TY - JOUR
T1 - Teddy bears, citizenship and un/educational safety in Aotearoa New Zealand during Covid-19
AU - Estellés, Marta
AU - Fischman, Gustavo E.
N1 - Funding Information: This work was supported by the Spencer Foundation [grant number 202200161 ]. Publisher Copyright: © 2023 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2023/4
Y1 - 2023/4
N2 - In this article, we draw on qualitative data from the experiences of five schools during the Covid-19 crisis in Aotearoa, New Zealand, where the word 'safety' has become paramount in educational debates (Sullivan, 2014). The study explores the educational and political tensions created by concerns about safety at schools in these unprecedented times. Our methods for data collection included semi-structured interviews with nine teachers and principals, five focus groups with thirty senior students (16–18 years old), analysis of school public documents, and observational field notes of school settings. Our data shows that an ill-defined idea of safety entered into direct tension with the students' rights to schooling and citizenship. In the focus groups, participants pointed to the tensions between educators' good intentions —creating safer environments—and the imposed restrictions on students to express doubts, voice needs, and make their own decisions in the schools, resulting in fewer learning opportunities to understand a complex social world.
AB - In this article, we draw on qualitative data from the experiences of five schools during the Covid-19 crisis in Aotearoa, New Zealand, where the word 'safety' has become paramount in educational debates (Sullivan, 2014). The study explores the educational and political tensions created by concerns about safety at schools in these unprecedented times. Our methods for data collection included semi-structured interviews with nine teachers and principals, five focus groups with thirty senior students (16–18 years old), analysis of school public documents, and observational field notes of school settings. Our data shows that an ill-defined idea of safety entered into direct tension with the students' rights to schooling and citizenship. In the focus groups, participants pointed to the tensions between educators' good intentions —creating safer environments—and the imposed restrictions on students to express doubts, voice needs, and make their own decisions in the schools, resulting in fewer learning opportunities to understand a complex social world.
KW - Citizenship
KW - Educational opportunities
KW - Safety
KW - Unlearning
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U2 - 10.1016/j.ijedudev.2023.102736
DO - 10.1016/j.ijedudev.2023.102736
M3 - Article
SN - 0738-0593
VL - 98
JO - International Journal of Educational Development
JF - International Journal of Educational Development
M1 - 102736
ER -