New study on distance education during the COVID-19 pandemic and how it affected students' learning
Researchers at Stockholm University, in a new study, have investigated how the transition to distance learning during the pandemic affected the students' learning conditions . The study is based on interviews with young people and their experiences of the distance education. The results have been published in two articles. The researchers are from the Department of Education and the Department of Special Education.
Due to the covid-19 pandemic, schools in many countries were forced to stop face-to-face teaching and switch to emergency remote teaching (ERT), with all communication via the Internet, at very short notice.
In the study, based on semi-structured interviews with upper secondary school pupils in Stockholm, the researchers found variations with regard to how the pupils perceived their new morning routines, the increased flexibility of structuring their day as well as choosing a workplace at home and the decreased control from their teachers. While some perceived the increased flexibility as challenging, others appraised it as a possibility to be more independent (Ringer & Kreitz-Sandberg, 2022).
–Identified difficulties involved learning from each other by comparing one’s performance to that of classmates, having deep discussions, encouraging each other and organizing themselves in a group”, according to the researchers Noam Ringer and Susanne Kreitz-Sandberg.
The results of the study are discussed in relation to previous studies, and are interpreted through the lenses of Design for Learning Theory.
The Swedish strategy
The second article highlights the strategy during the COVID-19 pandemic for the Swedish education system, with a special focus on the consequences of these decisions for students’ learning.
Compulsory schools were generally kept open, while upper secondary schools were closed and instead turned to distance education from spring term 2020. The chosen strategy differs in many ways from that of other European countries.
In the study, based on interviews with a group of 15- to 19-year-old students, the researchers describe how this group perceived the transition to digital and remote teaching, with regard to the availability of digital infrastructure and to studying under these new conditions. (Kreitz-Sandberg, Ringer & Fredriksson, 2022).
–Possible lessons to be learned from the pandemic in Sweden could be that students are better technically prepared to work with computers and online platforms, but less prepared to work independently”, says Susanne Kreitz-Sandberg, one of the researchers behind the study.
The articles have been published in The International Journal of Educational Research Open and in a special edition of the journal Tertium Comparationis together with multiply studies of other countries’ educational systems.
About the researchers
Noam Ringer is Senior Lecturer at the Department of Special Education, Stockholm University.
Susanne Kreitz-Sandberg is Associate Professor at the Department of Education, Stockholm University. (Corresponding author)
Ulf Fredriksson is Associate Professor at the Department of Education, Stockholm University.
References and links
Noam Ringer & Susanne Kreitz-Sandberg (2022). Swedish Pupils’ Perspectives on Emergency Remote Teaching during COVID-19 - A Qualitative Study. International Journal of Educational Research Open. Volume 3.
Susanne Kreitz-Sandberg, Noam Ringer & Ulf Fredriksson (2022). We have our lessons in Teams’ – Strategies chosen in Swedish schools during the COVID-19 pandemic and consequences for studen
Last updated: October 14, 2022
Source: IPD