Pandemic Thrivers: Investigating Thriving Teachers’ Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes During the First Two Years of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Researchers: Dr. Judy Jaunzems-Fernuk and Ivy Armstrong
August 2023
With this case study, we propose interviewing up to five teachers from one Saskatchewan school division who describe themselves as having thrived throughout the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. We will also ask those connected to these ‘pandemic thrivers,’ including their administrators, colleagues, students, and students’ families, to participate in an anonymous survey aiming to glean data on the knowledge, skills, and attributes of the thrivers. By looking to thriving educators, this study aims to understand strategies and skills that may inform leaders and educators who may be struggling, however, wish to remain in the profession for years to come. Research around teacher efficacy, maintained throughout a pandemic, may inform supports, habits, strategies, and ideas that can help preserve well-being during times of extreme difficulty in the profession. The results of this work will be situated amongst research on teacher attributes, efficacy, and resiliency, which are known factors in student efficacy and achievement in schools (Beltman, Mansfield, & Price, 2011).