‘We'd never had to set up a virtual school before’: Opportunities and challenges for primary and secondary teachers during emergency remote education

Gouseti, Anastasia

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic has brought about the largest disruption to formal education in recent history and has resulted in school closures and the move to online teaching and learning across the globe. Using data from interviews with 25 teachers and head teachers in England and Greece, this paper aims to capture educators’ experiences during emergency remote education (ERE) in spring–summer 2020 and contribute to current and future conversations about the post-pandemic school. Through a qualitative approach, the paper reports on the often improvised and compromised nature of online schooling during the first pandemic lockdown and presents the opportunities and challenges teachers experienced with the move to emergency remote education. It discusses how didactic modes of teaching prevailed, highlights the importance of parental involvement during ERE and argues that the move to online teaching and learning has accentuated digital inequalities. The findings of this study cast light on the hitherto unexplored area of ERE and offer original insights for future policy making, research and practice on how schools can develop readiness and resilience to face future closures in a post-pandemic world.

Citation

Gouseti, A. (2021). ‘We'd never had to set up a virtual school before’: Opportunities and challenges for primary and secondary teachers during emergency remote education. Review of Education, 9(3), Article e3305. https://doi.org/10.1002/rev3.3305

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jul 7, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Nov 12, 2021
• Publication Date: 2021-10
• Deposit Date: Jul 16, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: May 1, 2023
• Journal: Review of Education
• Electronic ISSN: 2049-6613
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 9
• Issue: 3
• Article Number: e3305
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/rev3.3305
• Keywords: Emergency remote education; Online schooling; Digital education; Teachers
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/3804728