Year of struggle: reflections on secondary education in Norfolk through the pandemic
FORUM - ISSN 0963-8253
Volume 63 Number 3 (2021)
Year of struggle: reflections on secondary education in Norfolk through the pandemic
Dena Eden pages 28-36
DOI: 10.3898/forum.2021.63.3.04
Abstract
This is a companion-piece to my account (published in FORUM 62/3) of how the Covid-19 pandemic affected teachers in Norfolk schools. I give a brief overview of the past academic year, then draw on interviews with 21 secondary teachers to highlight certain general themes, before considering particular characteristics of each of the past three terms. Finally, I present teachers’ overall reflections. The experiences of staff I interviewed seem to exemplify certain general aspects of teaching through the pandemic: of intensified workload, pressures relating to caring for students, and recognition of the ways in which the pandemic exacerbated existing social and educational inequalities. Staff responses suggest that the discourse presented in parts of the media about a ‘lost generation’ of students is particularly misleading and unhelpful.
To cite this article
Dena Eden (2021) Year of struggle: reflections on secondary education in Norfolk through the pandemic, FORUM, 63(3), 28-36. https://doi.org/10.3898/forum.2021.63.3.04