Overcoming Obstacles to Successfully Teach During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Basic Qualitative Study
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2024
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Abstract
COVID-19 presented educators with a quick transition to virtual teaching. The problem was that secondary teachers in southwest Florida had to overcome obstacles, including preparedness, to teach successfully using different modalities during the crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic. Research on this topic is important because teachers’ perceptions will be identified and can help guide future educational decisions. There was a gap in the literature addressing the obstacles teachers had to overcome to teach successfully during the COVID-19 pandemic. A basic qualitative study may provide teachers’ descriptions of the obstacles they had to overcome, the teachers’ perceptions of the changes that can be made to pedagogy to make virtual teaching more impactful, and how overcoming obstacles can help with teacher self-efficacy. The sample was 15 secondary teachers in southwest Florida who were teaching in a brick-and-mortar classroom when the COVID-19 pandemic started. Purposive sampling ensured the potential participants met the criteria needed for the study. A questionnaire was used for demographic data and Interview Protocol was the data instrument. Coding was conducted, and themes emerged from data using Otter software. Key results included teachers having a lower self-efficacy because they did not feel prepared for teaching virtually and felt unprepared to use the tools provided due to lack of training. Educational leaders and higher education institutions may benefit from this study by providing comprehensive professional development that is focused on the pedagogy and tools needed for virtual teaching and the coursework future teachers must complete to prepare them for teaching during adverse events.
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