From the plague of Justinian to covid-19: a historical analysis of the impacts of pandemics on education

Abstract

Pandemics have been a terrible reality in history, responsible for transformations in the economic, social and educational spheres. That being said, we sought to discuss how different pandemics, such as the plague of Justinian, the black plague, smallpox in the 16th century, the Spanish flu and the most recent, Covid-19, have fostered transformations in the realities and educational contexts of each era. Due to its proximity to our social context, we focus on the Covid-19 pandemic, seeking to understand the social situation before its spread, marked by the expansion of psychological illnesses, resulting from a society tired of the hypervaluation of performance and personal income. Methodologically, based on bibliographical research, we established a dialogue with articles and books dealing with the subject. We concluded that education, as a process intrinsic to its reality, is very much affected by the changes generated by pandemics, while at the same time it is fundamental for dealing with them.