Navigating Teaching and Learning After Natural Disasters: A Case of Bahamas Teachers

• In Event: Highlighted Session: Navigating Education in Crisis and Conflict: Teachers and Social Change

Proposal

Thomas (2017) argued that no matter a country’s advancement in education or economy, natural disasters impact every sphere of life, including the education sector, and teaching and learning activities. Several studies have highlighted numerous challenges to teaching and learning in regions hit by natural disasters, such as limited access to bandwidth, physical conditions that are non-conducive for learning, and a lack of information technology infrastructure (Piryonesi & El-Diraby, 2021). However, Dahl and Millora (2016) argued that literature “on natural disasters has largely ignored individual learning” and its consequences for teaching and learning practice (p. 649). Therefore, our study aims to explore the impact of natural disasters on learning in disaster-prone regions from an adult learning perspective. We focused on teachers and administrators to better understand how they make sense of the disruptions caused by natural disasters and how they navigate these disruptions. This study specifically focused on transformative aspects of adult learning in a region impacted by natural disasters. This study will contribute to the existing literature on transformative learning and help teachers and administrators be better prepared to deal with the impact of natural disasters on teaching and learning activities.

Conceptual Framework

We used Transformative Learning Theory (TLT) by Mezirow (1978, 1991) as our basic framework and supplemented it with Hoggan (2016)’s typology of transformation. Hoggan's (2016) typology of transformation offers a structured framework to examine the experiences of adults in the Bahamas within the context of transformative learning. The categories of worldview shifts, capacity-building, values/beliefs, ontology self-concepts, epistemology, and behavior provide a systematic approach to analyzing and understanding individuals' transformative processes when confronted with natural disasters and climate change. By employing Hoggan (2016)'s typology within the overarching framework of transformative learning, we can explore how teachers and administrators in the Bahamas undergo shifts in their perspectives, develop new capacities, redefine their values and beliefs, reconceptualize their sense of self and knowledge, and exhibit changes in their behaviors and actions.

Research Design

We used a qualitative exploratory case study for data collection. We selected Bahamas as our research site and case because the country's geographic location and susceptibility to natural disasters make it an ideal case study for understanding the impact of these events on adult learning. The study used purposeful snowball sampling to gather data, as suggested by Grossoehme (2014). The study focused on the experiences of 10 teachers from the Northern Bahamas who taught before, during, and after a natural disaster. The eligibility criteria required the teachers to have direct teaching experience during all three phases. The study received approval from an Institutional Review Board (IRB) for the interview protocol, ensuring ethical considerations were met. Interested teachers in the Northern Bahamas were invited to participate in the study. Out of the 15 invited teachers, ten chose to participate, forming the final sample for the study. The participants were two male and eight female teachers, and their age ranged from 30-49 years. All the teachers interviewed held a bachelor's degree or higher. They had teaching experience from 7-15 years at primary, secondary, or high school. The subjects they taught included English, Mathematics, Health Science, General Science, and Biology. The participants represented different regions of Bahamas such as New Province, Grand Bahama, and Long Island. All the participants were assigned pseudonyms for the study.
The researchers conducted semi-structured interviews for approximately one hour with each research participant. An Institutional Review Board (IRB) approved the interview protocol, and the researchers obtained the interviewee's consent before the interview process using the consent forms. All the interviews were conducted via Zoom during May and June 2023. During the interviews, the team of interviewers took notes to document the details and responses provided by the teachers. These notes captured vital points, quotes, observations, and relevant interview information.
After the interviews were conducted, the research team transferred the recorded details from the interview notes onto a designated data sheet or template. Subsequently, the team uploaded the recorded details to a qualitative data analysis software called NVivo. NVivo is a commonly used software tool for managing, organizing, and analyzing qualitative data, allowing researchers to code, categorize, and explore patterns within the data (Røddesnes et al., 2019). NVivo facilitated the data analysis and interpretation process.

Findings

This study explored teachers' experiences in the Bahamas before, during, and after natural disasters. The preliminary findings shed light on teachers' challenges in such circumstances and highlighted their resilience, adaptability, and commitment to providing education amidst adversity. The implications of these findings extend to both theoretical understanding and practical considerations.
The study contributes to the existing literature by exploring teachers' experiences in the Bahamas, a region prone to natural disasters. The findings align with theoretical perspectives on transformative learning, as teachers demonstrated shifts in their worldviews, self-concepts, and capacity-building in response to the challenges faced. This study adds to the growing body of research on the role of education in disaster resilience and highlights the unique context of the Bahamas.
The identified themes of challenges faced during natural disasters underscore the need for comprehensive disaster preparedness plans in educational institutions. These plans should include strategies to mitigate the impact on school infrastructure, ensure resource availability, and support teachers' emotional well-being. By addressing these challenges, educational institutions can strive to maintain a stable learning environment and minimize student education disruptions.
The findings also emphasize the importance of teacher support systems during and after natural disasters. Providing teachers with adequate resources, training, and mental health support can enhance their ability to cope with the emotional toll of such events and foster their overall well-being. Additionally, the identified adaptive strategies employed by teachers during natural disasters provide valuable insights for teacher training programs, highlighting the need for ongoing professional development that equips educators with the skills and knowledge to navigate challenging circumstances.

Authors

• Sara Bano, Michigan State University

• Fredricka Romona Romona Saunders, North Dakota State University

• Isaac Mensah

• Frank Antwi Boasiakoh, North Dakota State University

• Amjad Barayan, North Dakota State University