Will the pandemic change schools?

Abstract

Purpose

This essay offers a perspective for practitioners and decision-makers to look beyond short-term recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and consider longer-term consequences that it may have on schools.

Design/methodology/approach

In this essay, I discuss some general observations about education during the pandemic and then provide a perspective to some issues related to educational inequalities and learning from home during the pandemic. The essay is informed by recent media articles and reports of national and international institutions.

Findings

This essay makes three claims: Despite high hopes, there is only a little chance schools will change as a consequence of this pandemic without bold and brave shifts in mindset in how that change happens. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the effects of preexisting social and educational inequalities; fixing these would be an important consequence of the pandemic. During school closures, learning from home has been mostly based on the old logic of consuming information and knowledge rather than creating or cocreating new ideas and solutions to real-life problems.

Research limitations/implications

This is an essay that offers evidence-informed perspectives to current development in education, and it should not be treated as a research-based article.

Originality/value

This essay will contribute to the evolving public conversation and professional debate on the future of school education. It will be part of the series of essays that will support those who are seeking to not just adapt to meet the pandemic but also to step back and consider the medium to longer-term implications.

Citation

Sahlberg, P. (2020), "Will the pandemic change schools?", Journal of Professional Capital and Community, Vol. 5 No. 3/4, pp. 359-365. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPCC-05-2020-0026