Experiences of student teacher mothers before and during COVID-19: lessons in flexibility

This chapter focuses on insights gained from an investigation into the experiences of women who combined initial teacher education (ITE) and parenting during the academic year 2019-20. Interviewed in the summer of 2020, the nine participants were able to talk about their experiences, sources of support and coping strategies before and during the UK COVID-19 restrictions, which began in March 2020.The majority reported that, before the COVID-19 restrictions, they had experienced difficulties in trying to juggle domestic and family responsibilities with their studies and school placements.  During the COVID-19 restrictions, they had the additional responsibility of home schooling their own children, yet some of the other pressures of combining ITE and parenting were somewhat alleviated. Importantly, the shift to online, asynchronous provision of the ITE course allowed students greater control over the timing and the pace of study, and so greater flexibility to tailor study routines to fit around their home lives. In the light of these findings, the author suggests that, post-COVID, policy makers, educational leaders and ITE providers might seize opportunities to make lasting changes to policy and practice,  in order to enhance family-friendly-flexibility and support student teachers who are parents or carers.

This is an Accepted Manuscript of a book chapter published by Routledge: Marsh-Davies and Burnett (eds.), Teachers and Teaching Post-COVID (2019), available online: https://www.routledge.com/Teachers-and-Teaching-Post-COVID-Seizing-Opportunities-for-Change/Marsh-Davies-Burnett/p/book/9781032399492