Challenges experienced by teachers regarding access to digital instruments, resources, and competences in adapting the educational process to physical distancing measures at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in Romania
Challenges experienced by teachers regarding access to digital instruments, resources, and competences in adapting the educational process to physical distancing measures at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in Romania

Summary/Abstract: Emergency remote teaching replaced face-to-face education almost everywhere in the world atthe onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Romania switched to online teaching in March 2020 as arecommendation that became an obligation to teach online in late April 2020. Teachers sawthemselves confronted with the need to adapt to a completely new infrastructure for teaching andlearning in the digital sphere. Building on qualitative data (interviews and focus groups), collectedas part of a participatory action research project aiming to support school teachers in adapting toonline education, we explore the question: How did teachers understand and respond to thechallenges brought about by using digital instruments and resources in the educational process?Our findings show that teachers faced challenges in accessing technological and digitalinfrastructures, as well as in ensuring that pupils had access to online teaching and learningactivities. Moreover, teachers were faced with the need to rapidly develop the digital competencesnecessary for online teaching. This prompted exchanges between teachers, pupils and parents, aswell as the setting up of support structures within and outside school structures

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