STEM Instructors' Perceptions of the Impact of Covid-19 on Education Delivery
Abstract
This research sought to explore changes in education delivery due to COVID-19 between January and December 2020. As a result of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2) outbreak which causes Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), many schools in the U.S. closed to reduce the spread of infection. The significance of the delivery of education may be challenged in the preparation of the next generation of leaders (e.g., science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) professionals) in the United States of America and may not have had the widespread attention that it now receives as a result of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Criteria for selecting the settings for this study included instructors in STEM-related disciplines at selected high schools, HBCUs, MSIs, and PWIs. The methodological approach was informed by narrative inquiry qualitative research methodology. From the study findings, there seems to be evidence that during the COVID19 pandemic in 2020, the STEM instructors who participated in this study learned about new technology devices and gained new skills. The STEM educators who participated were P12 and postsecondary STEM instructors. There are strong implications for high school and higher education leadership resulting from this research study, including the imminent need for technology adaptation, mandatory practices of diversified instructional delivery, and the establishment of virtual learning preparedness plans. However, a robust study of a larger sample size is recommended for future research using the ME Model. It appears resourcefulness may be an integral component. While implementing policies to reduce the spread of COVID-19, the quality, and processes for the delivery of educational opportunities via remote learning, notwithstanding the content of delivery and pedagogy, seems to have been placed under a microscopic outcome-based set of analyses. It may be considered fortunate that the global outbreak is occurring at the height of the digital era. Nevertheless, the pandemic seems to have exposed and exacerbated longstanding pre-pandemic weaknesses in the delivery models within the education systems of the 21st century. However, the ME Model conceptualizes through the lens of the 2020 calendar year used as a timeline for the study, may offer a post-pandemic promise of transformational STEM academics. The researcher and research advisor believe the next study should be a longitudinal study that can lead to the development of a 20-year post-pandemic STEM and STEAM Plan. The implications may unleash the genius among our nation’s children through funding models around this study’s findings.
Subject Area
Educational leadership|Educational administration|Education
Recommended Citation
Hailey, Lisa Ellis, "STEM Instructors' Perceptions of the Impact of Covid-19 on Education Delivery" (2022). ETD Collection for Fayetteville State University. AAI29169712.
https://digitalcommons.uncfsu.edu/dissertations/AAI29169712