ERIC Number: EJ1337283
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2022
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1052-2891
EISSN: N/A
So You Say Our Work Is "Essential": Essential Workers and the Potential for Transformative Learning in the Wake of COVID-19 Social and Economic Disruption
Scully-Russ, Ellen; Cseh, Maria; Hakimi, Lily; Philip, Jerry; Lundgren, Henriette; Ralston, D. J.
New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, n173-174 p93-103 Spr-Sum 2022
At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, some US workers became "essential" overnight and were, therefore, ineligible to work from home. Millions of these workers put their lives at risk to keep society functioning. So, why do we undervalue those we cannot live without? This article explores the transformative potential of learning in and about essential work in the wake of social and economic disruptions of a pandemic. We ask, what potential does this current moment hold to repair the western social and economic order predicated on the precarity of essential work? We review human flourishing within a human capabilities approach and borrow feminist's notion of repair work that evokes transformative learning in individuals and society. Finally, we consider how the perspective of "learning to repair" along the spirit of uBuntu and generative Communitas can enhance transformative learning theory and practice.
Descriptors: COVID-19, Pandemics, Transformative Learning, Labor Force Development, Capacity Building, Labor Force, Feminism, Theory Practice Relationship
Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2191/en-us
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A