Attempting to Implement A Pedagogy of Care during the Disruptions to Teacher Education Caused by COVID-19: A Collaborative Self-Study

Abstract

This article reports on a collaborative self-study conducted by the authors (two teacher educators) as we attempted to implement a pedagogy of care during the disruptions to teacher education caused by COVID-19. Due to the pandemic, we were required to conduct our teacher education courses synchronously online through video-conferencing software. Although this mode of instruction allowed us to continue teaching despite the restrictions necessitated by COVID-19, the relational aspect of teaching and the role of care seemed to be limited and became an important concern for us. Through self-study, we aimed to improve our online teaching practices by enacting a pedagogy of care during one full semester. We detail our attempts to conceptualise a pedagogy of care for the online classroom, begin our courses from a position of care and prioritize and maintain care throughout the semester. We also present the ongoing challenges we experienced in implementing a pedagogy of care online. While recognising that everyone has been affected by COVID-19 in different ways, we hope through sharing our experiences, others can learn from them and conceptualise and implement a pedagogy of care in their contexts.