EDUCATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC RESILIENCE: A GROUNDED THEORY OF HIGHLAND STUDENTS' EXPERIENCES WITH REMOTE LEARNING

Abstract

The unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic has birthed the necessity of maintaining educational delivery, thereby compelling institutions to devise innovations and alternative learning modalities such as Remote Learning. While resilience has been recognized as a powerful tool to thrive during crisis, it may vary significantly across diverse geographic contexts, such as students in the highland.  This study aims generate a theory that comprehensively describes remote learning in the Highland areas. Utilizing the Grounded theory approach to investigate the phenomenon of interest, obtained data through a semi-structured in-depth interview with purposively-selected fourteen (14) students residing in the highlands of Bukidnon; using comparative and qualitative thematic analysis themes were compared with each other, and similar concepts were integrated.  The themes emerged from participants’ narratives encapsulates their experiences, contextual challenges and coping mechanisms. These themes include; (1) Acceptance of a new learning modality, (2) Autonomy in Learning, (3) Access to technological Infrastructures and networks, (4)Agency of Students, and (5) Aspirations to succeed. The synergy of the themes paves the way for the development of Educational Geographic Resilience Theory.