A Way out of the "New Normal": The International Community Dealing with the Pandemic and Eartquakes

master's thesis

• Title (croatian): Izlazak iz ‘novog normalnog’: suočavanje međunarodne zajednice s pandemijom i potresima
• Author: Jelena Horvat
• Mentor: Kristina Cergol (mentor)
• Committee member: Ivana Cindrić (predsjednik povjerenstva)
• Committee member: Alenka Mikulec (član povjerenstva)
• Committee member: Kristina Cergol (član povjerenstva)
• Granter: University of Zagreb; Faculty of Teacher Education; Zagreb
• Defense date and country: 2023-09-19, Croatia
• Scientific / art field, discipline and subdiscipline: SOCIAL SCIENCES; Pedagogy; School Pedagogy
• Scientific / art field, discipline and subdiscipline: SOCIAL SCIENCES; Pedagogy; Early Childhood and Preschool Pedagogy

Abstract

The word pandemic, by one of its many definitions, derives from the Greek pan, which means “all”, and the word demos, which means “the people”, therefore it often refers to “a widespread epidemic of contagious disease throughout the whole of a country or one or more continents at the same time.” (Honigsbaum, 2009, Perspectives, p. 1939) “An earthquake is a shaking of the earth. It may vary in intensity from a shaking so feeble that it requires the use of a delicate instrument to detect it, to a shaking violent enough to overthrow heavy buildings, and even to make great rents or fissures in the crust.” (Huston, 1907, p. 219) A pandemic and an earthquake are two phenomena that, when occurring separately, have a big impact on humanity, let alone when they come about at the same time.
The aim of this study was to investigate how can an international community find its way out of the ‘new normal’ that was caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and two earthquakes that hit Croatia in the year 2020. The focus of the study was to find out how the American International School of Zagreb (hereinafter AISZ) deals with the situation of the virus pandemic, and what steps have been put in place to prepare the AISZ community for an earthquake.
The participants involved in this study were the school admin and teaching staff who participated in semi-structured interviews.
The results show that AISZ managed to navigate through these difficult times successfully thanks to many different factors. Some of those were: having a crisis team that was able to make quick decisions based on local and global connectedness; adjusting existing and creating new health and safety guidelines that would best suit the current situation; maintaining transparent and timely communication with both staff and parents; uninterrupted program delivery, and other.
The main conclusion of the study is that we are all in this together; therefore, we can navigate through difficult times if we stay connected, supportive, and adaptable.

Abstract (croatian)

Riječ pandemija, prema jednoj od mnogih definicija, potječe od grčke riječi pan, što znači “sve”, i riječi demos, što znači “narod”, pa se često odnosi na “rasprostranjenu epidemiju zarazne bolesti u nekoj zemlje ili na jednom ili više kontinenata u isto vrijeme.” (Honigsbaum, 2009, Perspectives, p. 1939) “Potres je podrhtavanje zemlje. Može varirati u intenzitetu od toliko slabog podrhtavanja da zahtijeva upotrebu osjetljivog instrumenta da ga se otkrije do podrhtavanja dovoljno snažnog da sruši teške zgrade, pa čak i da napravi velike rupe ili pukotine u kori.” (Huston, 1907, str. 219) Pandemija i potres dvije su pojave koje, kada se dogode odvojeno, imaju veliki utjecaj na čovječanstvo, a kamoli kada se dogode u isto vrijeme.
Cilj ovog istraživanja bio je ispitati kako međunarodna zajednica može pronaći izlaz iz 'novog normalnog' koje su uzrokovale pandemija COVID-19 i dva potresa koja su pogodila Hrvatsku 2020. godine. Fokus istraživanja bio je proučiti kako se Američka međunarodna škola u Zagrebu (u daljnjem tekstu „AISZ“) suočava s pandemijom te koji koraci su poduzeti kako bi se AISZ zajednica pripremila za potres.
Sudionici ovog istraživanja bili su članovi školske uprave te odgojitelji i učitelji koji su sudjelovali u polustrukturiranim intervjuima.
Rezultati istraživanja pokazuju da je AISZ uspio uspješno upravljati izazovima pred kojima se našao, a sve to zahvaljujući sljedećem: posjedovanju tima za krizne situacije koji je donosio brze odluke zbog dobre lokalne i globalne povezanosti, prilagodbi postojećih i izradi novih zdravstvenih i sigurnosnih smjernica koje su najbolje odgovarale trenutnoj situaciji, održavanju transparentne i pravovremene komunikacije sa školskim osobljem i roditeljima, nesmetanom održavanju nastave te ostalom.
Glavni zaključak istraživanja je da smo svi ranjivi kada smo izloženi teškim vremenima i situacijama te, kako bismo što bezbolnije izašli iz takvih situacija, važno je ostati povezan s drugima, međusobno si pružati podršku te biti prilagodljiv.

• Keywords: pandemic; earthquake; international community; AISZ
• Keywords (croatian): pandemija; potres; međunarodna zajednica; AISZ
• Language: english
• URN:NBN: urn:nbn:hr:147:204809
• Study programme: Title: Graduate University Study of Early and Preschool Education; Study programme type: university; Study level: graduate; Academic / professional title: magistar/magistra ranog i predškolskog odgoja i obrazovanja (magistar/magistra ranog i predškolskog odgoja i obrazovanja)
• Type of resource: Text
• File origin: Born digital
• Access conditions: Access restricted to students and staff of home institution
• Created on: 2024-01-15 13:01:01