What Post-Pandemic School?

Abstract

The transition to remote learning imposed by social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic affected the lives of students, educators, and families, impacting the teaching-learning process. Besides the psychological effects, the replacement of in-person teaching with remote learning heightened the disinterest of young people in school, which was already losing its political significance, making the lower engagement in distance learning evident. The limited economic conditions of a large part of the population were exacerbated, which increased difficulties in accessing the internet and the media necessary for this adaptation. Our research aimed to listen to young people about their feelings and experiences in the context of the pandemic, as well as the meanings they attributed to school. Qualitative in nature, our research posed a central question about what kind of school they would like to help build in the projection of a post-pandemic context. In the methodology, a hybrid format was employed resulting from the experience of the interdisciplinary groups involved in the investigation, based on focus groups and psychoanalytic conversation, as well as two literature workshops; all techniques always prioritized the circulation of speech among the adolescents. In response to the central question “what post-pandemic school?” effects related to the presence of family during remote classes, the relative lack of the school environment with various consequences, and the deleterious effects of digital exclusion in the pandemic context were observed, which particularly contributed to the increase in school dropout rates.