Since the COVID-19 pandemic struck, schools across the world closed, either periodically or over a considerable time. The OECD reports that during this period, globally, over 1.2 billion children were out of the classroom. As a result, schools moved part or all of their curriculum online, teaching remotely via digital platforms. Evidence suggests…

This article reflects the viewpoint of two teachers from two different schools during the pandemic of 2020/21. It outlines the difficulties and differences faced by individual settings and also the achievements. Teaching in this time involved a considerable amount of uncertainty and also the need to adapt quickly to the changing environment whilst…

This paper examines the impact and implications on initial teacher education (ITE) of the crisis brought about by the COVID-19 lockdown of schools and universities from the perspectives of four university providers in England. The start of the pandemic meant that, in England, schools were closed to all but vulnerable pupils and the children of…

This study aims to improve understanding of the design studio as a setting where formal and informal pedagogies intersect. We argue that the informal dimension of learning has an essential but under-acknowledged role in contributing to the development of design students. Our research focuses on students' everyday routines and their associated…

In December 2019, the University of Oxford Language Centre started to offer online courses in French, Spanish, and German at an advanced level. This not only enabled the Language Centre to pilot a new way of Modern Foreign Language (MFL) teaching ahead of the unprecedented 2020 health crisis, but also to open and expand 'Oxford to the world'. The…

Since March 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic has continued to have a considerable impact on education policy and practice across the United Kingdom (UK). The onset of the pandemic has also been characterised by its uncertainty, with education practitioners having little in the way of prior experience to call upon in order to predict future developments…

Since 2017 I have examined the impact of shifting professional practices demonstrated by students of an Artist Teacher MA programme at an English university. Students repeatedly discuss the transformative nature of the course, and through an impact case study I have interrogated the conditions which enable profound changes to occur. Emerging…

White Rose Maths (WRM) commissioned the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) to conduct research to explore evidence that suggested a wider COVID-19 attainment gap in schools in Yorkshire and the Humber region in Autumn 2020, to understand the challenges that schools face, and how recovery in the region can best be supported. This…

This chapter -- as the keynote at the InnoConf in September 2020 -- is set out as a call for action. Following a brief introduction focusing on the wider context of the skills and lifelong learning debate in the UK, the term 'transition' is defined and the commonly known (language education) transition points in the English education system…

The author has drawn on interviews conducted with 24 education professionals in Norfolk to present an overview of teachers' responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. The teachers address the immediate aftermath of school closures from a logistical and emotional point of view. They also discuss the different strategies that schools have adopted for…

For the second time in less than a year, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced schools to close for most children, with the majority of children once again learning remotely. During the first lockdown, research from the Sutton Trust found that children's experiences of remote learning varied substantially across different socio-economic backgrounds.…

The unexpected advent of a global pandemic and, in the UK, as part of the government response to control the spread of the virus, the closure of schools with just 48 hours' notice, meant many English teachers were faced with entirely new pedagogical, curricular and technological demands. This article reflects on the experiences of five English…

The events of September 11th occurred twenty years ago this year. The destruction of the Twin Towers in New York and the attack on the Pentagon represented a key moment in history. While the world had experienced multiple terrorist acts previously, this event exposed the vulnerability of civilian populations in major Western countries to attacks…

The paper suggests ways to benefit student learning online by improving staff training. The paper challenges the assumption that classroom based pedagogy applies to online teaching, with alternative ways that resolve the stress and confusion during the pandemic in the move to permanent blended teaching in the coming year. The paper is the 'front…

The chapter gives the reader insights of teaching Arabic as a foreign language during the consequences of COVID-19. It tackles the outcomes of the spring and summer semesters in 2020 among students of Ningxia, Aarhus, Copenhagen, Cambridge, and Berlin universities. It sheds light upon the challenges faced by students, teachers, and management and…