Date of Award

7-2021

Rights

© 2021 Donavon P. Soumas

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Education

First Advisor

Jacqueline Lookabaugh

Second Advisor

Catherine Stieg

Third Advisor

Evelyn J. Thomas

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to discover the lived experiences and perceived organizational support (POS) of school employees’ during the abrupt transition to remote education instruction resulting from a critical incident such as COVID-19. In direct connection, this study’s problem was to fill a gap in the literature regarding school employees’ lived experiences and POS during the abrupt transition to remote education instruction as the result of a critical incident. Organizational support theory and experiential learning theory were the conceptual framework that guided this study. The researcher used semi-structured, one-on-one interviews with 10 school employees at a private, primary through eighth grade school located in the northeast region of the United States. Interview questions were used to explore participants’ POS, perceptions of well-being, and emotions prior to and during the critical incident. Six themes and three sub-themes emerged and provided insight into the study’s research question. The study’s results indicated that participants perceived experiences of organizational support through (1) work experience descriptors, (2) feelings about well-being at work, (3) POS, (4) changes in well-being due to COVID-19, (5) POS due to COVID-19, and (6) emotions during the critical incident. These results significantly aligned with literature on POS and emotional responses during a critical incident. Findings from this study may be useful for school leaders, administrators, and employees in K-12 school systems.

Comments

Ed.D. Dissertation

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