Intercambio No.17

PUBLIC EDUCATION IN TIMES OF PANDEMIC

INTRODUCTION

In 2020, the Initiative for Democratic Education in the Americas (IDEA Network) hosted a series of webinars called “Public Education in Times of Pandemic” with the objective of analyzing the impact of the crisis on public education. We also wanted to contribute to a discussion on alternatives to the changes that COVID-19 has produced and that have had a serious impact on education. We hoped to make space for reflection on the kind of public education that we will need in a post-pandemic world.

The final webinar looked at the big questions like “What will education be like in the new period?” After the pandemic (or maybe between pandemics), and in the middle of a new economic crisis, “What is next for public schools?” “What type of public education does society need?” “What kind of teachers and students do we require in this new period?”

In this edition, the reader will find contributions with diverse perspectives that locate the state of public education in the Americas in the context of the increased involvement of corporations in education. In virtual platforms these companies have found a new way to exploit work, a space in which to control content and an opportunity to advance the privatization and commercialization of education. However, resistance and emerging actions are brewing on the continent in defense of education and labour rights in a post-pandemic world.

Year 11, No. 17, November 2021