Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership

Defense Date:  October 26, 2022

Dissertation Title:  Learning to Teach in Troubling Times: A Critical Narrative Analysis Exploring Becoming a Teacher Amidst a Global Pandemic

Dissertation Committee:  Dr. Elizabeth Bellows (Chair), Dr. PJ Nelsen, Dr. Mina Min, Dr. Sarah Shear (University of Washington at Bothell)

Dissertation Summary:

“My dissertation ended up becoming an extension of who I am and what I believe. I am a teacher advocate and I strongly believe that we attempt to quantify far too much in our current educational system. The study that I developed was a critical narrative analysis that privileged the voices of individuals working to become classroom teachers during the global pandemic. This was no small feat for them and I wanted the readers of my dissertation to feel the stress and anxiety that the participants experienced navigating the unknown. Just this past week we saw a new study released from Johns Hopkins University (Kush et al., 2022) that found educators were 40% more likely to report anxiety symptoms during the height of the pandemic than healthcare workers. This truly means that our teachers were and still are front-line workers. I believe that my dissertation will prompt some necessary conversations about how we treat our teachers in North Carolina. It is my hope that in one way or another everyone can find a topic that they are passionate about to drive their research and creation of their dissertation.“

Quote from Rachel Nelson about her dissertation journey:

“The doctoral program at Appalachian State University provided a space for me to become a better and more informed version of myself. I not only found a community of like-minded individuals who are passionate about learning, I found a network of scholars that share in my beliefs about our educational system and the growing need to work together in order to strengthen and sustain our democracy.”

Quote from Dr. Elizabeth Bellows about the significance of this dissertation study:

“Dr. Nelson’s study is a brave and critical look at a state-mandated assessment that claims to measure teacher readiness and effectiveness. Her study is timely and significant in that it reveals the unreasonable and unjustifiable pressure and stress put on preservice teachers through the required implementation of edTPA during the senior year student teaching experience. Most notably, her critical narrative analysis allows readers to hear the distressed voices of her participants as they navigated the completion of the edTPA project, student teaching, and entering the teaching profession during a global pandemic. I encourage every teacher educator and stakeholder involved with teacher preparation to learn from Dr. Nelson’s work.”

Quote from Dr. Elizabeth Bellows about her experience as Committee Chair:

“I taught Rachel her first semester in the EdD program, and the conversations that started there led her to an inquiry that beautifully unfolded as her dissertation. I was happy to accept Rachel’s invitation to serve as her dissertation committee chair, and as she dissertated, we kept regular meetings to discuss her work and talk about where it might go next. Serving in this role was a pleasure and an academic exercise that affected my curricular decisions and pushed my thinking. The committee was a joy to work with and offered support based on their diverse expertise. Our collaborative efforts alongside Rachel’s curiosity and persistence throughout the analysis and writing phase surely contributed to the success of her defense. I told Rachel this process is a lot like watching a garden grow right under your nose. One day it’s spring and you’re planting seeds; the next you’re looking at beautiful abundance. Somehow those seeds broke apart and pushed their stems right up through the dirt for the world to see. I am so proud to have been a part of Rachel’s growth these last two years.”

*Degree to be conferred on December 16, 2022.

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