Date of Award
Spring 5-10-2024
Degree Type
Dissertation/Thesis
Degree Name
Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Secondary and Middle Grades Education
Department
English Education
Committee Chair/First Advisor
Jennifer Dail
Second Advisor
Darren Crovitz
Third Advisor
Anete Vasquez
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic introduced many complications and challenges for educators. There is a need to document and describe teacher experiences during this time to determine common themes that may inform future educational practice. This study utilized narrative inquiry to examine the lived experiences of five secondary ELA teachers during the different phases of the COVID-19 pandemic. Three themes concerning how teachers perceived their students, work demands, and self were identified through several rounds of coding and thematic analysis. The findings and conclusions of this study contribute to developing a shared understanding of what happened in secondary education during the various phases of the COVID-19 pandemic and the implications of those experiences for current and future educational practice. Despite focusing on teacher experience during the pandemic, the findings of this study inform areas of future research into teaching in online and face-to-face contexts.