Routledge International Handbook of Schooling in Times of Crisis

This Handbook brings together diverse international perspectives on the ways in which contemporary schooling and school communities can respond to crises, including natural disasters, pandemics, economic and social upheaval, war, crime and conflict. It is imperative for education policymakers, leaders, teachers, students and community members to understand the important role that schools can play in building community resilience during times of crisis.

The book provides a rich array of empirical and conceptual tools developed by researchers working in international contexts with schools and communities across six continents to build resilience, mitigation and adaptation strategies for multiple different crises. There are three main themes. The first consists of nuanced definitions and conceptual tools for schooling and crisis. The second details multiple accounts of schooling and crisis across different contexts and challenges. The final presents a detailed set of practical strategies for education policymakers, school leaders, teachers, students and communities to consider adapting to their own contexts.

Easy to navigate and engaging for the reader, this Handbook will be of interest to educational researchers, including higher degree research students, working with communities in diverse contexts across the globe.

Naomi Barnes is a researcher interested in how political actors perform and respond to crises. With a specific focus on moral panics, she has focussed on education politics in Australia, the US and the UK. Naomi is regularly asked to comment on how Australian teachers should respond to perceived threats to Australian nationalism, identity and democracy.

Stewart Riddle is Professor in the School of Education and Creative Arts at the University of Southern Queensland, Australia. His research examines the democratisation of schooling systems, increasing access and equity in education and how schooling can respond to critical social issues in complex contemporary times.

Bridget Hughes is an Australian Indigenous woman and educator who has worked across various educational settings for over 20 years. Her research explores the concepts of collective and social impact in relation to programmes and services affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. She now applies these concepts to examine how they are operationalised in both education and health contexts.

Joanne Hughes is Head of the Department of Education and Director of the Centre for Shared Education at the School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work, Queen’s University, Belfast, Northern Ireland. She holds UNESCO Chair in Shared Education for Peacebuilding and Social Justice in Education, and her main research interest is in the role of education in divided societies.

Brian Beabout is the author of 16 peer-reviewed journal articles, 9 book chapters and 2 edited books. Much of his work tracks the last two decades of school reform in Post-Katrina New Orleans. His research focusses on community engagement in contexts of school choice, the unintended consequences of educational reform and urban school leadership.