Distance learning is better organized and better implemented in the 2020/2021 school year, compared to the past three months (March-June) of the previous school year, 2019/2020, when the educational process had to find new ways to be applied as the pandemic broke out, shows the survey “Experiences and attitudes on distance learning among school directors, teachers, students and parents”, conducted in May-December 2020.

The survey, commissioned by the Ministry of Education and Science, Bureau for Development of Education and UNICEF with financial support from the UK government and implemented by the NGO Reactor-Research in Action, was conducted in two phases with the first phase covering over 10,000 respondents and the second one almost 5,000, including principals, teachers, parents and students.

All involved parties said they were satisfied with how distance learning and in-person classes were being implemented, the findings show. Unlike last year, the percentage is high of teachers and students who have responded that distance learning is organized according to class schedule rather than being chaotic. For comparison, last year 60% of teachers said distance learning followed the class schedule, while this one 99% said it did. Also, last year, a mere 23% of students said it did, while the latest finding show that 100% said the class scheduled was being followed.

The percentage of parents who think that distance learning isn’t effective dropped by half – 49% in 2020 compared to 26% respondents rating the ongoing school year. Almost half of the parents whose children attended distance learning (48%) said teachers were doing an excellent job, while 26% said it was very good.

Also, 93% use the platform Microsoft teams and the collective portal Eduino is mostly implemented in elementary education. The practice of students taking a picture of their homework and then sending it to the teachers to be graded is less and less being used.

A majority of the respondents said that the issues of distance learning reported last year have been solved. IT devices are being provided to students or materials are being printed for them. Also, a majority of students taking part in the survey said they have stable internet connection and their own computer.

Last year, 77% of teachers reported that at one point they couldn’t get in touch with some students. 60% of teachers reported the same problem this year, which might suggest that some students don’t take distance learning seriously, according to the researchers.

Furthermore, pupils, first grade through third grade, who attend in-person classes have reported no issues, according to a majority of the parents.

Almost 90% of teachers that are part of either distance learning or in-person classes had work overtime. They responded they are motivated, but end up feeling burned out by the end of the day.

The findings, amongst other things, stressed that expert services need to be engaged more because usually the parents have no contact with them when it comes to psychological support of students, considered to be of utmost importance for their mental health amid the pandemic.

The whole world, including our country, faced the challenge of reorganizing school classes fast after the outbreak of the pandemic, said Minister of Education and Science Mila Carovska in her introductory note at the event.

“It wasn’t easy, but we made utmost efforts to make sure there is successful school year, which is confirmed by this survey. The findings give us insight into the how much distance learning was successful and where we need to focus in order to improve the results,” she said.

Congratulating the teachers for being adaptable and flexible to the new circumstances in the past year and a half, UNICEF Representative Patrizia DiGiovanni said distance learning has been improved, stressing that reopening of schools in a safe way should be a priority.

British Ambassador Rachel Galloway said all stakeholders had learned lessons from being forced to be part of distance learning. She said she was satisfied with the UK government’s support to the Eduino platform for digital education alongside UNICEF, which had helped bridge the gap with the closing of schools.

Tanja Ivanova of the NGO Reactor – Research in Action said the survey data reflect the conditions of students and families that have access to internet. However, she noted, vulnerable groups of students are still facing barriers, even more so during the pandemic.

“While we look forward to completing the school year and being content with the improvements compared to last year, during the summer let’s think about the gaps in knowledge and find ways to fix the things we couldn’t before,” she stated.