Teacher Agency: Navigating the Virtual Learning Environment in the New Normal

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about unprecedented change in our social lives, particularly in schooling. This led to the development of diverse types of online learning management systems reflecting teachers’ efforts in redefining the roles of education amidst the global crisis. Using a case study method, this research examined the initial implementation of the virtual learning environment of a particular school in the Philippines on two folds: first, the conditions that created, facilitated, and enhanced the prospects for learning through the digital mediated instruction; and second, how teachers navigated challenges and opportunities in teaching in the new normal. This examination led to the researchers’ theorizing them as active social actors who are deemed to be co-constructors in the new education landscape. The results revealed that the exercise of teacher agency in multi-sited settings resulted in the development of relevant teaching pedagogies and formation of support groups among teachers and parents, and consequently, has given shape to the diverse learning management models. It sought to suggest that by critically assessing teacher agency during the crisis education and the context where agency was situated as well as exercised, we can draw on-the-ground insights that can help us formulate informed education policies for appropriate instructional management systems.