Description

In March 2020, 21 students from 14 countries were in their first year of study towards a Masters of Educational Research at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden. In starting their degree, most had experienced a big transition coming to Sweden, a move made with hopes of immersing in Swedish life, building community and conducting hands-on research.

Then COVID hit, and everything changed. The students learned on their own, engaging only through screens. Their teacher, Sally Windsor, proposed that instead of pressing the pause button on the research projects, they join the World Worth Living In project.

The class became the research participants, leveraged the diverse experience of its members and explored the overarching question – ‘What does it mean to live well in a world worth living in?’

From the rich perspectives of the group, four key elements were identified:

1. connection and basic needs: we need to recognise our interdependence and foster community;
2. social stratification and access: we need equitable access to resources;
3. living slow and in ‘flow’: we need moderation of the pace of life;
4. political engagement: we need to be able to engage in civic and meaningful action.

This was a project that built and maintained a sense of community during a time of isolation and drew on their very vivid experiences of the pandemic in order to understand life and our world more broadly.

Book chapter

This project is described in more detail in Chapter 8, titled Practices and Experiences in Educational Researcher Training: Reflections from Research Students Exploring the Theme, Living Well in a World Worth Living in During the Covid-19 Pandemic , in the book called Living Well in a World Worth Living in for All, Volume 1: Current Practices of Social Justice, Sustainability and Wellbeing.

The authors of this chapter are:

• Sally Windsor (University of Gothenburg, Sweden)
• Amoni Kitooke (University of Gothenburg, Sweden)

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