Interpreting COVID-19 Through Turbulence Theory: Perspectives and Cases from Early Childhood and Special Education

134 Pages·2022·8.14 MB·English

by  Susan H. Shapiro

INTERPRETING COVID-19
THROUGH TURBULENCE
THEORY
Through the lens of Turbulence Theory, this volume offers students and
scholars an innovative toolkit for understanding the COVID-19 pandemic
and its impact on teachers, families, and students. Bringing together cases
from early childhood and special education written by parents and educators,
author Susan H. Shapiro leverages Turbulence Theory as a framework to help
readers evaluate the level of turbulence during each scenario and what meth-
ods, if any, might help mitigate or escalate the situation. With more than 20
insightful case-based examples and discussion questions, this book explores
what lessons and strategies we can bring into future crises—and how we move
forward in an ever-evolving educational landscape.
Susan H. Shapiro is an Associate Professor of Early Childhood and Spe-
cial Education at Touro Graduate School of Education and Co-Director of
the New DEEL (Democratic Ethical Educational Leadership) Community
Network.

INTERPRETING
COVID-19 THROUGH
TURBULENCE THEORY
Perspectives and Cases from Early
Childhood and Special Education
Susan H. Shapiro
Cover image: Shutterstock/Marta Ortiz
First published 2023
by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
and by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2023 Susan H. Shapiro
The right of Susan H. Shapiro to be identified as author of this
work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
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retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record for this title has been requested
ISBN: 9781032102559 (hbk)
ISBN: 9781032102351 (pbk)
ISBN: 9781003214410 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003214410
Typeset in Bembo
by KnowledgeWorks Global Ltd.
CONTENTS
Foreword viii
Contributors xi
Acknowledgments xvii
PART I
Examining the Effect of COVID-19 on Early
Childhood and Special Education 1
1 COVID-19’s Influence on Early Childhood and
Children with Special Needs 3
COVID and Education 3
Structure of the Book 7
Case Studies 7
Personal Communication and Journals 9
Viewing the Pandemic Through Turbulence Theory 10
The Use of the Turbulence Gauge in an Educational Setting 10
Stability, Positionality, and Cascading Events 11
The Use of Turbulence in Reflection and Practice 13
Chapters Explored 14
Questions for Discussion 15
vi Contents
PART II
Using Turbulence Theory to Examine Practitioners
and Family Experiences with COVID-19 19
2 Special Education Remote Teaching and Learning 21
Implications Regarding the Pandemic for IDEA 21
Virtual Services for Children with Special Needs 22
Families as Therapists 23
Questions to Consider 24
Cases Studies 25
Case #1: The Effect of Remote Instruction on Children with
Behavioral Needs 26
Case #2: Parenting During the Pandemic: Assessment and Early
Childhood Special Education 27
Case #3: We Interrupt This Program: The Move from In-Person
Instruction to Remote for Special Needs Students During the Time
of COVID 30
Case #4: Minimalizing Turbulence in Severe Weather Patterns:
Balancing Remote Teaching, IEPs, and Parenting 34
Case #5: Eli’s Routine: A Service Provider’s Reflections 37
Case #6: An Administrator Talks: Navigating COVID Protocols for
Special Education Students and Teachers 39
3 The Impact of the Digital Divide and Poverty 42
The Effect of Turbulence on Low-Income Families 42
Issues Related to Poverty 43
Missing Children and the Digital Gap 44
Questions to Consider 45
Case Studies 46
Case #1: No More Cupcakes and Goody Bags: Financial Stress and
Parenting 47
Case #2: The COVID Cascade Through the Eyes of a Teacher: The
Effects of Trauma and Turbulence on a Teacher’s Family 49
Case #3: Parents Misbehaving 52
Case #4: What Did the Schools Expect Us to Do? Poverty, Loss of
Child Care, and Service for Special Needs Families 54
Case #5: Teaching Families in Poverty: The Digital Divide 57
Case #6: Family Financial Difficulties: Don’t Make More Trouble
for Me 60
4 Homeschooling and Parental Support 63
Balancing Work and the Needs of Children in the Home 63
Contents vii
Financial Strain 66
Questions to Consider 67
Cases Studies in This Chapter Homeschooling and Parental
Support 67
Case #1: Who Gets the Fuzzy End of the Lollipop?
Who Gets the Attention When Grades Are on the Line? 68
Case #2: Terrible Things Happen to Lovely People Every Day:
COVID in the Home 70
Case #3: You Can Breathe Now: Parenting and Social Media 72
Case #4: The Impact of Religion and Community on the Family 74
Case #5: It’s Not a Snow Day: Schools Supporting Parents 76
Case #6: The Teaching Mother 79
5 Pandemic Teaching and Learning 84
Issues with Technology 85
Engaging Young Children 85
The Effect of In-Person, Hybrid, and Virtual Classrooms 86
Questions to Consider 87
Case Studies in This Chapter—Teaching During a Pandemic 87
Case #1: Carefully Laid Plans: Teaching with a Baby 88
Case #2: Can’t You Do Anything Right? Teacher’s
Mental Health and the Impact on Teaching Partnerships 91
Case #3: Runny Noses and Angry Parents: How Positionality
Affects Family Interactions and Visions of Safety 93
Case #4: The Textident: The Double-Edged Sword of Written
Communication with Families 95
Case #5: Creating Human Connections: Mixing Remote and
In-Person Instruction 97
Case #6: School Counselor Reflections in the Age of a
Pandemic 100
PART III
Conclusions and Lessons Learned 105
6 Understanding Cases, Crisis, and Turbulence 107
Reflections of the Pandemic 107
Using Cases as Reflection for Practice Response and Pedagogy 108
The Use of Turbulence in Reflection and Practice 110
Conclusion 111
Index 113
FOREWORD
Steven Jay Gross
Professor Emeritus Temple University
Sometimes deeper understanding starts with a paradox. In the 1990s
I wrote a book on curriculum leadership in the United States and Canada
(Gross, 1998). Educational innovators at the 10 research sites in that study were
creative, caring, and dedicated to their students, families, and communities.
Yet, all their schools experienced an important degree of disruption. Therein
lay the paradox: on the one hand excellent effort pushed schools forward into
a new era. On the other hand, this same effort seemed to stir up great discom-
fort and disruption. At first, it seemed simply unfair that their hard work to
improve their school’s curriculum, instruction, and assessment practices led
them to harsh experiences. This troubling paradox stayed with me as I strug-
gled to understand what exactly was going on.
As part of that study, I traveled to Toronto to learn about the Durham
Board’s Sinclair Secondary School. True to form, that school was experienc-
ing volatile times that coincided with significant innovations. One evening
during that research trip, I wandered into The World’s Biggest Bookstore, aptly
named due to its 67,000 square foot size. As I roamed the aisles, I found myself
among a few shelves that dealt with flight instruction. I thought about my
father, a decorated B-17 pilot in World War II, and my grandfather who
helped build some of the first airplanes for Glenn Curtiss a generation before
that. I certainly thought about my father-in-law, an ace pilot and general in
the Republic of China’s air force. I picked up a book on pilot training and
started to thumb through its pages and there it was, the chapter on something
called turbulence. Reading further I found a chart that turned out to be a key
in my search for an explanation of this paradox. It turns out pilots are trained
Foreword ix
to see turbulence in degrees ranging from light to moderate to severe and
finally to extreme. This chart planted a seed in my mind as I began to imagine
a connection between flying an airplane and leading a school. In each case, the
very act of taking on leadership meant accepting some degree of turbulence.
It was not a matter of avoiding this force but rather learning to work with it.
That evening in Toronto, decades ago, was only the start of deeper think-
ing about real life conditions in schools and universities in the United States
and around the world. None of my further work leading to turbulence theory
and its development would have been possible in isolation. One of the most
influential people I have been lucky enough to work with and learn from is the
author of this book, Professor Susan H. Shapiro. That relationship started with
her dissertation. With what amounted to courage, Professor Shapiro decided to
use turbulence theory as a conceptual lens to analyze her data of cases in New
York’s early childhood centers on 9/11. To my knowledge, this was the first
time anyone used this theory for such a purpose and so, she had to convince
her doctoral committee that this approach was legitimate. She succeeded and
we started what has turned out to be an ongoing dialogue about turbulence
in educational settings. She not only started to ask me questions about apply-
ing the theory to her cases, she pointed out areas that needed expansion and
development. Our conversations over the years led me to consider the drivers
of turbulence and ways in which positionality, cascading, and stability work
together. Her focus on connecting theory to practice encouraged me to estab-
lish specific steps that educators and communities facing heightened turbu-
lence can take in response.
For her part, Professor Shapiro has continued to publish excellent studies,
often applying turbulence theory to challenging situations in the schools she
studies. This book is an impressive extension of her previous work, taken to a
higher level. Just as she used the concept of turbulence to investigate the trag-
edy of 9/11—the outstanding event of its time—Professor Shapiro now uses
the same theory to shed light on the impact of COVID-19—the outstanding
condition of our time—on early childhood and special education students,
their schools, and families.
Back in the early 2000s we were hungry to grasp what the era of height-
ened terrorism meant for educators at all levels and today, we are just as fixated
on understanding the impact of the pandemic. But this search is not merely
an academic exercise, as critical as that might be. In this case, we need to
see direct links between theory and practice so that we can move to more
responsive ways to work with the heightened turbulence now surrounding
us. And this is where Professor Shapiro’s book is particularly important. Using
authentic cases from the field, she demonstrates the impact of positionality,
the idea that any turbulent situation needs to be seen from multiple perspec-
tives, through the eyes of special education and early childhood students, their
teachers, administrators, and parents, all dealing with the pandemic. Further,