Secondary mathematics teachers’ perception of their readiness for emergency remote teaching during the covid-19 pandemic: A case study

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused a worldwide unexpected interruption of face-to-face teaching and a sudden conversion to emergency remote teaching (ERT). In this exploratory study, a sample of 244 secondary mathematics teachers was considered to analyze their perception of their readiness to ERT during the COVID-19 pandemic based on their technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPCK), their previous training in digital teaching tools, their level of digital competence for teaching mathematics, and their adaptation to ERT. An online questionnaire was applied, and the answers were quantitatively analyzed. Given the use of a large number of digital resources and the high percentage of self-developed materials using educational software, secondary mathematics teachers reflected adequate digital competence and TPCK for teaching mathematics. The sudden transition to ERT forced teachers to slow down the pace of teaching and to reduce the content taught. Significant differences were observed based on gender and age with respect to teachers’ perception of their adaptation to ERT. Despite the positive influence of previous training on their perception of readiness for ERT, in general, teachers recognized that they need more training. The demand for preparation for video editing and online quiz composition can be considered for the design of future training programs.