The purpose of this qualitative case study was to discover the lived experiences and perceived organizational support (POS) of school employees’ during the abrupt transition to remote education instruction resulting from a critical incident such as COVID-19. In direct connection, this study’s problem was to fill a gap in the literature regarding school employees’ lived experiences and POS during the abrupt transition to remote education instruction as the result of a critical incident. Organizational support theory and experiential learning theory were the conceptual framework that guided this study. The researcher used semi-structured, one-on-one interviews with 10 school employees at a private, primary through eighth grade school located in the northeast region of the United States. Interview questions were used to explore participants’ POS, perceptions of well-being, and emotions prior to and during the critical incident. Six themes and three sub-themes emerged and provided insight into the study’s research question. The study’s results indicated that participants perceived experiences of organizational support through (1) work experience descriptors, (2) feelings about well-being at work, (3) POS, (4) changes in well-being due to COVID-19, (5) POS due to COVID-19, and (6) emotions during the critical incident. These results significantly aligned with literature on POS and emotional responses during a critical incident. Findings from this study may be useful for school leaders, administrators, and employees in K-12 school systems.
","abstract_html":"<p>The purpose of this qualitative case study was to discover the lived experiences and perceived organizational support (POS) of school employees’ during the abrupt transition to remote education instruction resulting from a critical incident such as COVID-19. In direct connection, this study’s problem was to fill a gap in the literature regarding school employees’ lived experiences and POS during the abrupt transition to remote education instruction as the result of a critical incident. Organizational support theory and experiential learning theory were the conceptual framework that guided this study. The researcher used semi-structured, one-on-one interviews with 10 school employees at a private, primary through eighth grade school located in the northeast region of the United States. Interview questions were used to explore participants’ POS, perceptions of well-being, and emotions prior to and during the critical incident. Six themes and three sub-themes emerged and provided insight into the study’s research question. The study’s results indicated that participants perceived experiences of organizational support through (1) work experience descriptors, (2) feelings about well-being at work, (3) POS, (4) changes in well-being due to COVID-19, (5) POS due to COVID-19, and (6) emotions during the critical incident. These results significantly aligned with literature on POS and emotional responses during a critical incident. Findings from this study may be useful for school leaders, administrators, and employees in K-12 school systems.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Soumas, Donavon P."],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Education (EdD)","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Education","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Jacqueline Lookabaugh","Catherine Stieg","Evelyn J. Thomas"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2021,"date_issued":"2021-07-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2021-07-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:21:34Z","subjects":["Education","Educational Leadership","Elementary and Middle and Secondary Education Administration"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://dune.une.edu/theses/381","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Jacqueline Lookabaugh","Catherine Stieg","Evelyn J. Thomas"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Soumas, Donavon P."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2021-07-15T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Education"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Education (EdD)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Education","Educational Leadership","Elementary and Middle and Secondary Education Administration"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://dune.une.edu/theses/381"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The purpose of this qualitative case study was to discover the lived experiences and perceived organizational support (POS) of school employees’ during the abrupt transition to remote education instruction resulting from a critical incident such as COVID-19. In direct connection, this study’s problem was to fill a gap in the literature regarding school employees’ lived experiences and POS during the abrupt transition to remote education instruction as the result of a critical incident. Organizational support theory and experiential learning theory were the conceptual framework that guided this study. The researcher used semi-structured, one-on-one interviews with 10 school employees at a private, primary through eighth grade school located in the northeast region of the United States. Interview questions were used to explore participants’ POS, perceptions of well-being, and emotions prior to and during the critical incident. Six themes and three sub-themes emerged and provided insight into the study’s research question. The study’s results indicated that participants perceived experiences of organizational support through (1) work experience descriptors, (2) feelings about well-being at work, (3) POS, (4) changes in well-being due to COVID-19, (5) POS due to COVID-19, and (6) emotions during the critical incident. These results significantly aligned with literature on POS and emotional responses during a critical incident. Findings from this study may be useful for school leaders, administrators, and employees in K-12 school systems.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["School Employees’ Perceptions Of Organizational Support During A Critical Incident"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Jacqueline Lookabaugh","Catherine Stieg","Evelyn J. Thomas"],"dc:creator":["Soumas, Donavon P."],"dc:date.available":["2021-07-15T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["The purpose of this qualitative case study was to discover the lived experiences and perceived organizational support (POS) of school employees’ during the abrupt transition to remote education instruction resulting from a critical incident such as COVID-19. In direct connection, this study’s problem was to fill a gap in the literature regarding school employees’ lived experiences and POS during the abrupt transition to remote education instruction as the result of a critical incident. Organizational support theory and experiential learning theory were the conceptual framework that guided this study. The researcher used semi-structured, one-on-one interviews with 10 school employees at a private, primary through eighth grade school located in the northeast region of the United States. Interview questions were used to explore participants’ POS, perceptions of well-being, and emotions prior to and during the critical incident. Six themes and three sub-themes emerged and provided insight into the study’s research question. The study’s results indicated that participants perceived experiences of organizational support through (1) work experience descriptors, (2) feelings about well-being at work, (3) POS, (4) changes in well-being due to COVID-19, (5) POS due to COVID-19, and (6) emotions during the critical incident. These results significantly aligned with literature on POS and emotional responses during a critical incident. Findings from this study may be useful for school leaders, administrators, and employees in K-12 school systems.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://dune.une.edu/theses/381"],"dc:subject":["Education","Educational Leadership","Elementary and Middle and Secondary Education Administration"],"dc:title":["School Employees’ Perceptions Of Organizational Support During A Critical Incident"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Education"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Education (EdD)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:21:34Z"}