How to cultivate personal learning and professional growth in times of disruption, resistance and collective transformation

The article presents the results of a national study about reactions, feelings and resistance to the changes imposed by the lockdown due to the pandemic of a sample of primary and secondary school teachers. Our hypothesis is that the pandemic unexpected widespread and the consequential lockdown imposed in many countries may be assimilated to:—a traumatic experience (Kendler et al. 2003; Felitti in Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma 10:205–206 2017), with high emotional impact on people mindsets and behaviors, —a collective disorienting dilemma (Journal of Transformative Education 4 (2):123–139 2006. https://doi.org/10.1177/1541344606287503), capable to elicit emotional reactions and increase people’s disposability to learn and adaptability to change if adequately supported. Research questions were: What kind of feelings, reactions and behaviors did school teachers assume during and after the lockdown? How did teachers, faculty, and educational instructors react to the shift from in presence classes to distance learning and which factors were mostly influencing their reactions? What factors are effective in helping them to cultivate their professional development while engaging with these epochal challenges? An on-line survey was designed and administered to more than 400 in-service teachers of primary, secondary and high schools across Italy. 348 teachers completed the survey.