Publication Date
8-2024
Degree Name
EdD in Global Education
Primary Advisor
Alla Korzh
Second Advisor
Melissa Whatley
Third Reader
Deepa Srikantaiah
Abstract
This qualitative study examines the experiences of public elementary teachers and school leaders to better understand the shifting of educational priorities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants share ideas and practices while taking action steps and making recommendations to improve teaching and learning. The research incorporates both case study and action research approaches through a critical inquiry process that centers the voices of those on the front lines of education. This study contributes to the field of Comparative and International Education (CIE) using the original conceptual framework of Institutional Border Theory of Education (IBTE). IBTE draws on pre-existing foundational theories of education, including Human Capital and Dewey’s and Freire’s theories on education and emerging alternative paradigms based on decolonial theories, Indigenous Knowledges, and the role of education for liberation. IBTE amplifies possibilities rather than focuses on limitations. This framing adds to the narrative of learning gains as juxtaposed to learning losses during pandemic times. Derived from individual and focus group interviews, the findings from this study illuminate educators’ experiences and include: the growing breadth of responsibilities, the challenges with staffing, and the competing and conflicting demands on educators’ time and attention. Participants’ recommendations to improve teaching and learning include: the need to improve communication within schools, with families and the community, celebrate successes and support innovative educational approaches, and build stronger connections with the wider community. Other recommendations involve the recentering of alternative educational approaches (AEAs), a process for clarifying and redefining roles and responsibilities of school-based personnel, the need to partner with community-based organizations (CBOs), and the importance of creating a unifying vision that draws together schools, families, and the community.
Disciplines
Education | Education Policy | International and Area Studies | Political Science | Public Administration | Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration | Public Policy | Social Justice
Recommended Citation
Glickman, Rachel, "Reflecting on, Resetting, and Reimagining Schools in the Post-Pandemic Context: A Case Study in Rural Vermont" (2024). Dissertation Collection. https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/dissertations/8
Included in
Education Commons, Education Policy Commons, International and Area Studies Commons, Political Science Commons, Public Administration Commons, Public Policy Commons, Social Justice Commons