is the environment where they can develop their careers and make a difference in the lives of their students.

In our latest interview, Xavier Prats Monné, special adviser at ‘Teach For All’, shares his views on school-community partnerships, including challenges school can face in this context and developing collective leadership.

Mentoring usually refers to the process of an experienced person, the mentor, assisting another person, the mentee, in developing specific skills and knowledge that will enhance the mentee’s professional and personal growth. At school level, mentoring opportunities are available for pupils, usually focusing on their educational performance and social-emotional support, and teachers, in the context of initial training or continuous professional development programmes, for example.

Improving schools is a recurring concern for various educational stakeholders. In this article, José Luís Muñoz Moreno from the Autonomous University of Barcelona reflects on the importance of collaboration between schools and communities in this process.

Professor Paul Downes, Director of the Educational Disadvantage Centre, located within Dublin City University’s Institute of Education, recently shared his thoughts on the new European Commission proposal for a Council Recommendation on Pathways to School Success. The document outlines policy measures to address early school leaving and low academic achievement in basic skills.

The psychological impact of the pandemic has highlighted the need for a more caring and compassionate education system to support the social and emotional needs of children and young people. In this article, Carmel Cefai from the University of Malta explains how this topic can be addressed.

Developing more inclusive education systems is increasingly seen as an imperative, but also as a challenge across Europe. Contemporary views of inclusive education see it as ‘an organising principle’ that underpins school structures and processes. Inclusive education gives all learners equal learning opportunities in line with a rights-based approach to education (European Agency, 2018a).