Just Try Your Best

Abstract

This chapter reflects on a phenomenological case study focused on southwest early childhood teachers and their experiences working online. As a doctoral student who began research career trajectory online, the author understands classroom stressors both as a teacher and student. The author's doctoral program reinforced teacher educators in research while providing an in-depth view of paradigms, theories, and approaches to reflect on during one's own journey. Since doctoral student researchers in education were, first, largely practitioners in classrooms, these researchers understand. This teacher's reflexive ethnography draws on teacher lived experiences throughout a qualitative case study in a pandemic world. The author strives to encourage the development of research through the author's own ongoing researcher identity. Comparisons of the author's doctoral teacher educator experience in an online doctoral program, teacher and the experiences of teacher practitioners during and post COVID-19 will be highlighted. The author's experiential background, how it informs the author's interpretation of the studied information, and what the author has gained will be conveyed.