As a body without a soul: An online ethnography of a Bahá’í inspired school in Western India during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted schools around the world. Educational institutions across the globe had to restructure the way in which they delivered education to comply with local policies. This study is an online ethnography of the experience of a Baháʼí inspired school in Western India – Mona School – and its experience with schooling during the global pandemic. Conducted over the course of more than a year of sustained inquiry into the experience of the school, it looks at the historical origins of the school, the overarching framework in which it educates, and how it was affected when it had to suddenly move all education online in the spring of 2020. Following the school through the end of 2021, it is based on interviews with students, teachers, and administrators about their experiences; analysis of the school’s Facebook page and use of WhatsApp; observations in online Zoom classrooms; parent teacher association meeting minutes; and government policy documents. It also places the experience of the school within the larger nationwide policy context surrounding education in India. The study brings out an understanding that a school is more than just a sum of its parts, that countless simple things which are taken for granted in an everyday physical school environment become greatly missed when they are either not available, or severely limited in an online environment.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Educ Policy, Orgzn & Leadrshp

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2022

Author dc:creator

• Herman, Thaddeus Benjamin

Contributors dc:contributor

• Herrera, Linda
• Gandhi, Rajmohan
• Pak, Yoon
• Witt, Allison
• Lindgren, Robb

• COVID-19
• Lockdown
• online education
• Iran
• Baháʼí
• Refugee
• pandemic

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2022 Thaddeus Benjamin Herman

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/116084

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F116084