ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we attempt to interpret the experience of the COVD-19 pandemic and its limited impact on school education using the comprehensive model of schooling presented in the previous chapter of the book. In order to have a greater, more tangible picture of what actually happened, we use the showcased responses of the Polish and British education systems to the pandemic to demonstrate the two-fold, systemic challenge that school(ing) had to face: firstly, the battle about the pedagogical relationship between teachers and learners; secondly, the systemic functions of school such as allocation and socialisation, which during the pandemic found themselves in a potential jeopardy.
Moreover, the potential changes in the repertoire of teachers' and students' behaviours have been examined based on the experience of the dissemination of distance learning, with their impact on the dynamics of the pedagogical relationship, the assessment regime as well the regionalisation of school.
Finally, in the last part of this chapter, a futuristic imagination attempt has been made by discussing the potential ways forward for schooling in relation to the three key spheres: the organisation of school, the acquisition of key skills and personal traits, as well as selection and social mobility patterns.
