Combating the Coronavirus Pandemic in Small Schools

Martina Maněnová,Jitka Vítová,Martin Skutil,Janet Wolf

doi:10.3390/su13137086

Abstract

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the issue of distance education in primary schools has become a much-discussed topic. It is therefore no surprise that the issues related to it have come to the forefront of many researchers. There is, however, at least one group that has stayed relatively unnoticed, and it is so-called small schools. Thus, we conducted a qualitative study based on the phenomenological approach, searching for answers to our research question: What has been the experience of the directors of small schools with distance education during the pandemic? Our findings offer an in-depth insight into the life of six schools through the eyes of their directors. Semi-structural interviews with school directors helped us reveal three key factors that, in our opinion, had the greatest influence on the form of distance education. These are (1) the factor of ICT competence of all actors, (2) the factor of organization of educational settings, and (3) the factor of the teaching methods and forms used in education. Furthermore, we conclude the result section with a subchapter that captures the positive aspects of distance education as perceived by the addressed school directors.

Highlights

Coronavirus Pandemic in SmallThere has been a long-standing debate about the implications of ICT implementation in education
Our research focused on the pandemic situation in small schools, which were neglected in national surveys
The main purpose of the research project was to look at distance education in the time of a pandemic as a new phenomenon in education that significantly affected the normal operation of primary schools

Summary

Introduction

Coronavirus Pandemic in SmallThere has been a long-standing debate about the implications of ICT (information and communication technology) implementation in education. Calder and Otrel-Cass [2] speak in a similar vein, claiming that ICT may open up spaces for learning; it is necessary to rethink its integration for educational purposes. This relates to the competencies of the 21st century—collaboration, communication, digital literacy, citizenship, problem-solving, critical thinking, creativity, and productivity—which need to be integrated into the curriculum of pre-service teacher training [3]. There is an important assumption that digital literacy will not be taken as a separate area but will be included in the curriculum as its integral part [3]

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