Editorial
Articles
-
Teaching and supporting students with special educational needs at a distance during the COVID-19 school closures in Finland: special needs teachers' experiences
This study aimed to increase knowledge of how special needs education (SNE) in Finnish comprehensive schools was arranged at a distance during the COVID-19 school closures in the spring of 2020 and to clarify what types of challenges special needs teachers (SNTs) faced when teaching and supporting students with special...
-
Teachers in new situations during the COVID-19 period: impact on professional collaboration and quality of teaching
In late February of 2020 the first COVID-19 cases were confirmed in Iceland. The Icelandic government declared a four-week assembly ban, which included various restrictions that forced teachers to change their teaching methods and organisation. The aim of this study was to gain insight into the experience of teachers during...
-
Classrooms going online: Nordic lower secondary teachers' readiness at the COVID-19 outbreak
The aim of this article is to make visible Nordic lower secondary teachers’ experiences of the initial period of the COVID-19 pandemic, guided by three research questions: 1. What challenges and strategies can be identified in teachers’ descriptions of teaching during the pandemic outbreak? 2. What appears to be the...
-
Changes and actions taken in online teaching during the first period of COVID-19: a teacher perspective on pupils' equity
The aim of this article is to explore a teacher perspective on issues of equity for pupils in online teaching during lockdown in the first period of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using the concepts of horizontal and vertical equity and equal educational opportunities adapted by Maiztegui-Oñate and Santibáñez-Gruber, we study how...
-
Swedish upper secondary school teachers' experiences with coping with emergency remote teaching (ERT) - emerging pedagogical issues in pandemic times
This paper reports the results of a research project on the advanced use of digital technology in Swedish upper secondary schools. The study was aimed at mapping and analysing teachers’ experiences during the first six months of their mandatory emergency remote teaching (ERT) experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. In total,...
-
'I miss the physical presence of the students': Swedish teachers' experiences of online teaching and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic
The demographic and economic conditions for education in the Nordic countries—especially in remote areas of this region—has led to an increasingly intensive use of information and communication technologies. The authorities’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic has, however, entailed a radical acceleration of the already ongoing change towards digitisation. In the...
-
Swedish vocational teachers' informal workplace learning during the initial phase of the COVID-19 crisis
As a result of the COVID-19 crisis, schools providing Vocational Education and Training (VET) around the world were largely forced to close and switch to Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT). This study deals with Swedish vocational teachers' informal workplace learning during the first three months of ERT. The purpose is to...
-
Every cloud has a silver lining - Finnish guardians' experiences of the positive outcomes of emergency remote schooling during the COVID-19 pandemic
In spring 2020, the majority of schools worldwide were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The transition from face-to-face schooling to remote learning at home was sudden and dramatic. Indeed, the term emergency remote schooling (ERS) might describe the situation more accurately. This study asks the question: What kind of...
-
Parental experiences of education at home during a pandemic
This study aimed to explore parental experiences of home education including the advantages, challenges and coping strategies utilised. An online cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted which included: demographic questions, the Perceived Stress Inventory, and open-ended questions. Participants (n = 152) were recruited from support groups and social networks. The majority...
-
Parental trust in the Finnish basic education system during the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic in Finland rapidly changed many of the established practices in Finnish schooling. Normal teaching was replaced by distance learning and many daily routines (grouping, school meals etc.) were ordered to be organised following new safety instructions. In this study, we examined how pupils’ parents in Finland have...
-
Individualised home-schooling - at odds with the equity ambitions in the Nordic model of education?
Within the Norwegian education system, equity, equal opportunities and education for all are fundamental principles, regardless of one’s socioeconomic background and academic achievement. In this article, we discuss how these ideals of equity for all students were challenged during the period of home-schooling that took place amid the Covid19 pandemic...
-
Home-schooling for children with disabilities during the pandemic: a study of digital-, musical- and socio-economic conversion factors
This article investigates how increased focus on home-schooling influenced children with disabilities´ everyday education during the pandemic. Specifically, I focus on how children with disabilities were able to engage in home-schooling on digital learning platforms according to their own interests during the pandemic. Conceptually I draw on theoretical arguments developed...
-
Long-term consequences of COVID-19 on students' well-being and values
Due to COVID-19, 2020 and 2021 were strange and different school years for many students around the world. Based on surveys of Danish primary and lower secondary school students conducted in April 2020 (N=5953), June 2020 (N=1187), December 2020 (N=2665) and June 2021 (5768), this article examines students' well-being during...
-
Crisis as opportunity: experiences of Norwegian school leaders during the COVID-19 pandemic
Norwegian schools received a few days’ notice in March 2020 before closing in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The complexity of school life was suddenly compounded by a serious and unstable situation. Amid this was the implementation of the updated Norwegian national curriculum. This research explored how schools coped with...