Teacher-Student Positioning and the Emerging Moral Order in the Shift to Online Education During the Pandemic
Date of Award
12-1-2022
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy in Physics
First Advisor
Mira Alexis P. Ofreneo, PhD
Abstract
The transition to online education during the COVID-19 pandemic presented a vulnerability in the teacher-student relationship that challenged the established local moral order, or the implicit rights and duties assigned by individuals in social episodes (Harré, 2012). Using the Harré’s Positioning Theory expounded by Slocum- Bradley (2010), this two-year study aims to understand how teachers and students positioned each other and themselves in the first year of the pandemic, and how this has shifted in the second year. Focus group discussions were conducted among university students and teachers. Results showed that, while teachers and students initially referred to pre-pandemic classroom pedagogy and established teacher-student roles, their sense of compassion and mutuality for their shared pandemic experience reshaped the moral order. In time, however, as academic and social experiences were gained in the online environment, assigned rights and duties of teachers and students exposed incompatibilities that ensued conflict in relating with each other. Examining moral order in positioning provides an opportunity to redefine the teacher-student relationship, and, for academic institutions, to rethink traditional educational system. Understanding this emerging moral order can help education stakeholders manage relational and institutional changes for future learning environments.
Keywords: teacher-student relationship, positioning theory, moral order, education online, e- learning, COVID-19 pandemic
Recommended Citation
Tanchingco, Norman S., (2022). Teacher-Student Positioning and the Emerging Moral Order in the Shift to Online Education During the Pandemic. Archīum.ATENEO.
https://archium.ateneo.edu/theses-dissertations/1066
