FINNISH PRIMARY TEACHER’S EXPERIENCES OF REMOTE TEACHING DURING COVID-19 SCHOOL CLOSURES

Abstract

The whole world was in an unexpected situation early 2020 due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. As an attempt to stop the spread of the virus, schools were closed globally leaving approximately 1.6 billion children and youth affected. Teachers had to adapt to the new and uncertain situation quickly and organize their work remotely while taking care of their personal life. The purpose of this study is to investigate the experiences of teachers in their work in one city in Finland during the eight-week school closure due to the pandemic. If a similar situation happens in the future, it is important to learn what worked well and what could be done better. It is also worthwhile to find those practices that were used during the school closure that could be used in the development of normal schoolwork in the future. The study was conducted as a qualitative study where eight class teachers were interviewed. The main research question was: “What were the primary school teachers’ experiences of teaching during the emergency remote school (ERS) period due to the COVID-19 crisis in one Finnish city in spring 2020?” To support the main question, the following sub questions were formed: (i) How did the teachers organize teaching in practice at different grade levels in primary school during the emergency remote school period? (ii) What challenges did teachers perceive for pupils and for teachers during the emergency remote school period? (iii) What positive aspects did teachers perceive of the emergency remote school? The findings of this study showed that there were differences in the practicalities that individual teachers used in their teaching during the school closure. More consistency within schools and nationwide along with sharing of ideas would be beneficial to ensure the same quality of teaching to everyone. All of the participants experienced a greater workload during the remote schooling period, while for some the experience was more burdening than for the others. The greatest benefit that was seen in the situation was the development of technology skills of pupils and teachers when digital tools were utilized now more than ever before in school. Other benefits that the teachers perceived were the development of individual working skills of pupils and some pupils were seen as benefitting from the opportunity to study at their own pace and without the social pressures of school environment. Challenges perceived included the lack of teacher and peer support for pupils, along with the lack of spontaneity of face-to-face interaction.