Is the safety safe: the experience of distance education (or self-isolation)

Abstract

Education and safety? The authors of this study set out to answer this difficult question, relying on the experience of working in remote access during the coronavirus pandemic, The aim is to understand whether the humanitarian project might be endangered be the desire to make life absolutely safe, and to identify the extent of the appropriate safety measures that prevent the spread of the coronavirus and preserve a safe space for the formation of an educated personality. In the course of the study, the authors found that by focusing on one urgent danger, there is a possibility of neglecting others, no less important. The success of solving the problem of ensuring security in the face of an unexpected pandemic by transitioning to remote technologies does not signify that this solution is actually the best. The need to preserve education as a resource that supports the security of human existence constrains the ways in which the established forms of the educational system can be transformed. Changing the format of education leads to other changes in society, which may include many negative consequences. While short-term consequences are already noticeable, coupled with the concern how long-term consequences will affect the further development of society. If the safety and security of societies requires a high level of education, the preservation of the educational system is an important safety factor alongside protection from the pandemic. The paper therefore investigates also the attitudes of students in this ambivalent situation.