engleski

Experiences and challenges of distance teaching and learning from the perspective of primary and secondary school subject teachers

The digitalization of society promoted by the European Union (Digital EU) in Croatia is not satisfactory either at the institutional level nor at the citizens level. Although education and skills in EU have been recognized for a long time as a strategic condition for economic growth, Eurostat data for Croatia indicate a digital divide, urban-rural inequalities, socio-economic inequalities (household equipment with digital infrastructure and devices) and a generation gap in digital competencies. In that context, the sudden transition to distance teaching due to the pandemic has faced teachers with great challenges in preparation and implementation of teaching process. The objective of the research was to identify the changes brought by the sudden digitalization of teaching, in the areas of preparation and teaching, evaluation, communication with students, institutional support and the workload of teachers. The specific objectives of the research were (Q1) to investigate forms of institutional support to teachers for the implementation of distance teaching from their perspective, (Q2) to analyze types of capital and resources teachers had to activate for teaching in the digital environment and (Q3) to identify advantages, disadvantages and recommendations related to distance teaching and learning from teachers’ perspective. The purpose of the research is to contribute to the discussion on digitalization of education, distance teaching and learning and recommendations for their improvement based on the perspective, experience and judgements of teachers. Exploratory qualitative research with semi-structured interview as a method was conducted on a non- probabilistic geographically heterogeneous sample of primary and secondary school teachers (N=32) and in the second part structured written interview was used on the same sample with small dropout of participants (N=26). The structure of participants who participated in the first part was balanced according to the level of education with 15 primary and 17 secondary school teachers teaching different general education subjects. The field part of the research lasted from June to December 2020, and the interviews were conducted using mainly digital communication technologies, with the focus in conversations on the second semester of the 2019/2020 school year. Thematic analysis was used for analysis of data. Results of the conducted research indicated that the adjustment of the teaching process relied mostly on educators in charge of the direct work with students and their activation of various types of personal capital and resources, while institutional support was only of secondary importance. Regarding the form of institutional support to teachers for the implementation of distance teaching, a multilevel approach has been identified that refers to the contribution of school and institutions operating at the national level. Activation of teachers’ social and cultural capital and their utilization of their own material and financial resources prove to be important elements in the successful implementation of distance teaching. The results of the research show the shortcomings of distance teaching and learning that are partly related to the change of the type of interaction (direct and digitally mediated), socialization aspects, but also to the key elements of the teaching process (adaptations of teaching material and evaluation), then they show the advantages such as acquiring and improving digital competences and use of digital tools and platforms that can be used in the teaching process and teachers’ recommendations related to tangible and intangible institutional investments. Representation of the perspective of teachers with regard to their direct role in the educational process is important not only in the discussion on distance teaching and learning, but also in the wider social debate on the informatization and digitalization of education.

distance teaching and learning ; teachers ; capital ; institutional support ; digitalization

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