ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the global impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on education and the ways in which teachers have been at the forefront of coping and responding to the challenges caused by lockdown restrictions.
International reports are used to outline the impact of the pandemic on education from a global perspective and to outline the stark reality of the problems that teachers and educational leaders have had to face. Alongside this is the recognition that the crisis has stimulated multiple innovations within the education sector. Some of these innovations are illustrated by a small-scale study designed to capture examples of teacher improvisations from a range of different contexts across the world. This data is supplemented by other research projects that have investigated the ways in which the educational emergency has provided opportunities for greater teacher autonomy and innovation.
The chapter concludes by examining the lessons that have been learnt from the COVID-19 pandemic and the implications these have for education in general and the role of teachers in the future. These implications are related to the practice and theory of the improvising teacher and they reinforce the need for teachers to have the skills and understanding to improvise and that their autonomy and professional judgement is something that needs to be valued to a greater extent.
