TEACHER-STUDENT POSITIONING AND THE EMERGING MORAL ORDER IN THE SHIFT TO ONLINE EDUCATION DURING THE PANDEMIC

The transition to online education during the COVID-19 pandemic presented a vulnerability in the teacher-student relationship, which in turn challenged the established local moral order. Employing Slocum-Bradley’s (2010) positioning theory diamond, this two-year study aims to understand the shift in how teachers and students positioned each other and themselves in the first and second years of the pandemic. Focus group discussions were conducted among university students and teachers. Results showed that teachers and students demonstrated mutuality of compassion for the shared pandemic experience. However, while conventional classroom pedagogy and teacher-student roles served as reference points, conflicts arose in mismatched expectations in adapting to online education. In examining moral rights and duties, positioning provides an opportunity to redefine the teacher-student relationship, and, for academic institutions, to rethink an educational system that embraces the online pedagogy as mainstream, encourages participatory learning, and cultivates a culture of compassion. Understanding this emerging moral order can help education stakeholders manage relational and institutional changes for future learning environments.