“School as I Knew It Ended:” Middle-Graders’ Perspectives on Learning During the 2020-2021 Pandemic Years

• In Event: Student Perspectives at the Middle Level

Abstract

In this thematic analysis study, the researcher analyzed 34 pandemic personal narratives written by middle-grade authors as part of an eighth-grade language arts unit. Students could write about any aspect of life during the pandemic. Many students chose to write about school and education. Thus, the purpose of this study was to understand how students experienced and wrote about school and education during the 2020-2021 school years. The analysis yielded three key themes: (1) School became disconnected from students’ lives, (2) Students pursued self-designed learning goals, and (3) Teachers must develop equity-centered and trauma-informed pedagogies. This study highlights the need for responsive pedagogies and curricula that connect with students and the realities of their sociopolitical worlds.

Author

• Stephanie F. Reid, University of Cincinnati