Keeping Our Students Safe: Examining Perceptions of Crisis Frequency and Preparedness of Educators in a Statewide Online Charter School

Document Type

Presentation

Presentation Date

10-2-2020

Abstract or Description

Presentation given at the Georgia Educational Research Association Conference (GERA).

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the perceptions of crisis preparedness and frequency for educators in online platforms. This quantitative research study surveyed data from 143 online educators in the state of Georgia to evaluate and report their current perceptions of preparedness for in numerous crisis areas that impact K-12 students. The findings provided insight into the lack of feelings of ‘very prepared’ for suspecting and responding to crisis, with 45.8% of educators noting they were very prepared in suspecting neglect, 47.6% in suspecting abuse, 53.1% in suspecting suicidal ideations, and 18.9% in homicidal ideations. Furthermore, educators lacked in feeling ‘very prepared’ to respond to various traumatic experiences with 9.8% in feeling very prepared responding to an unexpected death of a student, 7.7% responding to unexpected death of a teacher, 18.9% responding to natural disasters, and 7.7% responding to terrorist threats. Findings suggest a need for further training in and planning for crisis management for online educators. Recommendations for future research include gathering data on a larger scope from online education professionals across the nation. With the 2020 health pandemic, this research is of utmost importance in maintaining safety in K-12 schooling.

Additional Information

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Sponsorship/Conference/Institution

Georgia Educational Research Association Conference (GERA)

Location

Macon, GA

Source

https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/gera/2020/2020/50/

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