Professional Experience in Times of COVID-19

ABSTRACT

This study examined the preparedness and capabilities of pre-service teachers in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic when many schools were teaching online. The university curriculum was adapted to enable pre-service teachers to explore suitable pedagogies to not only teach remotely but to engage their students using contemporary technology-based learning materials. The school in this study was in a low socio-economic area with diverse students, many with a language back-ground other than English. This study was thus positioned at the intersection of what is known as trauma-informed education, professional learning and the resilience of both practising and pre-service teachers. The study used a case-study method-ology with data collected from online surveys and group interviews on Zoom. The participants were pre-service teachers from the university and staff, including super-vising teachers, from the school. The data from both the surveys and the group inter-views were analysed thematically, guided by a theoretical framework addressing the intersection of resilience, trauma-informed education, and professional learning. Resilience in coping with the unusual classroom context was enhanced by the smaller number of students in class;the greater range of life experiences of the more mature pre-service teachers;and the skills and experience of the school's teachers to support and mentor the pre-service teachers. The guidance provided by the university in conjunction with the experience of the school's teachers enhanced the pre-service teachers' ability to manage trauma-affected students. The greatest source of trauma was when students who were learning remotely returned to school as they struggled to catch up on work missed and the mental-health issues that resulted. Pre-service teachers stated that as a result of the combination of the adapted university course work and the practical learning during professional experience their preparedness was significantly enhanced. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023, corrected publication 2023.