The COVID-19 pandemic has forced educational institutions globally to resort to the online mode of teaching and learning. In this paper, we examined how the emergency online education was carried out in the Assam state of India. An explanatory mixed methods study methodology was adopted. Perspectives of 92 students and 30 teachers from 30 secondary level institutions of Assam were examined. Students’ acceptability of the emergency online education as well as the effects on the mental and physical health of the students were studied. Moreover, the teachers’ perspectives on the emerging online threats were also examined. Data were collected using two separate questionnaires administered to the students and the teachers. It was followed with telephonic interviews with the teachers to gain in-depth knowledge on the studied issues. This study examines both the positive and negative effects of the adoption of online education. The results indicated that all the students could not avail the benefits of this mode. Social messaging apps and online tools like WhatsApp, schools’ own mobile apps, Google Classroom LMS and Google Meet, ZOOM, recorded videos and audio tutorials were used to provide online support to the students. Impact on the physical and mental health of the students was observed. The online teaching process led to the generation of a large repository of e-resources. The results also indicated the ignorance of teachers regarding the online threats which could severely affect their students. The study recommended awareness programmes and training sessions for teachers and students on educational technology tools, technologies and approaches for the post-COVID-19 period.
Keyword(s) : Covid-19
Zoom, Skype or Photos of Paper Sheets: Adolescents about the Transition to Distance Learning During the Pandemic
The coronavirus pandemic led to a massive transition to distance learning at schools. All participants in the educational process adapt their lifestyle, workplace, communication methods and leisure forms to the new circumstances. Nowadays the consequences of this phenomenon begin to be studied. This article is devoted to the study of the experience of learning, communication and leisure of teenagers in conditions of social isolation and school closure and approbation of the risk and protective factors model in the context of adaptation to the distance learning. Thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews with adolescents aged 13-17 from Moscow, Ryazan, Tomsk, Moscow and Sverdlovsk regions allows us to characterize five thematic categories in terms of the main factors that make it more difficult or easier for schoolchildren to adapt to the distance learning. The categories include: school and teacher relations; supplementary education and hobbies; relationships with peers; family context; individual and personal characteristics of schoolchildren. The pilot nature of this study and a small sample limit the possibilities of extrapolating the conclusions to all groups of Russian schoolchildren, but allow us to problematize the complex nature of the difficulties faced by adolescents and demonstrate a wide range of resources that allow them to cope with them. Based on the results, we developed short recommendations that can be used by the management of educational organizations, teachers, and parents to reduce stress and simplify the adaptation of students during distance learning.
Characteristics of Social Sector Managers with Different Attitudes towards the Pandemic and Its Consequences
This article explores the attitude of managers towards the COVID-19 pandemic, providing an
overview of their opinions on its consequences and potential impact on the country’s future socioeconomic
development. The study is important since it provides insight into how management styles
may be effective in times of uncertainty and crisis. The research involved 661 managers, including
383 from the social sphere. The study utilized the management potential assessment questionnaire
(PMO, version 5.0, Sinyagin, 2018), as well as a specially developed questionnaire. The participants
were differentiated on two grounds: their attitude towards the pandemic either as a mobilizing
challenge or as a serious not always surmountable difficulty in actual management. The findings
reflect that the managers’ attitudes about the prospects for the country’s development after the end
of the pandemic, commonly referred to as “optimism-pessimism”, have profound effect on their
management strategies and performance indicators. It is revealed that readiness for learning and
social mobility are key characteristics associated with optimistic future expectations. Internality,
personality strength, a clear strategic life idea, and managerial experience are most associated with
overcoming current circumstances. The paper concludes that developing and enhancing these
qualities is a significant task that managers have in today’s uncertain world.
Students’ Mathematics Achievements: A Comparison between Pre- and Post-COVID-19 Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic represented a shift from face-to-face to online and distance learning.
Teaching methods and assessing strategies changed, as well as grading standards. The focus of
this paper is to address the differences between pre- and post-COVID-19 pandemic mathematics
grades and, in particular, to investigate the possible differences between mid-term and end-term
grades in Italy. To this end, 231 Italian middle and high school students’ grades were analysed.
Using the Wilcoxon rank test (a non-parametric statistical test) the results showed a statistically
significant difference in pre- and post-COVID-19 quarantine grades. End-of-year grades were
higher than those before the COVID-19 confinement. Furthermore, the results indicated that
more than half of the students in the sample achieved a higher grade at the end of the school year.
Gender differences in mathematics grades were examined, since the literature about gender gap
in mathematics achievement is not coherent about whether boys outperform girls or vice versa.
Statistically significant differences at the end of the first semester were reported, in favour of female
students although gender differences were not detected at the end of the school year. The findings
suggest that greater caution should be paid in interpreting students’ grades pre- and post-COVID-19
confinement, since it cannot be excluded that such students’ achievements are inflated. Excessively
high students’ grades that do not represent their actual knowledge and competencies could give
educators and legislators misleading and even false information about the quality of distance
learning and students’ knowledge.
Filipino Teacher Professional Development in the New Normal
The Covid-19 pandemic has posed various challenges particularly in the education sector where the
‘new normal’ experience is all about online interaction and distance learning. As the health protocols
enforce physical distancing measures, actual and personal interaction and engagements are limited.
As teacher professional development (TPD) becomes a melting pot of best practices and strategies
that work, teachers receive a perspective that helps them create their own professional vision.
The findings of this study revealed that for teachers, TPD is a route to enhance and upgrade their
knowledge and skills and professional growth, with teaching as a life-long learning process. Pre-
Covid-19 TPD programs included initiatives on content, pedagogy and technology, action learning,
graduate studies, leadership and management, and action research. During the pandemic, teachers
were exposed to webinars and training on online teaching and learning, technological capacity, and
mental health. Regardless of age and years of teaching experience, teachers have a mindset to grow
in the profession and be better educators. They want to unlearn the old, and relearn new knowledge
and skills because they want their students to learn according to their current needs and what the
world needs in the future.