Date
7-21-2026
Department
School of Nursing
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing (PhD)
Chair
Erica D. Moore
Keywords
Ransomware, nursing faculty, phenomenology, teaching disruption, resilience, transformative learning
Disciplines
Nursing
Recommended Citation
Cervantes, Jerry, "Pedagogy Challenged: A Phenomenological Examination of Teaching Through a Prolonged Technological Disruption" (2026). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 8677.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/8677
Abstract
The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to examine the lived experiences of nursing faculty in a pre-licensure Bachelor of Science in Nursing program who taught during a prolonged technological disruption caused by a ransomware attack at a private college in Ohio. The theories guiding this study were transformative learning theory and resilience theory as they relate to how educators make meaning of disorienting events and sustain professional functioning when established systems fail. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, a focus group, and reflective journals from purposively selected nursing faculty participants and were analyzed according to the phenomenological procedures outlined by Moustakas, with NVivo software used as an organizational tool during coding and thematic development. Findings revealed experiences of uncertainty, instructional disruption, adaptation, collaboration, reflection, and evolving perspectives regarding preparedness and technology dependence within nursing education. Six themes emerged from the data: disorientation and institutional vulnerability, instructional improvisation under constraint, collective resilience through relationships, reconstructing professional identity, transformation through reflection, and future preparedness. Faculty described sustaining instructional continuity through flexibility, collaboration, manual adaptation strategies, and professional commitment despite the prolonged technological disruption. The findings suggest that preparedness for technological collapse in nursing education may require stronger communication structures, instructional flexibility, collaborative support systems, and downtime preparedness strategies that preserve continuity when digital systems become unavailable.
