Pandemic Schooling and Teachers’ Professional Identity in the Era of COVID-19 in Ethiopia: Summer-in-Service Trainees in Focus

Abstract

The global COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in widespread school closures, impacting teaching and learning across countries. At the epicenter of the virus, in Ethiopia, students and teachers were obliged to stay at home where remote learning was not arranged well. After a few months of school closures, classes were reopened with emergency measures in place. However, the teaching and learning process faced significant challenges, and the professional identity of teachers was adversely affected during the pandemic schooling. This study aims to explore the professional identity of in-service teachers in this context. The study utilized a narrative inquiry approach and involved purposefully selected summer-in-service teacher trainees based on three criteria. Data were collected using four instruments: documents, in-depth interviews, reflective journals, and a questionnaire. The findings indicate that the arrangements made for remote teaching or e-teaching had a detrimental impact on the effectiveness of pandemic schooling. Teachers' adoption of pedagogy suitable for the pandemic was also found to be limited. The study further confirms that COVID-19 has influenced the identity formation of teachers, as they experienced concerns and panic regarding their health security. Based on these results, conclusions were drawn, and implications for teachers' professional development programs were presented.