DISTANCE EDUCATION IN THE PANDEMIC ERA: THE VIEWS OF GREEK GENERAL AND SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION REGARDING READINESS, CHALLENGES AND THE POST-COVID EDUCATIONAL PRACTICES

Abstract

The present study, via the use of a questionnaire, examined the views of 138 Greek teachers, of general and special education, on the readiness for distance education, the challenges they face during the courses, and the measures to be taken in education in case of a next crisis such as Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19). Educators’ views on the measures to be taken by educational institutions in order to be ready to provide distance education in the post-COVID era were also examined. The analysis of results showed that Special Education teachers appeared to be more ready for distance education; indeed, their field of employment itself, namely teaching, their years of service, the age and the level of studies were found to have a statistically significant influence on their answers. The greater challenge that both groups of teachers faced were the difficulties in communicating with their students. It became apparent also the great need for training teachers in issues related to distance education as well as the protection of their personal data of their students. Article visualizations: