Remote teaching for equal and inclusive education in rural areas? An analysis of teachers’ perspectives on remote teaching

Abstract

PurposeThe aim of this study is to explore equality and inclusion as an aspect of remote teaching in rural areas. Moreover, the aim is to explore teachers' pedagogical digital competence (PDC) and school organizational support as conditions for developing remote teaching.Design/methodology/approachA mixed method approach with both qualitative and quantitative data was used.FindingsAccording to this study, remote teaching can solve many problems for school organizations and offer pupils new opportunities to learn in rural areas. Remote teaching expands the learning environment and provides pupils with equal access to qualified teachers and a wider range of learning solutions for different needs. However, the learning context needs to be redesigned with flexibility to meet the needs of individual pupils, whereas the remote teaching format itself can contribute to difficulties in teachers' flexibility. In meeting these challenges teachers' PDC and digital relational competencies are becoming increasingly important. Moreover, teachers' access to communities and school contexts where remote teaching is collaboratively discussed and elaborated on.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is limited to a region in Sweden, with ten participants.Practical implicationsThe practical implications are that equal and inclusive remote teaching is dependent on technological as well as pedagogical competence from teachers as well as from organizations.Social implicationsIf sufficient professional development for teachers is provided as well as organizational structure are in place, remote teaching is an option for equal access to education in sparsely populated areas. This means inclusive education can be provided to areas otherwise lacking in teacher competence.Originality/valueThe study is one of few that investigates how remote teaching teachers perceive the teaching form and the competencies and support required to develop and use it in rural areas.

Shifting to Emergency Remote Teaching Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Investigation of Greek Teachers’ Beliefs and Experiences

“…Nevertheless, remote teaching is not a new idea. Existing research findings indicated that online remote teaching has been reported for equal and inclusive education in rural areas in various countries [11][12][13]. A second mode of remote teaching was also applied when schools are closed or inaccessible due to a natural disaster [14,15] or other emergency, for example the war crisis in Syria [16].…”

Investigating In-service Elementary School Teachers’ Satisfaction with Participating in MOOC for Teaching Biological Concepts

“…After the pandemic, education at all levels will no longer be the same. MOOCs have a number of advantages and they can significantly contribute to teachers' professional development, through their participation in teachers' learning communities (Stenman & Pettersson, 2020) professional learning networks and school networks as well (Hilli, 2018).…”

Fjärrundervisning - en central del i skolans digitalisering

“…Tillåtna skolämnen bestämdes till moderna språk, modersmål, samiska i sameskolan och teckenspråk, samt för att ge elever studiehandledning på modersmål och integrerad samisk undervisning (Skollagen, 2010:800). I realiteten bedrivs dock fjärrundervisning i en vidare omfattning än så, då fjärrundervisning för många skolor runt om i Sverige ses som ett sätt att hantera faktiska behov (se t ex Öjefors-Stark, 2019, Stenman & Pettersson, 2020). Det kan till exempel handla om att tillämpa fjärrundervisning i andra ämnen än de som tillåts, inte tillåten användning av entreprenad, det kan även handla om elever som deltar i fjärrundervisning hemifrån eller en distansutbildning, som innebär kommunikation på annat sätt än i realtid (Skolverket, 2018).…”

“…För fjärrundervisning utgör digitalisering och tillgång till digitala teknologier, som framgår i denna studie, en viktig förutsättning för att hantera de pedagogiska behov skolan har (se även Millet, 2012), men där tekniken i sig inte utgör någon slags fristående satsning eller en lösning. Istället fungerar strävan om en tillgänglig, högkvalitativ och likvärdig undervisning som ett viktigt mål, som ger digitaliseringen en pedagogisk betydelse, då digital teknik så att säga öppnar upp en väg för att uppnå likvärdighet i skolan oavsett geografisk plats (Pettersson, 2009;Stenman & Pettersson, 2020). Detta tydliggörs även i denna studie där lärarna, trots inledande oro avseende teknikanvändning, i och med fjärrundervisningen har ett tydligt pedagogiskt objekt med digitalisering och teknikanvändning.…”