“On the educational research agenda, it is now more important than ever to understand how students, teachers, administrators, and supervisors managed to mitigate the serious consequences of the risky and unexpected situations we had to navigate,” said Dr. Denise Vaillant, dean of the Institute of Education at the Universidad ORT Uruguay and a member of the Board of Directors of the Ceibal Foundation.
While he noted that “it is still too early to have conclusive evidence” regarding how resilient education systems have been in the face of the events of recent years, he indicated that it is necessary to look ahead to the post-pandemic era and reflect on the lessons learned from the global crisis, particularly regarding the role of teachers and school administrators.
“Which practices are here to stay? Which lessons learned in schools have been adopted? What capabilities have school administrators and teachers developed to respond to adverse situations?” asked Vaillant in the article“Resilient Education Systems: The Role of Research,”published in volume 3, issue 5 of the journal +Aprendizajes.
Today, we have the opportunity to explore the changes that are taking root and, in particular, the most relevant practices and policies that can inspire and support the design of an education system with even greater capacity for adaptation and transformation in the face of adverse circumstances.
“The pandemic has forced educators to grapple with uncertainty, which can be overwhelming when they lack the support and tools needed to identify all the possible consequences in a volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous environment like the one we are experiencing today,” Vaillant said.
For that reason, he believed that research plays a vital role in fostering a “better understanding of teaching practices that ensure positive, effective, efficient, and student-centered school leadership.”
“Crises come to an end and leave lessons that we must build on in the future,” he concluded.