Accepting Uncertainty: The Work of Special Educators in a Pandemic

Abstract

School closures in March 2020 due to COVID-19 affected over one billion students worldwide (UNESCO, 2020). Stay-home orders issued across multiple regions required schools to shift to a distance learning model for the remainder of the school year. We examined the experiences of special educators in one midwestern state as they managed and adapted their work during the onset of the pandemic. Participants across a variety of locations and programs responded to the statewide survey. This article discusses how teachers provided specialized programming by utilizing multiple instructional models, including fully online instruction and more traditional paper packets. In addition, participants described a variety of approaches for interacting with colleagues and families to ensure continuous special education programming while attending to health pandemic restrictions. The findings from this study present gaps in instructional technology and digital communication for students. This article goes deeper by examining how special educators coped with the unprecedented changes in their professional work and their lifestyles to reveal teachers’ positive coping approaches.