Compassion: the legacy of the pandemic in rural schools and communities

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how rural schools and communities responded to the COVID-19 pandemic through compassionate care.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper provides “compassion narratives” (Frost et al., 2006, p. 851) from five educators (i.e. the authors) working and/or living in rural communities. Each narrative describes how compassion was witnessed and experienced from various professional positions (which include classroom teacher; building-level leader; district-level leader; special services director and school psychologist; and assistant professor of educational leadership).

Findings

The compassion narratives described in this paper demonstrate how various organizations and communities responded to COVID-19 through compassionate care. They also provide a lens for considering how rural schools and communities might sustain compassion in a post-pandemic world.

Originality/value

This paper extends disciplinary knowledge by considering the healing, transformative power of compassion within rural schools and communities – not just in response to COVID-19 but in response to all future adversities.

Citation

Lasater, K., Scales, M., Sells, K., Hoskins, M. and Dickey, J. (2022), "Compassion: the legacy of the pandemic in rural schools and communities", Journal for Multicultural Education, Vol. 16 No. 1, pp. 43-54. https://doi.org/10.1108/JME-08-2021-0151