Educational Challenges of Emergency Remote Teaching and Learning During the Coronavirus Crisis

Abstract

The coronavirus pandemic rapidly spread around the world and made people face numerous difficulties and challenges in various aspects of human activity, including education. To be able to protect their citizens from this health threat, governments across the world often had to act drastically. Preventive measures that were taken by the Croatian government, as well as others worldwide, involved closing educational institutions. In other words, classroom education was replaced by emergency remote teaching. This adjustment brought along numerous challenges and left many teachers unprepared. Based on available literature, this paper provides an overview of challenges which both teachers and students are met with. In addition, it offers guidelines for improving the educational process, under the given circumstances, directing it towards the student's overall development, having their interests and needs in mind. Difficulties teachers face relate to their digital competence and using information and communication technology (ICT), lesson planning and creating teaching materials, giving assignments and evaluating student progress, encouraging student selfeducation, but also their personal challenges. Difficulties students deal with involve taking online classes, acquiring knowledge, and maintaining good mental health. The fact that the learning process largely depends on the student's emotional state highlighted the teacher's role in the student's overall development. This means that teachers have to provide a positive and supportive atmosphere in the online environment. With its critical overview of the educational challenges both teachers and students face during the coronavirus crisis, this paper contributes to a wider understanding of said difficulties which provides support for further research.