Etäopetuksen tilannekuva koronapandemiassa vuonna 2020

Translated title of the contribution: The Readiness of Distance Learning in Corona Pandemic During 2020

Jaakko Vuorio, Matti Ranta, Kimmo Koskinen, Tuula Nevalainen-Sumkin, Juho Helminen, Anni Miettunen

Research output: Book/ReportCommissioned report

Abstract

The report examines international and Finnish studies and reports related to distance learning organised by schools and educational institutions in basic and upper secondary education during the coronavirus pandemic. The report focuses on examining the development of digitalisation in education. The planning of measures to be recommended regarding digitalisation in basic and upper secondary education will start nationally in cooperation with stakeholders. This report will provide the basis for the planning work. According to international and national evaluations, basic and upper secondary education in Finland succeeded in changing over to teaching organised via remote connections during the exceptional teaching arrangements of spring 2020. Finland was able to use the digital infrastructure that already existed before the coronavirus pandemic as well as digital tools and learning environments reasonably well. On the face of it, schools and educational institutions seem to generally have had the equipment and competence required to make the change from contact learning to teaching organised via remote connections on a broad national scale. However, a great deal of challenges emerged. The greatest challenges are caused by the wide variation in the development of digitalisation in education especially between different comprehensive schools and municipalities. The
variation in the development of digitalisation (different equipment, varying digital competence and the practices) has particularly risked the realisation of the educational equality and equity of comprehensive school pupils. In some of the comprehensive schools, teachers and pupils lacked sufficient digital tools, and there have also been deficiencies in their competence. Challenges have also been discovered in the forms of support provided to pupils and students and in the building of interaction and a sense of community with the help of remote connections. The amount of real-time teaching through a video connection
was clearly too small during the exceptional teaching arrangements. In upper secondary education, the development of digitalisation has been more even, but there are also areas clearly requiring development at the upper secondary level.
Teaching organised via remote connections has proved stressful for the majority of the teaching and guidance staff and managers in the education and training sector. It is likely that deviations from the objectives of the curriculum for basic education and assessments have had to be made during 2020. The amount of schoolwork during distance learning has at times been stressful for learners especially in the upper grades of secondary school and in upper secondary education. According to different reports, new digital skills have been learned
widely and learning new methods and matters has been found a strength in the exceptional teaching arrangements. Teachers have received considerable support particularly from peer teachers and supervisors. Tutor teachers also had an important role in comprehensive schools. Both the learners and the teaching and guidance staff of schools reported considerable improvement of their digital competence, which is likely to have continued throughout 2020. We hope that the content of this report will be made use of in the national and local development of education. More research is required on the impacts of distance learning and the coronavirus pandemic.
Translated title of the contributionThe Readiness of Distance Learning in Corona Pandemic During 2020
Original languageFinnish
Place of PublicationHelsinki
PublisherOPETUSHALLITUS
Commissioning bodyOpetus- ja kultturiministeriö
Number of pages132
ISBN (Electronic)978-952-13-6736-6
Publication statusPublished - 26 Mar 2021
Publication typeD4 Published development or research report or study

Publication series

NameOpetushallitus, raportit ja selvitykset,
No.4
Volume2021
ISSN (Print)1798-8918
ISSN (Electronic)1798-8926

Keywords

  • education
  • Digital learning
  • Distance learning
  • school
  • Finnish education policy
  • Digitalization
  • Remote teaching
  • learning environments
  • COVID-19

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'The Readiness of Distance Learning in Corona Pandemic During 2020'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this