DOI
https://doi.org/10.25772/AEEE-YX83
Defense Date
2023
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
Department
Education
First Advisor
Sharon Zumbrunn
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has presented unique challenges for PK-12 education and exposed educators’ skill deficits. Teachers had to learn new approaches to doing their jobs while navigating the mental, emotional, spiritual, and financial impact of the pandemic on their personal lives. This undertaking was even more demanding for rural school divisions, which tend to lack the resources (e.g., personnel, technology, financial) that suburban and urban school divisions have. Schools reopened in fall 2020 offering fully remote, fully in-person, and hybrid modalities, however, there was no going back to teaching as it was before the pandemic. The present study sought to understand how the pandemic has impacted rural secondary teachers’ current self-efficacy perceptions and factors attributing to those perceptions. Findings indicated that teachers’ self-efficacy perceptions increased as a result of the pandemic and were primarily attributed to their personal efforts and prior personal and professional experiences. The findings also revealed the need for tiered institutional support that meet teachers’ post-pandemic needs.
Rights
© The Author
Is Part Of
VCU University Archives
Is Part Of
VCU Theses and Dissertations
Date of Submission
8-11-2023