Stories in a Pandemic

This study seeks to give voice to how members of the educational community and many other organisations mobilised to support children and young people during the periods of lockdown resulting from the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, transforming daily uncertainty into a struggle for and through comprehensive and inclusive education.

The universe under study is that of the Gulbenkian Knowledge Academies. This Gulbenkian Foundation project predates the pandemic and focuses on supporting the development of Agency, Commitment and Collaboration skills; skills that are arguably fundamental to resisting and growing in a pandemic environment. Consequently, we hope to find in this universe a fertile ground of stories that will allow us not only to make a historical record of what has happened, but also to find clues for proposals for action in the field of education.

Thus, our objectives are: (a) to identify stories of a human nature among subjects from the universe of the Gulbenkian Knowledge Academies that contributed to maintaining the educational process, both in terms of teaching/learning practices focused on cognitive development and in terms of developing cross-cutting skills and the well-being of all those involved; understand the mechanisms used and the different degrees of involvement of the actors; record the initiatives, highlighting student involvement (Agency), solidarity and interdependence (Collaboration), consistency and effort (Commitment) and attention to comprehensive education.