Testing the resilience of our educational systems

As our educational systems perform in unpredictable contexts, one of the key factors to consider looking forward is their pedagogic resilience (Kinchin and Winstone 2017). Even within largely stable national contexts (such as the UK) political and economic uncertainties (such as Brexit) can have an impact on our educational systems – particularly on their funding. Unfortunately, much more sudden and extreme events such as natural disasters and civil unrest are all too common around the globe, and these can potentially test educational systems to their very core.

An example, documented in the paper in this issue by Collings, Gerrard and Garrill, are the earthquakes that shook New Zealand in September 2010 and then again in February 2011. This paper documents the problem encountered at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch. Damage to teaching facilities and libraries meant that the university had to adopt a ‘plan B’ very quickly. The paper documents how the university coped with this emergency, highlighting the role of technology and the importance of alliances with other institutions in helping to overcome the considerable obstacles presented.

The paper highlights a number of the observable consequences of the earthquakes (the erection of a marquee in the car park to facilitate tutorials), and the evaluation of student outcomes and how they may have been shaped by events. What this paper does not analyse (and there may be an untold story here) is the influence this event had on the staff and the way they worked as a team to ensure that students continued to receive a quality education.

The paper provides an excellent illustration of the importance of single-case studies in the research literature and offers a thought-provoking account of an incident that we all hope we will not have to cope with. But it might be a good idea to consider how our institutions would cope with a disruption in the normal pattern of things, and how we would adapt (individually and collectively) to a shift in our professional circumstances. How would our priorities change, and how important would a shared set of professional values be in helping colleagues work together through such an experience?