Distance Learning in the Secondary School Pupils’ Opinion During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic triggered a general implementation of social distancing. According to UNESCO’s data, schools have been closed in 165 countries. Pursuant to a decision of the Polish government of 12 March 2020, classes in educational establishments were suspended throughout Poland. The Internet, viewed from the beginning of its existence as a source of numerous threats and also of unprecedented access to information, became a tool enabling the continuity of educational activity. In the present reality, teachers facing social distance, confronted by challenges at work are also evaluated by students. The present article, based on empirical studies, contains secondary school students’ opinions on the subject of the quality of distance learning. Critical opinions result explicitly from the fact that they are expressed by people having “digital attachment to modern technology” and possess heir own equipment with unlimited network access. This unprecedented state of emergency emphasizes most teachers’ unpreparedness for switching overnight to the online mode, which should not come as a surprise to anybody, because reliable preparation for distance classes involves not only the skill but also planning and proper preparation of teaching materials. Importantly, during online learning students begin to miss other people and interaction with their teachers, which emphasizes the importance of direct human relations, unduly underrated in “normal reality”. Regardless of various opinions on the subject of distance learning, it is obvious that forced switching to online learning can nd even be a catalyst of change in the educational field.