Abstract
Over 2020 and 2021 we have seen significant disruption to schooling across the world as COVID-19 forces school closures. Education sectors migrated to distance learning arrangements and teachers and students primarily communicated through digital means. Under challenging conditions, school leaders and teachers made rapid changes to pedagogy and curriculum to accommodate their students’ diverse range of learning needs. We present an interview drawn from a qualitative study undertaken in Australia to illustrate (from a teacher’s perspective) how a school response to COVID-19 integrates elements of school connectedness during the shift to distance learning. School connectedness is an umbrella term that has been theorised in many different ways. In this article, we illustrate school bonding, attachment, and engagement as three interrelated aspects of school connectedness that came to the fore during lockdown measures associated with COVID-19. Leaders, teachers, students, and school communities benefit from school connectedness. When adversity is experienced, school connectedness can be seen in the relationships between teachers, the commitment to students, and the all-important pastoral support from school leaders. Strong and supportive relationships develop through practices that support school bonding, school attachment, and school engagement.
Highlights
Around the world, countries have responded to the COVID-19 epidemic by closing schools and moving students to distance education
School connectedness can be seen in the relationships between teachers, the commitment to students, and the all-important pastoral support from school leaders
We examine aspects of school connectedness and use an interview to illustrate how a school response to COVID-19 integrates elements of this construct during the shift to distance learning
Summary
Countries have responded to the COVID-19 epidemic by closing schools and moving students to distance education. The principal modelled this ethic by dropping of resources for the families in need Janet said that he created a sense of solidarity among the teaching staff, as they worked together to support the school community. Teachers worked hard to contact the school community in order for students to be provided with the pastoral care they needed Janet said she tried multiple ways to contact families. Janet described how the year-nine advisor had developed a pastoral support group She set up Google Classroom where students checked in with her each day and they could connect with their peers. Janet said that the students in the ‘special class’ she works in come from high trauma backgrounds and they find it hard to engage at school She believes that there are many undiagnosed mental health and undiagnosed medical conditions who find learning at school difficult. We tried our hardest... we’ll just see what it’s all like when they come back and what a divide there is
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