Maintaining Equitable and Inclusive Classroom Communities Online During the COVID-19 Pandemic
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the effect of the move to online schooling on equitable access to a quality education and found that equity was one of the first casualties of the change, with the most vulnerable students facing disproportionate academic, psychological and social consequences.
Abstract: This paper explores the ways in which face-to-face classroom communities were disrupted and/or transformed by the move to online platforms and the effect of this disruption on equitable access to a quality education. Quality education is defined as engaged pedagogy, where students learn to interact with other students and engage with ideas in a way that promotes their ability to be part of a community while still feeling free to disagree with, critique, and take care of each other. To examine the extent to which such communities were created when schooling migrated online during the pandemic, this paper examines online schooling communities in terms of sense of belonging, trust, shared purpose, and quality of interactions. The analysis of the experiences of 11 teachers in Ontario, Canada, whose face-to-face classes were moved to online formats, establishes that equity was one of the first casualties of the change, with the most vulnerable students facing disproportionate academic, psychological, and social consequences © 2021. This work is licensed under a Creative Co mmons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0)
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14 Apr 2022
TL;DR: The authors examined how participants enrolled in teacher education and childhood studies courses represented their understandings of childhood through a selection of artefacts discussed in focus groups at four sites: Montréal, New York City, Ottawa, and Toronto.
Abstract: This article examines how participants enrolled in teacher education and childhood studies courses represented their understandings of childhood through a selection of artefacts discussed in focus groups at four sites: Montréal, New York City, Ottawa, and Toronto. To situate our inquiry, we theorise nostalgia in relationship to the construction of childhood innocence, with a focus on children’s everyday objects and playthings in upholding this ideal. We further trace the construction of innocence to discourses of social exclusion and defences against difficulty. While participants used their artefacts to represent personal memories and social contexts that disrupted an idealised category of childhood, they also returned to a nostalgic trope of innocence, which was particularly pronounced in their understandings of childhood under COVID-19. We advocate for the creation of time and space for prospective and practicing teachers to mourn the idealisation of innocence and to examine the unequal conditions of vulnerability that both children and teachers live.
2 citations
Journal Article•
TL;DR: In this article, a longitudinal case study follows a new science teacher throughout his first 5 years of teaching in a publicly funded alternative high school and explores the ways in which he reconciled learning to accommodate his professional and personal responsibilities with his ambition to be an activist science teacher.
Abstract: This longitudinal case study follows a new science teacher throughout his first 5 years of teaching in a publicly funded alternative high school. It explores the ways in which he reconciled learning to accommodate his professional and personal responsibilities with his ambition to be an activist science teacher. Framed as a form of professional development, the study examined his beliefs and the ways in which developing and discussing a professional belief web aided in his evaluation of the extent to which he realized his goals. The techniques used in this study have the potential to be used for new teachers’ professional development and the case itself can aid in that endeavour.
2 citations
TL;DR: In this paper , the authors used Max Weber's lifestyle theory to analyze the inequitable experience of the COVID-19 pandemic and explored long-term effects on youths' educational opportunities, health, and well-being.
Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has been an extraordinary moment of uncertainty and rapid transformation. The effects lockdowns had on youths’ mental and physical health, as well as the challenges they posed for young peoples’ learning, were of great concern. It quickly became clear that government responses to COVID-19, in particular regarding the social determinants of health, were not equally experienced across all social groups. This paper adopts an interdisciplinary lens at the intersection of health and education and uses Max Weber’s lifestyle theory to analyze the inequitable experience of the COVID-19 pandemic. We examine most directly social inequities in education during the first wave of COVID-19 and explore long-term effects on youths’ educational opportunities, health, and well-being. We use focus group materials collected from our Spring 2020 study. This study explored how youth were differentially experiencing the pandemic. Participants included 18 youth between the ages of 13 and 18 (11 girls, 7 boys). Participants were stratified by private and public secondary schools and we ran focus groups in which experiences of the pandemic were discussed. Our results show (1) clear differences in early access to education for youth who attended public and private institutions in Quebec during the COVID-19 pandemic; (2) access to the internet and computers offset learning opportunities for students across Quebec throughout the COVID-19 pandemic; and (3) few of the differences experienced during the pandemic were based on youth’s behaviours, or life choices, but rather stemmed from differences in material and structural opportunities, based largely, but not solely, on what type of school the youth attended (public or private). The way in which the COVID-19 pandemic was handled by the Quebec education system deepened existing social inequities in education between private and public school attendees. Given the importance of education as one of the main determinants of health, particularly during transition periods such as adolescence, we must ensure that future policies do not repeat past mistakes.
1 citations
TL;DR: In this paper , a survey of students who had undergone a mid-semester faculty change and interviews with administrators who dealt with personnel issues like this one was conducted, finding that clear communication about expectations, organization of the course materials, and instructor flexibility were key to student success during a teaching disruption.
Abstract: Despite the perceived rarity of mid-semester faculty changes, there is a shortage of literature to guide administrators and faculty on best practices for handing the dilemmas associated with mid-semester faculty changes. This is particularly concerning given the uncertainty of situations like the COVID-19 global pandemic and recent research that finds that future extreme epidemics are likely to happen. This paper seeks to answer two questions (1) What can faculty and administrators do to prepare students who are experiencing a mid-semester faculty change, and (2) What procedures and processes are in place to assist the incoming faculty? Data were collected through a survey of students who had underwent a mid-semester faculty change and interviews with administrators who deal with personnel issues like this one. The data suggest faculty should first meet with students to assess their progress before jumping into an established lesson plan (the opposite of how faculty normally prepare to teach a class). Clear communication about expectations, organization of the course materials, and instructor flexibility was identified as keys to student success during a teaching disruption. These findings align with decades of research on teaching and learning. Administrators should create contingency plans that go beyond the personnel transaction and that help faculty quickly prepare for a transition that is student focused. More research is needed to identify the best administrative processes and procedures to assist faculty in a smooth transition when taking over a course mid-semester.
Received: 14 September 2021Accepted: 29 September 2022
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TL;DR: In this article, the concept of learning community is applied to the virtual classroom by taking on the issue of how best to design and conduct an online course that fosters community among learners who are physically separated from each other.
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231 citations