Remote continuity of learning and the COVID-19 pandemic: educators self-perceptions of preparedness

Abstract

In February 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic upended education systems as schools suspended in-person instruction and transitioned to remote learning to mitigate the spread of the disease within their communities. As school systems implemented remote learning, we sought to examine differences in teacher and educational leader self-perceptions of preparedness for remote continuity of learning and communicating with stakeholders, factors contributing to preparedness, and recommended needs in future educational leadership preparation. We used a survey design to complete this research by distributing the Self-perceptions of Preparedness for Remote Continuity of Learning Instrument (SPRCLI) © to a convenience sample of teachers and educational leaders enrolled in a graduate-level educational leadership program. Eighty teachers and 15 educational leaders completed the SPRCLI © survey. Analysis indicated differences in self-perceptions of preparedness to communicate with stakeholders with educational leaders demonstrating higher perceptions of communication preparedness. Contributing factors for preparedness for remote continuity of learning included colleagues, professional development, prior technology experience, and experiences with online learning. Participants recommended future educational leadership preparation include professional development and coursework on digital applications, best practices for remote learning, and development of school plans for remote continuity of learning. This study contributes to an understanding of teacher and educational leader preparedness for remote learning at the start of the COVID-19 crisis.

Organizational preparedness domains and indicators of educational organizations for students with disabilities in pandemic times: A scoping review

“…In being as comprehensive as possible in the identification of primary evidence of the practicalities of time and funding constraints (Kenny et al, 2013), several systematic reviews on preparedness in educational organizations in crisis times were screened beforehand to identify key search words used (Weiner et al, 2008;World Health Organization (WHO), 2011;Javed and Niazi, 2015;Staupe-Delgado and Kruke, 2017;Patel et al, 2020;Begičević Ređep, 2021;Carrión-Martínez et al, 2021;Ceballos et al, 2021;ElSaheli-Elhage, 2021;Giannouli et al, 2021;Guterres, 2021;Keskin et al, 2021;Khanal et al, 2021;Kundu and Bej, 2021;Montanari et al, 2021;Ng et al, 2021). These keywords were pooled, systematized, and added to the key search terms of the current research.…”

“…Although often the failure of a policy, implementation is attributed to local factors; in the case of the pandemic, the "interested citizenry" along with the "committed teachers" materialized the need for further policies inspired by "best practices" implemented globally (Goldschmidt, 2020). Ceballos et al (2021) highlighted the role of school leaders and their level of readiness to change potential as well as real risks and their strategic responses to these changes along with leadership (personal and professional) qualities such as their emotional stability at a time of intensive social change.…”

Innovations in Education System: Management, Financial Regulation and Influence on the Pedagogical Process

“…The study's relevance is beyond doubt since success lies in constant improvement. The crisis phenomena that are increasingly manifested in society, such as the current COVID-19 pandemic, are forcing educational institutions to introduce new technologies and radically change the toolkit (Ceballos et al, 2021;Nikou & Maslov, 2021). The article aims to develop recommendations for improving universities' innovation management and financial regulation.…”