ABSTRACT
The pandemic. It surprised us all by arriving uninvited in 2020. It took over spaces and places and made us isolated. The restrictions caused by COVID-19 are seen everywhere, also in higher education, where doors were closed, the studies took place online and everyone was working from home, which led to new kinds of challenges. This chapter is based on an autoethnographic research, which examines the experiences of two teacher educators creating and planning compassionate study modules amidst the changed circumstances. We examine in this chapter how we found positive factors in a new situation and subsequently how positive factors can reinforce the resilience of students. Highlighted is that wellbeing does not need to disappear in altered circumstances, but it does require compassion and compassionate language to survive. As such, a compassionate approach became a central element in discovering the new dilemmas of community.
