Enacting Online Instruction Policies During Crisis: Teachers, Equity, and COVID-19

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session 10
  In Roundtable Session: Situating the COVID Educational Response Across Contexts and Stakeholders

Abstract

The paper presents findings from a critical analysis of teachers’ policy enactment during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario, Canada. Grounded in policy enactment theory and based on data collected from focus group interviews with 31 educators, media articles, and policy documents, the findings show teachers believe students’ well-being, fairness to students, and teachers’ mental health should be prioritized during a crisis and that these beliefs influence their instructional decisions under these circumstances. They also indicate that during crises, as in ordinary times, teachers are able to resist policies that negatively impact their students and themselves. Finally, the findings show that differences between students’ resources meant that challenges associated with online instruction were not equitably distributed across student groups.

Authors

• Beyhan Farhadi, York University

• Sue Winton, York University