Addressing the Problems of the ‘New Normal’ thru Professional Development of Teachers
The global pandemic of COVID-19 has had immense disruptive impacts on daily life, complicated as it has already been in many nations. The effect of closing schools and children left at home with almost no access to schooling has been catastrophic for schools, learners and parents. Educational experts predict that an entire year of schooling could be missed, suggesting that a whole class of learners could be forever falling short behind in their schooling.
The problem and its reaction have uncovered vulnerabilities in education structures, thus providing opportunities to reorganize school education into a new model that is more responsive and sustainable. This catastrophe is not the first, or the last, to have an impact on schools. These crises are becoming more possible due to climate change, technical innovation, and globalized accessibility.
The remedy is not a top-down response by decision-makers, proactive improvements in teacher education and in-service education, nor temporary informal arrangements of school heads and staff. All stakeholders need to be active in the production of policies that can be applied both in the short and long term. The conversation at all stages of education is also vital in the development of a coherent strategy to plan for a new reality of education.
There is now a limited window of opportunities to educate from each school and to build a dialog of priorities and needs as we progress into the next step of addressing the post-COVID-19 challenges, recognizing that the future will not be the same anymore. It is also a chance to resolve the restrictions of the school system in many schools that have been hit by the deadly virus.
If schools continue to adapt In-Service Training, school administrators will improve the nature and speed of curriculum reform and commit more time to education. Teachers will now be more conscious of the 'current standard' of teaching and of what it entails in terms of new skills, technology, and instruction.