Career and technical education high school teachers perceptions of social, emotional, and academic learning in the COVID-19 pandemic during remote and hybrid learning

ABSTRACT

During the COVID-19 pandemic, schools and teachers had to change how they taught overnight. Career and Technical Education (CTE) teachers had a particularly difficult task of shifting their classes to an online format due to the hands-on nature of the courses. This qualitative study examined the perceptions of high school CTE teachers and how their students were impacted socially, emotionally, and academically during the pandemic. The overarching research question that guided this study was "What are CTE teachers' perceptions of how their students were impacted socially, emotionally, and academically during the COVID-19 pandemic?" The research was conducted in the Midwest part of the United States in one suburban high school with CTE teachers. These teachers all taught during the COVID-19 pandemic in a remote and/or hybrid model. The theoretical framework for the research, which helped in making sense of the data, was from Bandura's social cognitive theory and the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) Framework. This study involved virtual one-on-one interviews and a virtual focus group to gather data. The findings from the data resulted in three themes Social Interactions, Emotional Disconnect, and Academic Expectations Shifted. Practical implications from the results of this study provide an overview for school districts on the perceptions of CTE teachers and how students are impacted. It will allow teachers and school leaders to re-evaluate how students access Tier 1 supports in the school. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)