Exploration of the Sensemaking and Sense-giving Processes of Parents of Female High School Students During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Background: Parenting involves promoting and supporting the physical, emotional, social, and intellectual development of a child from infancy to adulthood. According to the American Psychological Association, parenting practices worldwide share three primary goals: ensuring children’s health and safety, preparing children for life as productive adults, and transmitting cultural values. During a child’s life, parenting comprises years of making sense of situations and making decisions. However, parenting research usually involves the study of sensemaking and decision making within a predictable, safe, and low-stress environment. Purpose: This qualitative study was designed to depict the sensemaking and sense-giving processes of a convenience sample of parents of female high school students from the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic through the 2020–21 academic year. To gain an understanding of the processes used by parents to make decisions during a time that was fraught with uncertainty, the following question was asked: How does a parent use sensemaking and sense-giving processes during an ongoing, global public health crisis to make decisions to support the emotional response of their daughter in high school to changes in her academic, extracurricular, and social activities? Methods: The critical incident technique was chosen to capture the sensemaking and sense-giving experiences of a convenience sample of parents helping their daughters navigate changes in their daily routines while also reacting to the uncertainties associated with the Covid-19 pandemic. After obtaining Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval and following university-established social distancing guidelines, participants who responded to online advertisements were identified and screened. Individual, semi-structured interviews were conducted and recorded using the secure video conferencing platform, Microsoft Teams©. After demographic information was collected, each participant was given one hour to share critical incidents that had occurred since the onset of the pandemic with their high schooler. The interviews were transcribed then given to the participants for member checking. The member-checked transcripts were reviewed to identify sensemaking and sense-giving processes. Results: Interestingly, the requests for participants welcomed “parents,” yet only mothers responded and participated. The participants shared the following “themes” or critical incidents: “milestone events,” “college preparation,” “school return 2020–21,” and “social awareness.” Administrative decisions made by area schools affected sensemaking and sense-giving for some regarding their return to school but, in other cases, eliminated its need. Moreover, when sensemaking was needed to address any other themes, participants used one or more sensemaking or sense-giving characteristics as described by Karl Weick to assist their daughters in processing the events. Conclusion: Sensemaking and sense-giving processes differed although the participants shared socioeconomic similarities and had common educational goals for their daughters. By analyzing the detailed experiences shared by parents about their sensemaking processes during the Covid-19 pandemic, the body of work that exists for sensemaking and sense-giving expands and provides a mechanism for interpreting these participants’ experiences.

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Education

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Professional Leadership, Education

Grantor

University of Houston

Year dc:date.issued

2022

Author dc:creator

• McGriff-Metz, Lisa

Advisors dc:contributor.advisor

• McNeil, Sara
• Hausmann, Robert

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Quander, R. Judith
• Cooper, Jane

• Education, Health

Language dc:language.iso

English

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/10657/21038

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:uh-ir.tdl.org:10657/21038