Analysis of the implementation of teaching and learning processes at Catalan schools during the Covid-19 lockdown

ABSTRACT

Most countries around the world have temporarily closed educational institutions with the aim of containing the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. How have schools overcome these challenges and delivered education during the confinement period? The purpose of this research was to analyse how primary and secondary schools in Catalonia (Spain) implemented the teaching and learning process during the lockdown, based on 48 semi-structured interviews with school principals from different types of schools, located in urban and rural environments, and from diverse socioeconomic statuses. This article shows that there is a digital divide in students and teachers, emotional accompaniment as a need for online learning, older students are more autonomous and self-regulate better their own learning process, each school used their own strategy because there was no programme prepared for emergency situations, teachers had difficulties in self-regulating their work and communication with families became essential.

KEYWORDS:

• Covid-19
• pandemic
• lockdown
• schools

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Departament d’Innovació, Universitats i Empresa, Generalitat de Catalunya [2017 FI_B 00085].

Notes on contributors

Ramon Palau

Dr Ramon Palau currently works as a master coordinator and lecturer at the Education and Psychology Science Faculty of Universitat Rovira i Virgili. He is a researcher in ARGET (Applied Research Group in Education and Technology). His research interests are educational technology and teacher training in general and smart learning environments, flipped learning and teacher digital competence, in particular.

Marta Fuentes

Dr Marta Fuentes Agustí has a graduate degree in Education, a Bachelor’s degree in Educational Psychology, a Master’s degree in Teaching and Learning Strategies, a Master’s degree in Education & ICT (e-learning) and a PhD in Educational Psychology. She is a teacher and researcher at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Her research interests include how to improve teaching and learning strategies, teamwork, learning assessment, the inclusion of technologies in teaching and learning processes, and professional practices in schools. At present, she leads the Strategic Partnership project of the European Union: Social Inclusion and Success of Chinese Students in EU Higher Education (SIAS China-EU).

Jordi Mogas

Jordi Mogas Recalde is a PhD candidate in Educational Technology at the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV). He has a Master’s degree in Education & ICT (e-learning) and a Bachelor’s degree in Information and Documentation with mention in information systems management at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC). He is a member of ARGET (Applied Research Group in Education and Technology) and teaches at both the Department of Pedagogy at the URV and at the Department of Education at the UOC. His main research areas are Smart Learning Environments and Virtual Learning Environments.

Gisela Cebrián

Dr Gisela Cebrián is a Serra Húnter Fellow in the Department of Pedagogy at Universitat Rovira i Virgili. She previously worked as the academic lead of the MSc in Educational Leadership and Management at Camilo José Cela University. Her research interests include Education for Sustainability, teacher education, organisational learning and change, sustainability competencies, educational leadership and curriculum innovation. She has participated in several research projects focused on the conceptualisation and evaluation of sustainability competencies; the influence that student-centred approaches have in developing sustainability competencies amongst students; and how action research and participatory approaches foster organisational learning towards sustainability.