Teacher Trainees’ Stance Towards Distance Learning During COVID-19: An Experiential Outlook

Abstract

Recently, the COVID-19 pandemic has urged educational practitioners around the globe to step away from the traditional mode of teaching/learning and espouse the online, technology-based model. Morocco was not an exception, the pandemic has changed education in many unprecedented ways, particularly at the Regional Centers of Education and Training Professions (CRMEF). Teacher trainees in Rabat Center had no choice but to go for an all buy-in of online learning and abide by the Corona-imposed distancing requirements. In contrast, trainees in CRMEF Agadir opted for blended learning, which entails both in-person and online undertakings. This paper seeks to explore the teacher trainees' experiences of online learning within the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. The designed survey targeted 100 participants, 54 % of them are females while 46 % are males. 84 % are between 20 and 29 years of age- a young adult population. The majority of these participants, 70 %, have a bachelor's degree, while 30% hold a master's degree. The study reveals that students/trainees have idiosyncratic opinions and perceptions of online learning. Likewise, they seem to have experienced discrepant challenges while accessing online classes either via Zoom or Google Meet.