SCHOOL UNITS AND EMERGENCY REMOTE TEACHING: THE CASE OF A PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL IN GREECE DURING COVID-19 LOCKDOWN / Η ΣΧΟΛΙΚΗ ΜΟΝΑΔΑ ΚΑΤΑ ΤΗΝ ΕΠΕΙΓΟΥΣΑ ΔΙΑΔΙΚΤΥΑΚΗ ΕΚΠΑΙΔΕΥΣΗ: ΜΕΛΕΤΗ ΠΕΡΙΠΤΩΣΗΣ ΤΟΥ ΔΗΜΟΤΙΚΟΥ ΣΧΟΛΕΙΟΥ ΚΑΛΑΜΟΥ ΑΤΤΙΚΗΣ

Theodora Papazoglou, Apostolos Kostas

Abstract


This paper presents the results of a case study examining the response of the public elementary school of Kalamos (Attica - Greece) to the implementation of the emergency remote teaching decided upon the suspension of the schools’ operation in spring 2020, due to COVID-19. The research combines qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection to explore the experience of the school principal, the educators and the parents/guardians of the pupils. The data analysis showed that the pupils responded adequately to the remote teaching, despite the obstacles observed, such as few teaching hours, technical problems (connection to the Internet, lack of equipment), difficulty to understand the course material, increased involvement of the parents in the learning process, and exclusion of a part of pupils. The educators of the school unit co-operated to resolve any problems and highlighted the importance of organising formal training courses for educators, parents, and pupils in advance. A strong negative correlation was found between the degree of the ability to use the platform of synchronous and asynchronous learning and the trust in the effectiveness of the educational process mentioned by the parents. Finally, the role of the school principal was to enforce, explain, co-ordinate and inform.

 

Στην παρούσα εργασία παρουσιάζονται τα αποτελέσματα μιας μελέτης περίπτωσης, η οποία εξέτασε την ανταπόκριση του δημοτικού σχολείου Καλάμου Αττικής στην εφαρμογή της επείγουσας εξ αποστάσεως εκπαίδευσης που αποφασίστηκε μετά το κλείσιμο των σχολικών μονάδων, την άνοιξη  του 2020, λόγω COVID-19. Η έρευνα συνδύασε ποιοτικές και ποσοτικές μεθόδους συλλογής δεδομένων για να διερευνήσει την εμπειρία της διευθύντριας, των εκπαιδευτικών και των γονέων/ κηδεμόνων των μαθητών του σχολείου. Η ανάλυση των δεδομένων κατέδειξε την ικανοποιητική ανταπόκριση των μαθητών στην εξ αποστάσεως εκπαίδευση παρά τον εντοπισμό εμποδίων, όπως λίγες ώρες διδασκαλίας, προβλήματα σύνδεσης στο διαδίκτυο, έλλειψη συσκευών, δυσκολία κατανόησης της ύλης, αυξημένη εμπλοκή των γονέων στην μαθησιακή διαδικασία, και αποκλεισμός μερίδας μαθητών. Οι εκπαιδευτικοί της σχολικής μονάδας συνεργάστηκαν μεταξύ τους για την επίλυση προβλημάτων, ενώ υπογράμμισαν την ανάγκη εκ των προτέρων οργάνωσης τυπικών επιμορφώσεων για εκπαιδευτικούς, γονείς και μαθητές. Εντοπίστηκε ισχυρή αρνητική συσχέτιση μεταξύ του βαθμού ευκολίας χρήσης της πλατφόρμας σύγχρονης και ασύγχρονης διδασκαλίας και της πεποίθησης της αποτελεσματικότητας της εκπαιδευτικής διαδικασίας που ανέφεραν οι γονείς. Τέλος, ο ρόλος της διευθύντριας ήταν ενισχυτικός, επεξηγηματικός, συντονιστικός και ενημερωτικός.

 

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Keywords


emergency remote teaching, school unit, COVID-19 / επείγουσα εξ αποστάσεως εκπαίδευση, σχολική μονάδα, COVID-19

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejoe.v7i1.4144

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