Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Kayce Beam

Date

2021

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education

Department

Education

Committee Chair

Wendy Griswold

Committee Member

Edith Gnanadass

Committee Member

William Akey

Committee Member

Eric Platt

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study explored the impact of COVID-19 on the overall educational learning experiences of low-wage working women students during COVID-19 at an off-site campus. A feminist standpoint theory (FST) lens utilizing the community of inquiry (CoI) framework focused on the cognitive, social, and teaching presences describing the spring 2020 semester's change of course modality to online during a global pandemic. The research question that guided the study was: How did COVID-19 impact low-wage, working womens cognitive and social educational experiences while enrolled at an off-site campus?Five women were enrolled in separate courses at a university off-site campus and participated in semi-structured Zoom interviews. Interview data was transcribed and analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis of each womans particular experience. Findings include four themes about a sense of belonging. The first theme included how the shutdown exposed the widening digital divide creating belongingness uncertainty among participants after the shutdown. The second theme evidenced how professors built trust in online classroom climates after modality change. The third theme uncovered the women students functional peer supportive relationships. The fourth theme presented the self-efficacy impact through asynchronous learning. Participants described needs for creating stronger communication networks, paid internships for disadvantaged students, and a practical evaluation of school supplies in the new online learning environment.

Comments

Data is provided by the student.

Library Comment

Dissertation or thesis originally submitted to ProQuest

Download

Share

COinS