Can Compassion Provide a Lifeline for Navigating Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Higher Education?

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Bibliographic Details
Title: Can Compassion Provide a Lifeline for Navigating Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Higher Education?
Language: English
Authors: Parfitt, Anne (ORCID 0000-0002-5278-2521), Read, Stuart, Bush, Tanvir
Source: Pastoral Care in Education. 2021 39(3):178-191.
Availability: Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 14
Publication Date: 2021
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Postsecondary Education
Descriptors: COVID-19, Pandemics, Altruism, Higher Education, Disabilities, College Faculty, Foreign Countries, Teacher Attitudes, School Closing, Barriers
Geographic Terms: United Kingdom
DOI: 10.1080/02643944.2021.1952645
ISSN: 0264-3944
Abstract: The Coronavirus pandemic has caused considerable challenges for the higher education sector, leaving many students and staff to experience a sense of liminality as they cope with these challenges. This article, written by three disabled academics based in the UK, reports how during the Coronavirus pandemic, compassion and compassionate spaces could be nurtured when students and staff took the opportunity to recognise their common existence. We share insights from focus groups held with seven disabled academics and learners on their encounters with the pandemic, such as managing the complexities of studying and working from home. We demonstrate that acknowledging and responding compassionately to feelings of vulnerability can offer a lifeline for individuals. Specifically, we propose the application of the social model of disability when seeking to embed compassion in the neoliberal academy. By so doing, the higher education sector can benefit in terms of navigating our extraordinary Coronavirus circumstances, and in building a future inclusive post-pandemic academy.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2021
Accession Number: EJ1313372
Database: ERIC
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Abstract:The Coronavirus pandemic has caused considerable challenges for the higher education sector, leaving many students and staff to experience a sense of liminality as they cope with these challenges. This article, written by three disabled academics based in the UK, reports how during the Coronavirus pandemic, compassion and compassionate spaces could be nurtured when students and staff took the opportunity to recognise their common existence. We share insights from focus groups held with seven disabled academics and learners on their encounters with the pandemic, such as managing the complexities of studying and working from home. We demonstrate that acknowledging and responding compassionately to feelings of vulnerability can offer a lifeline for individuals. Specifically, we propose the application of the social model of disability when seeking to embed compassion in the neoliberal academy. By so doing, the higher education sector can benefit in terms of navigating our extraordinary Coronavirus circumstances, and in building a future inclusive post-pandemic academy.
ISSN:0264-3944
DOI:10.1080/02643944.2021.1952645