Leaning into a Critical Theory of Love to Adaptively Engage in Teaching and Learning During COVID-19 in India and the US

This article considers the experiences of teachers and learners in higher education institutions that led to the need for adapted learning modalities during COVID-19. It is critical to provide reflective faculty narratives. We position them as Street-Level Bureaucrats on the front lines, who as de facto policymakers, made adaptive decisions impacting students’ educational opportunities. Consequently, this article engages experiential reflections of two university professors in the field of education, one in the US the other in India. It examines how known ways of learning changed as universities closed and teachers and students were mandated to switch to online, remote or distance teaching and learning. Rooted in a critical theory of love, which calls for justice-centered and humanizing orientations, and the critical need for a quality education, as outlined in SDG 4, reflections are discussed regarding opportunities for supporting university policy discussions, which can enhance classroom-level student success during traumatic times.