Explaining Jamaican Students’ Perception of Remote Teaching and Learning During COVID-19

Abstract

This study explores Jamaican secondary students’ perceptions of the impact of remote instruction on their learning. The arrival of the global COVID-19 pandemic on the shores of Jamaica in March 2020 (declared as such by the World Health Organization in the same month) resulted in a change from traditional face-to-face teaching to a remote modality. The study used convenience sampling to identify 28 urban and rural, male and female, 12-17-year-old secondary students across Jamaica’s 14 parishes. Semi structured questions and one-on-one telephone interviews were used to collect data. The results showed a mixed impression of the impact of remote instruction and learning on the students’ overall learning. The study concluded that students’ perceived ICT availability, accessibility, affordability, and connectivity challenges; teachers’ ICT skill and ability to transfer to remote teaching effectively; and students’ attitudes contributed to their teaching/learning experiences during COVID-19.