Social Capital Resources in Coping with Distance Education during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Content Analysis of the Statements of Teachers Working in Poland at Different Educational Stages

Abstract

The article aims to show social capital resources in coping with distance education during the COVID-19 pandemic of Polish teachers working at different educational stages. The sample consisted of 1104 women (91.2%) and 107 men (8.8%) who described their remote professional experiences as valued positively during the pandemic. The collected verbal material was analyzed with quantitative content analysis based on theory-driven categories of social capital: Relationships, trust, commitment, and fulfilling obligations. Then, the frequency of words belonging to the categories in each participant’s utterance was assessed. The results indicate that when describing positive experiences (situations and events) during distance education, teachers referred mainly to social capital resources in terms of relationships and fulfilling obligations. The results indicate that teachers working in secondary schools in Poland put less emphasis on building social capital during distance education, especially in terms of relationships, than teachers working with younger children.