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Comparing Teacher Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic in Venezuela and the United States

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Comparing Teacher Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic in Venezuela and the United States University of Central Florida STARS Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020- 2021 Comparing Teacher Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic in Venezuela and the United States Maria Spinetti Rincon University of Central Florida Part of the Early Childhood Education Commons Find similar works at: https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd2020 University of Central Florida Libraries http://library.ucf.edu This Masters Thesis (Open Access) is brought to you for free and open access by STARS. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020- by an authorized administrator of STARS. For more information, please contact [email protected]. STARS Citation Spinetti Rincon, Maria, "Comparing Teacher Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic in Venezuela and the United States" (2021). Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-. 563. https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd2020/563 COMPARING TEACHER RESPONSES TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN VENEZUELA AND THE UNITED STATES by MARIA P. SPINETTI RINCÓN B.S. University of Central Florida, 2019 A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in the School of Teacher Education in the College of Community Innovation and Education at the University of Central Florida Orlando, Florida Spring Term 2021 Major Professor: Judit Szente ABSTRACT The COVID-19 Pandemic has impacted the entire world. Teachers have been challenged throughout this time to adapt their teaching practices amidst a constantly changing environment. The purpose of this study was to answer the research questions: (1) how did teachers’ responses to the COVID-19 pandemic vary between the United States and Venezuela? And (2) what do teachers perceive they need to better support children in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic? This research used an interpretive, case study approach through kindergarten teacher interviews and curricula analysis. Teachers were included in the study if they had taught for more than five years and less than 15; served between 15 and 30 children in their classrooms during the pandemic; were lead teachers during the pandemic; and had a bachelor’s degree in education. To respond to the pandemic, teachers experienced changes between the initial response and subsequent teaching approaches, they acquired new skills, used different forms of technology, were influenced by students’ ages, had challenges with the home environment, found support from families, had to provide support to families, they required support, utilized school resources, and developed COVID-19 safety measures. Teachers in both countries had to provide increased support for children’s wellbeing, but, in Venezuela, teachers had a stronger academic emphasis. To support children beyond the pandemic, teachers from both countries spoke about requiring materials, professional support, and comprehension from administrators towards their work. Teachers from both countries demonstrated low concerns about the future of young children. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I want to thank my family for their continuous support. Mami you listened to me when I needed you the most and you helped me to connect with schools. Papi you helped me throughout my entire master’s and allowed me to find the one teacher I was missing. Thank you, Eduardo, for listening to me and helping me make sure I could go into graduate school. Thank you, Jesus, for pushing me and knowing how to cheer me up. Thank you to all the fantastic teachers that took an hour of their time to meet with me. The work that you have continued to do amidst a pandemic is exceptional. Your passion was present all throughout your interviews. Thank you to the amazing professors that helped me through this process. Thank you, Dr. Judit Szente, for inspiring this project through your work and for helping me think beyond what I was envisioning. To my committee members, Dr. Macy, Dr. Biraimah, and Dr. Leon. Your continuous support was beyond what I expected. Learning from you, and the work that you do, has been a privilege. Thank you to my amazing research assistant, Eugenia. Without you I wouldn’t have been able to complete the thesis on time. Thank you for giving your time to help in some of the most tedious tasks and for lending your brain to ensure that I didn’t miss anything. Thank you to all my friends that had to constantly hear about my project and to all the people that helped me find teachers to interview. Thank you to all my friends that attended my proposal and thesis defense. You know how much this project means to me and you were there to support me. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................... 1 Background ................................................................................................................................................ 1 Problem Statement ................................................................................................................................... 4 Purpose of the Study ................................................................................................................................. 5 Research QuestIons ................................................................................................................................... 5 Need for the Study .................................................................................................................................... 6 SIgnifIcance of Study ................................................................................................................................. 7 DefInItIon of Terms and Acronyms............................................................................................................ 9 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................................................... 11 TheoretIcal Framework ........................................................................................................................... 11 ComparatIve EducatIon ........................................................................................................................... 12 Early Childhood EducatIon NatIonal Contexts ........................................................................................ 13 United States ...................................................................................................................................................... 13 Venezuela ........................................................................................................................................................... 14 Technology in Early Childhood EducatIon ............................................................................................... 16 EducatIon in EmergencIes ....................................................................................................................... 19 COVID-19 PandemIc NatIonal Contexts .................................................................................................. 21 iv United States ...................................................................................................................................................... 21 Venezuela ........................................................................................................................................................... 23 CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................ 25 Research DesIgn ...................................................................................................................................... 25 Sample ..................................................................................................................................................... 26 Independent VarIable .............................................................................................................................. 27 Dependent VarIables ............................................................................................................................... 28 Instruments ............................................................................................................................................. 28 Data CollectIon ........................................................................................................................................ 29 Data AnalysIs ........................................................................................................................................... 29 AssumptIons ............................................................................................................................................ 29 LImItatIons ............................................................................................................................................... 30 DelImItatIons ........................................................................................................................................... 30 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS..................................................................................................................... 31 Demographics .......................................................................................................................................... 31 Research Question 1: How Did Teachers’ Responses to the COVID-19 PandemIc Vary Between the United States and Venezuela? ...............................................................................................................
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