Issues and challenges of inclusion in distance teaching and learning from the perspective of university students and teachers

Abstract

This paper attempts to present the challenges and issues of inclusion in distance teaching and learning as experienced by Czech university teachers and students during the COVID-19 pandemic. The article offers analytical insights into how the virtual university environment and classrooms were affected by the pandemic crisis. Although several international studies have been conducted on COVID and distance education, only a few have explored in detail the topic of inclusion by covering both the perspectives of university teachers and students. Our results are based on a questionnaire survey of teachers and a pilot questionnaire survey of students administered at a public university in the Czech Republic. Further, the findings highlight the inclusion of students with special needs in the context of the pandemic crisis to provide up-to-date perspectives from university teachers and students on issues related to inclusivity in the teaching and learning environment. The study indicates that more support and further training to teachers are needed regarding issues of inclusion to help bring online learning to the same level as education in brick-and-mortar schools.

Keywords:

• distance teaching and learning
• inclusive education
• COVID-19
• higher education

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the reviewers for their valuable comments and efforts toward improving our manuscript. We also thank the research participants for their support in conducting this research.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was declared by the author(s).

Funding information

This output relates to the project called Mitigating COVID Together: Enhancing Capacities of Academics and Students in Virtual Learning and Teaching Spaces. The project was co-funded by the Erasmus + Programme of the European Union (project number: 2020-1-CZ01-KA226-HE-094288, program provider: Czech National Agency for International Education and Research).

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, RV, upon reasonable request.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Radek Vorlíček

Radek Vorlíček is an educational researcher; his specialization is anthropology of education and sociology of education. He focuses on inclusive education, segregation in education, and peer relations. He has been conducting ethnographic fieldwork in primary schools and lower secondary schools in the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic.

Leona Stašová

Leona Stašová is a vice-rector for international affairs at the University of Hradec Králové. Her professional background is in sociology and demography. She deals with education in contemporary families and the socialization of children and youth in a postmodern and global society.

Michel Hogenes

Michel Hogenes is principal lecturer in the teacher education program of The Hague University of Applied Sciences, and leads the Master of Arts Education at Codarts, University of the Arts in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

Eva Janebová

Eva Janebová is the director of the Institute for Excellence in Internationalisation at Palacký University. In her 20 years working in international education, she has focused on curriculum development and quality assurance and has served as advisor to the Council for International Education Exchange and the Czech Ministry of Education.

Zuzana Průchová

Zuzana Průchová is a PhD candidate in information and communication technology in education at the University of Hradec Králové. She also works on strategic projects aiming to foster inclusive campus conditions for students and employees by supporting their well-being as an inclusion manager at the Information, Counselling, and Career Centre.