Abstract
The rapid shift to mandated remote learning to stem the spread of COVID-19 in 2020 was an unprecedented albeit necessary measure for public health and safety. Students and their families and educators were challenged to engage in a novel living and learning context for which most were unprepared. Black, low-income, and secondary students and their families were particularly vulnerable to pandemic-related disruptions, and mandated remote learning exacerbated pre-existing educational inequities in school access and engagement (Acosta et al., 2021; Haderlein et al., 2021; Kraft et al., 2021). The focus of this critical-constructivist grounded theory study was to understand the remote learning experiences of gifted Black middle school students (n = 7). Interviews, artifacts, and personal narratives revealed that students experienced multilevel disruptions to their living and learning environments due to COVID-19. Students’ experiences also illuminated how schooling and family structures acted as apparatuses for the status quo in contributing to the decontextualization of students’ living and learning experiences and perpetuating dominant ideologies surrounding gender, race, power, and others. The findings suggest that these disruptions and the upholding of these constructs during mandated remote learning created undue pressure for students to comply with familial roles and responsibilities while maintaining academic excellence despite significant challenges. Students engaged in coping strategies and demonstrated resilience in “contending with the pressure” of mandated remote learning. Implications of this theory for methodology, teachers, and educational leaders are discussed.