ERIC Number: EJ1466131
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025
Pages: 22
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1855-9719
EISSN: EISSN-2232-2647
Available Date: 0000-00-00
Greek Primary School Teachers' Narratives about Their Role Negotiation during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Menelaos Tzifopoulos
Center for Educational Policy Studies Journal, v15 n1 p125-146 2025
No one can dispute the fact that the teaching profession seemed to be tested during the coronavirus pandemic. Teachers were called upon to perform a difficult and multifaced role, without help and support from the state. The issues that teachers had to respond to and solve are related to their autonomy, their digital literacy competences and their relationships/cooperation with students. The new working conditions terrified teachers, who had to manage their digital classroom through a violent readjustment. Under these circumstances, Greek primary school teachers' narratives offer us their phenomenological perspective on how they coped with their teaching duties during this period of health and educational emergency. An initial attempt is made to empathetically approach the 'world' of four teachers, while the subsequent interpretive and critical analysis serves as a means to illuminate 'hidden' beliefs of their professional role, the reshaping of their identity, and their adaptation to the online teaching context. Through their narratives, the teachers reflect on the issue of the lack of support from the state. They also note that they found it difficult to manage their e-classes in such a short time. Finally, there is a need for more effective preparation of teachers in times of uncertainty and crisis.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Elementary School Teachers, Teacher Attitudes, COVID-19, Pandemics, Teacher Role, Difficulty Level, Professional Autonomy, Teaching Experience, Digital Literacy, Teacher Student Relationship, Teacher Competencies, Virtual Classrooms, Electronic Learning, Work Environment, Psychological Patterns, Adjustment (to Environment), Coping, Professional Identity
University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Education. University of Ljubljana Kardeljeva plošcad 16. Slovenia. Tel: +386-1-5892-344; e-mail: editors@cepsj.si; Web site: https://ojs.cepsj.si/index.php/cepsj/index
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Greece
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A