Earlier in December the Joint Research Centre (JRC) at the EU commission published a report which explores how students and parents experienced remote schooling during the spring 2020 lockdown and how children and parents coped during this unique moment in education. This European report covers data from 10 countries (Austria, Croatia, Denmark, France, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia and Spain).
Romina Cachia, who is a visiting lecturer at the Faculty of Media and Knowledge Sciences contributed to this research as she currently works on research and policy activities related to digital education and technology innovation in education at the European Commission's Joint Research Centre.
The report presents data from 105 in-depth interviews with children aged 6 to12 and their parents during the COVID-19 lockdown period. ‘Remote schooling during and after COVID-19 spring 2020 lockdown: A closer look at European families’ is one of the first reports to provide data on what happened in European households during and after the spring COVID-19 lockdown. Covid-19 accelerated the shift to digital education resulting in an overall improvemnet of digital skills for teachers and students. This report explores how remote schooling happened, how families experienced it and what we can learn from it.
Most children interviewed said they enjoyed using digital technologies, but were critical of the way they were used for remote schooling. Most children thought it was less engaging than face-to-face instruction and found themselves bored during schooling. When children were motivated to learn and had a supportive environment, they found various ways to self-teach themselves. The parents faced the challenge of becoming more involved in their children's school tasks, whilst balancing family needs and work life. The report highlights that the demand on Mothers was greater. Many parents raised concerns and worries on children's physical and mental health and digital tiredness during this period. Most students wanted to go back to school ta face-to-face learning and playing.
The report explores different challenges and perceptions of remote schooling across Europe, policymakers and education stakeholders are informed of the current trends and possible impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on schooling and future models of blended or hybrid education to ensure that future policy actions are aligned with the needs reported by European families.