University professors ready to work remotely implement distance learning during the COVID 19 pandemic

Abstract

During the COVID 19 pandemic, the forced and widespread transition to distance learning has required restructuring of the entire educational process at the universities, quick adoption of new tools for work in the digital environment, and adaptation to new ways of communication in the teacher-student system. In May 2020, we conducted an anonymous online survey of the 172 Russian university teachers to determine their readiness to distance learning in conditions of self-isolation during the COVID 19 pandemic. We determine that teachers of all ages, different work experience, and various specializations have a similar (not quite successful) level of psychological state when working in a completely remote mode. We find that teachers’ self-assessment of their readiness for distance learning also has medium-low values. The teachers were not prepared to work exclusively in the remote format, regardless of their gender, age, work experience and specialization. Our analysis shows that teachers’ self-assessment of their professional skills differs between a group of young teachers that do not have PhD (which presumably have higher motivation for career growth, self-development, pursuing a PhD degree, promotion) and a group of senior teachers holding PhDs (who, at the time of the survey, had a significant professional status). Our conclusion suggests that the respondents have quite successfully overcome a high psychological burden and the need for a full transition to distance learning, which accompanied their work during the pandemic. Furthermore, we find that Russian university teachers have a high adaptive potential. A quick transition to remote mode, the need to master new technologies and forms of training did not pose any insurmountable problems for the Russian university teachers but became new motivators for their professional development. Further work requires additional research regarding the high "psychological cost" of such restructuring of consciousness and professional activity.