Covid-19 and Crisis-Prompted Distance Education in Sweden
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Covid‑19 and Crisis‑Promted Distance Education in Sweden Nina Bergdahl1 · Jalal Nouri1
© The Author(s) 2020
Abstract This study represents the first research effort to explore the transition from traditional teaching into distance teaching in Swedish schools enforced by covid-19. Governments made gradual and injudicious decisions to impede the spread of the pandemic (covid-19) in 2020. The enactment of new measures affected critical societal functions and included travel restrictions, closing of borders, school closures and lockdowns of entire countries worldwide. Social distancing became the new reality for many, and for many teachers and students, the school closure prompted a rapid transition from traditional to distance education. This study aims to capture the early stages of that transition. We distributed a questionnaire to teachers’ (n = 153) to gain insights into teacher and school preparedness, plans to deliver distance education, and teachers’ experience when making this transition. Results show that the school preparedness was mainly related to technical aspects, and that teachers lack pedagogical strategies needed in the emerging learning landscape of distance education. Findings reveal four distinct pedagogical activities central for distance education in a crisis, and many challenges faced during the transition. While preparedness to ensure continuity of education was halting, schools and teachers worked with tremendous effort to overcome the challenges. Results expand on previous findings on school closure during virus outbreaks and may in the short-term support teachers and school leaders in making informed decisions during the shift into distance education. The study may also inform the development of preparedness plans for schools, and offers a historical documentation. Keywords Covid-19 · Distance education · GDPR · School closure · Sweden
1 Introduction Sudden and unforeseen changes to society may have a significant impact on critical functions and services. In the wake of covid-19, many people found themselves in quarantines, working and studying from home (MacKenzie 2020). The news was continuously updating on the events, informing of deaths, imposing on restrictions and limiting civil rights, which also could have increased the hamstring of food and supplies (Bayham and Fenichel 2020). After overcoming the initial chock, many governments decided that central functions in * Nina Bergdahl [email protected] 1
Computer and Systems Sciences Department, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
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society, like compulsory education, should make a shift into distance education (Zhang et al. 2020). By March 18,107 seven countries had made country-wide decisions to close school impacting 861,737,696 learners (UNESCO 2020). Previous research on school closure (as an effect of government response to halt the spread of epidemic diseases), and the requirement of transitions into distance learning, has shown that schools interpret the new conditions i
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