An International Study of the Cultural and Spatial Politics of Education During the COVID Pandemic

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

Researchers from 5 countries (Great Britain, Greece, Kenya, Sweden, and the United States), report on their cross-national exploration of the challenges associated with educating children and youth amidst the on-going COVID global pandemic. This session focuses on 1) the experiences of students, teachers and administrators from the start of COVID to the present; 2) the implications of these experiences for a) preparing educators to respond to the academic and social needs of students within an increasingly unpredictable, complex, and interconnected global context and b) redefining the role of schools, families and communities with respect to the delivery of learning; and 3) an exploration of the concepts of cultural and spatial politics as a useful framework for interpreting the research findings.

Sub Unit

• World Education Research Association

Chair

• Khalid Husny Arar, Texas State University

Papers

• Lessons From Lockdown. The Experiences of Students, Teachers, and Administrators: U.K. Perspectives - Tony Breslin, University of York

• Mind the "Gap": The COVID Pandemic and the Reproduction of Inequalities in Education in Greece - Birgul Yilmaz

• The COVID-19 Pandemic and the Changing Role of the School in Society: A Case Study of Kenyan Schools - Lucy A. Wakiaga, Tangaza University College

• Education in Sweden During the COVID Pandemic: What Happened and What Remains to Be Done! - Olof CA Johansson, Umeå universitet; Helene K. Arlestig, University of Umeå

• Education in Illinois During COVID: Trying to Maintain a Clear Vision - Martha Zurita

• The Cultural and Spatial Politics of Education in Texas During the COVID Pandemic - Betty M. Merchant, University of Texas - San Antonio; Juan Manuel Nino, University of Texas - San Antonio