During the academic year 2019–2020, school buildings worldwide closed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, necessitating a rapid shift to distance education. This study assessed the influence of h...

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/01587919.2021.1986372

Home broadband and student engagement during COVID-19 emergency remote teaching

Abstract Emergency transition to online due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid‐19) pandemic has created unprecedented challenges in schooling. There is a dearth of information on the perception of Arab high school students and parents regarding the negative effects of online learning during Covid‐19. Qualitative analysis of data from a multisite ethnographic‐centered study collected in nine Arab countries. Data presented are only the ones recorded from students and parents. Raw data were abstracted using a mind‐mapping software and coded using words. The perceived negative effects of students and parents on several aspects of the transition to online learning such as the needed technical adjustments, impact on parents, perceptions of learning online versus face to face, pedagogical drawbacks, and psychological effects are described and discussed in light of results of previous studies. In spite of cultural differences, Arab high school students and parents face the same challenges and difficulties reported in other parts of the world. The overarching theme that emerges both for parents and children is the perceived superiority of face‐to‐face learning in the structured environment of the school for a more holistic learning and socialization experience of students and for better long‐term outcomes.

“The pandemic of distance learning”: How Arab high school students see online‐learning during Covid‐19

Background As teaching and learning processes evolve in the wake of COVID−19, fresh thinking about the role of remote online learning (ROL) is critical as part of a wider reimagining of education in a post-pandemic context. In this paper, attention is focused on ROL within teacher education.Purpose This study sought to explore pre-service teachers’ perceptions of their ROL experiences in a Fijian teacher education programme.Method The qualitative study design was informed by transactional distance theory. Using a narrative inquiry approach, data from 15 pre-service teachers were collected and analysed. Via individual interviews conducted online, the prospective teachers shared their perceptions about the nature of interactions experienced whilst engaged in ROL during the pandemic. Data were analysed thematically, in relation to instructional dialogue, course structure, and autonomy.Findings In-depth analysis of rich data allowed main themes to emerge that captured the participants’ viewpoints. Prominent themes in instructional dialogue revealed some concerns about the precedence of textual communication over verbal in ROL and the perception of emphasis on product over the process of learning. In terms of course structure, volume of assessment and teaching style were among aspects which participants identified as affecting learner-content engagement. Comments about learner autonomy suggested that the pre-service teachers sought positives amidst the difficulties encountered, whilst maintaining a focus on completing the assessments and passing the course.Conclusion The analysis of pre-service teachers’ experiences offers insight into how aspects of ROL may challenge participant engagement within elements of teacher education courses. It highlights the support that needs to be provided to prospective teachers in order to reduce transactional distance, suggesting that effective course design and instructional dialogue to promote learner autonomy are both crucial to sustainable teacher education in the post-pandemic context. 

Pre-service teachers’ experiences of remote online learning: reimagining teacher education post-pandemic

The aim of this paper is to thoroughly examine how students in Serbia experienced their education through distance learning during the 2020 Spring school closures due to the pandemic. Schoolchildren’s multigenre narratives about learning during school closure were elicited by online surveys; qualitative thematic and values analyses were conducted; and data was further analysed by cluster analysis, ANOVA, and t-tests. A total of 45 lower and upper secondary school students produced 106 narratives providing 429 thought units for analysis. Altogether, 6 themes and 26 value codes were identified. They demonstrate the wide range, complexity, and nuanced positioning of students’ experiences towards the new situation, their role in it, and the role of others i.e. teachers and the technology itself. The paper draws implications on the policy and educational-psychological and methodological level.

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A leap to the digital era-what are lower and upper secondary school students' experiences of distance education during the covid-19 pandemic in serbia?

Selena Vračar

Papers

A leap to the digital era-what are lower and upper secondary school students' experiences of distance education during the covid-19 pandemic in serbia?