Teaching and Learning During the COVID-19 Pandemic (original) (raw)

Current Issues in Comparative Education

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Different countries adopted measures to stop the virus's spread and support the various sectors impacted by the emergency, including public and private schooling. Whereas the pandemic presented a significant disruption to teaching and learning, the government's strategies directly affected school system structures, highlighting various inequalities in education provision across the globe. The pandemic has also impacted students, teachers, and families differently. From experiencing the virus or the illness of a loved one and feeling anxiety or fear, to abrupt school shutdowns and food insecurity, school communities felt dire consequences in the new context marked by COVID-19. Moreover, the emergency introduced further educational challenges, such as the abrupt movement of school practices to virtual platforms and unequal access to Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) for learning purposes. Unexpected times called for creative problem-solving: educators, caregivers, and policymakers started developing solutions to tackle the inequalities faced by students, schools, teachers, and families and alleviate the hurdles associated with the pandemic. Considering a world of disruption and possibilities, Current Issues in Comparative Education welcomed submissions on the challenges and opportunities faced by the school community during the COVID-19 and amidst educational inequalities. The 2022 Special Issue assesses how the pandemic has affected schooling and how different individuals, governments, and organizations have responded to the crisis since 2020. The Special Issue is organized into three major sections. In the first one, authors present articles that discuss various perspectives on how the pandemic has affected learning and working from home, graduate students' mental health, and distance and inclusive learning. The discussions also highlight that the disruption resulting from COVID-19 evinced weaknesses already existing in schooling systems and, at the same time, signified an opportunity to reimagine teaching and learning practices. Offering an analysis based on quantitative and qualitative approaches, Frank O. Ely,