Learning in times of COVID-19: Educators, Families and Students, Families, and perspectives (Action Research Proposal) (Research Paper Sample)

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Learning in times of COVID-19: Educators, Families and Students, Families, and perspectives (Action Research Proposal)
Introduction
COVID-19 outbreak heavily increased the global educational gaps. Its novel nature and toxic nature is heavily felt by most educators. The pandemic has affected both the health and education system (Onyema et al. 108). Private and public institutions, including advanced education, universities, schools, and childcare settings, ceased face-to-face teaching and transformed to distanced learning. Distanced learning is the effective preventative strategy precluding the learners from gathering in lecture halls and studios. Similarly, some organizations offering social and cultural and activities were immediately shut down, paralyzing all educational activities. Therefore, the study proposes to examine the extent to which COVID-19 has affected schools and the methodological challenges of analyzing COVID data during the pandemic. The main issues that have initiated this study are adverse impacts observed in the education sector, especially performance issues. The study will also explore the connection between overall school growth and the pandemic.
Statement of the problem
COVID-19 has devastating impacts on the learner's ability which are likely to be long-term and consequential. The crisis has also exacerbated educational inequalities due to school closure. Most of the education systems have become fragile with inadequacy in information sharing. Data analysis during the pandemic has also become an issue with increased learner demotivation and poor academic performance. This study aims to resolve the identified educational problem by understanding the learners' primary experiences.
Goals
* To understand how COVID-19 has impacted the school learning environment.
* To explore the methodological challenges of data analysis during the pandemic.
* To recommend a practical course of action to suit learners' educational health during the COVID-Q9 pandemic.
Research Questions
1 What are the perceptions of learners regarding the change in the school environment due to the COVID-19 pandemic?
2 How do families, especially the parents, cope with work, family life, and learning during the pandemic?
3 What are the methodological challenges in educational processes, research, and learning during the pandemic?
4 What are the perceptions of educators on teacher-learner interaction during distance learning?
5 How is social-emotional development, well-being, and mental health of the learners during the pandemic impacted?
Background of Study
Previous studies indicates how COVID-19 pandemic has impacted learner's educational health and processes. According to Espino-Díaz, closing schools during the pandemic have imposed several challenges to the learners, including depriving them right to study and disrupting learning activities (p.3). The pandemic has made education accessibility challenging with reduced online learning materials. Additionally, there exist cases of unequal access to communication and information technologies. Furthermore, Di Pietro et al. notes that school shutdown during the pandemic heavily interrupted conventional schooling regardless of concerted efforts of the educational community in maintaining learning (p.4). The educators had to adapt to new pedagogical changes, modes, and concepts to deliver quality teaching. However, the transformation has been a huge problem, especially for those in marginalized areas. Most learners are rendered to educational inequalities due to poor engagement and resilience (Di Pietro et al. 5). Therefore, the online transformation has also raised critical issues on the value of education, especially when it comes to online examinations.
The pandemic has also impacted the well-being of the parents, teachers, and students. According to research conducted by Duraku and Linda, approximately 1 575 000 000 students were affected by COVID-19 due to the closure of schools (p.2). Therefore, technology has been incorporated as a suitable measure in addressing the learner's problems. COVID-19 pandemic has also imposed fear and anxiety among learners (Duraku and Linda 2). Parents' mental health plays a crucial role in enabling them assist their school children during the learning processes. Most parents are less equipped with online education activities raising more concerns on the academic value among their children.
Additionally, Duraku and Linda also note that educators have faced many challenges transforming to the online learning process due to inadequate experiences in the field (p.2). Poor utilization of technology is a significant concern in promoting reliable leaner experiences. Lastly, the support provided by critical educational institutions has been aligned towards new policies and online strategies to maintain high learning quality. To address the gap in learning issues experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, this action research proposes to identify, describe, and explore educators, parents, and student's concerns and perspectives regarding the current educational programs. Therefore, most previous works on the topic primarily address the specific experiences that the learners have on online studies with the help of educators and teachers. This study will relate to previous studies on COVID-19 connected to educational engagement and performance.
Description of the Research Context
The study will be conducted from the school population to understand the specific views and experiences of the learners. It will be done at Athens Reinnance School (Pseudonym). A conducive class environment will be created, and data gathered to limit any disruptions. The participants who will be incorporated include students, teachers, and parents. A conducive relationship will be created with the participants to ensure that reliable and adequate data is provided. In ensuring ethical study, the researcher will generate informed consent. The forms will ensure only learners willing to participate and provide their learning experiences during the pandemic are considered. Parents will have to sign the generated consent forms to avoid any ethical issues. Lastly, privacy is an essential tool for every action research. Therefore, assurance to the participants regarding their privacy will be critical to the research. Sanoff notes that privacy is a key in the data collection process. It will be promoted by disposing of all the data and information provided upon completing the study. Security of the information will also be uphold by using different security measures such as information lock systems.
Data Collection and Analysis
A qualitative research design will be applied in data collecting process. A qualitative approach is the most suitable since it provides more descriptive data for answering the research questions (Sanoff). Some of the data to be explored include types of experiences among the students while studying during the pandemic, the challenges educators face while conducting online programs, challenges experienced in data analysis, and parents' challenges while dealing with their school students. The data will be collected using face-to-face interviews. The process is effective since it will provide primary data. Information attained will be analyzed using a thematic approach. This process will enable the researcher to identify common themes such as perspectives among the students. The intensive analysis will be done through comparing the themes. The research will be conducted for four weeks. First week will involve planning, while in