Date of Award

Spring 5-7-2022

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Division of Education and Counseling

First Advisor

Ramona Jean-Perkins, Ph.D.

Second Advisor

Renée Akbar, Ph.D.

Third Advisor

Jimmy Caldwell, Jr, Ph.D.

Keywords

Covid-19, teaching, remote instruction, natural disasters, Schlossberg's Transition Theory

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate how school closures resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic impacted school educators who teach in Title I schools serving minority students located in a southern region of the United States. Due to the swift nature of the COVID-19 pandemic and the massive impact on many communities’ health and well-being, government officials moved quickly to close schools. Teachers, much like everyone else, had little voice in the launch of remote learning, expectations of remote teaching, or how to best support students and families during a global pandemic. Educators had to rely on their skills and knowledge to launch remote instruction. There was limited formal guidance for teachers, leaving much of the teaching force disarmed. This qualitative phenomenological study explored teachers’ lived experience as they transitioned from face-to-face teaching to remote teaching. Schlossberg’s Transition Theory (1984) provides a theoretical framework that helps to better understand the critical aspects of the experience of transition. Data were collected through interviews, focus groups, and field notes. The data were then coded using Delve, a coding software used in qualitative research to analyze information and identify themes. Results from this study are beneficial in creating a structure to address teacher concerns and set up a mechanism for the inevitable occurrences such as natural disasters that results in the immediate shift to remote learning.

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