Educational Process Problems And Right To Quality Education In A Pandemic

Abstract

During pandemic, the question of obtaining quality education often arises. The traditional education system faces the need to switch to a distance learning format. The management of educational institutions, teachers and students had to independently find information tools for distance learning. Not much time has passed since the beginning of the pandemic, but it was enough to understand the advantages and disadvantages of the remote format. Practice has shown that in order to ensure quality education, it is necessary to develop educational technologies that will allow not only to conduct classes online, but also to check the quality of the students' knowledge. The development of distance learning has expanded the opportunities for home education for housewives, women on maternity leave, and people with disabilities. Currently, online courses are becoming more widespread, which contributes not only to improving the level of education, but also significantly saves time. In the future, it is necessary to create a unified educational environment and develop special training programs. This will help make the learning system universal. The distance learning format requires special skills and abilities from the teacher. For this purpose, advanced training courses are being created at educational institutions, where each employee will be able to receive training. However, as practice shows, the online environment cannot replace live communication with the teacher, which means that it can only serve as a supplement to the traditional form of education.

Keywords: Distance format, distance technologies, information environment, pandemic, quality of education, student motivation

Introduction

The use of online environment as a learning tool arose long before the pandemic, which was caused, on the one hand, by the advent of the Internet, and on the other hand, by the increased need for education. The distance learning format allowed saving time and money and did not require compulsory attendance.

The pandemic has become a kind of catalyst in the development of new educational technologies and platforms. There has been a sharp transition from traditional education to a distance learning format. The market of educational services began to develop rapidly. In a new educational environment, society is forced to adapt. With the development of civilization, the virtual world captures all new areas of human activity, including education.

Problem Statement

The implementation of state policy in the field of education has faced the problem of a pandemic, as a result of which there have been qualitative changes in the implementation of educational programs and projects. There is still no common opinion on how the transition to distance learning can affect the performance and quality of education.

Research Questions

The subject of the study is a distance learning format in a pandemic using online technologies.

It is necessary to:

• Make a historiographical analysis on this issue;
• Consider the advantages and disadvantages of the distance learning format;
• Determine the impact of the distance format on the quality of education;
• Determine prospects for the improvement of online technologies in a pandemic.

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of the study is to determine the advantages and disadvantages of distance learning format based on the method of system analysis. Using the empirical method, we will find ways to eliminate them and make the most of the possibilities of information environment.

Research Methods

The methodological basis of the study is the theoretical methods of analysis, synthesis and modeling.

Findings

One of the directions for the development of the education system is online learning: the implementation of educational programs using e-learning and distance technologies. Online learning includes: electronic resources of libraries, organization of the educational process and online courses with a control system (Chupandina & Semenikhina, 2018, p. 103). Over the past two years, the interest of researchers in this problem has increased (Komarova, 2020; Mukhina et al., 2019). The articles most often discuss the advantages and disadvantages of distance learning (Abitaeva & Zhumagazy, 2020; Kasyanenko et al., 2019; Zalessky, 2020).

Some “pessimists” suppose that without direct communication with students it is impossible to form and educate a person, as there is a threat of replacing higher education with a surrogate, the departure of the human factor of a teacher (Wassnaa et al. strict control by the administration and the state (Rogozin, 2021). There are also disadvantages such as lack of personal contact (Lemay et al., 2021), low motivation and inability of students to self-organize (Suyadi & Issaura Dwi Selvi, 2022). The advantages are the possibility of posting finished lectures in an electronic environment, posting additional materials and control tests (Zalessky, 2020).

The violation of the educational process has led to the increase in the socio-economic inequality of students. Among the negative consequences are the abandonment of children, the deprivation of free food, the high economic costs of a family. There are also psychological problems, such as a decrease in motivation (Radina & Balakina, 2021), a “gap” between a teacher and a student (Napso, 2020). In recent publications, researchers pay considerable attention to the peculiarities of the use of distance learning in the educational process of certain specialized universities and various educational fields (Akbaeva, 2020; Denisova & Kurilova, 2019).

There are publications devoted to the role of a teacher in distance learning (Birichevskaya & Ilinykh, 2019), organization and provision of distance education, as well as other aspects of the studied issues. At the same time, it is necessary to note that the proposals of possible ways of obtaining a quality education in a distance format are almost not shown. However, the reality is that the pandemic continues, and distance learning should be accepted as inevitable. There was a need to solve the problem of the improvement of education in new conditions. Historically, we live in the age of information technology and can not only move from the traditional system of education to its distance format, but also improve the quality of education by using the maximum number of electronic resources.

The problem of methodology in a pandemic is also of great importance: the difficulty of transferring some events to the online environment, the need to train teachers new teaching methods. Some researchers have noted an increase in the burden on health care workers in the context of distance learning in cases where women health care workers are forced to stay at home to look after children (Radina & Balakina, 2021). However, in the usual format, in our opinion, the workload on health workers is still considerable: among students who are within the walls of educational institutions, cases of injuries, poisoning and colds are much more common, apart from the spread of viral infections.

On the other hand, taking into account the workload of a teaching staff in secondary educational institutions, the distance learning format has a number of advantages for a teacher: saving time, reducing responsibility for the health of underage students, the possibility of a creative approach to give lessons, due to the freed up time.

At the same time, researchers believe that the most vulnerable groups in terms of access to education are students from low-income families, migrant families, challenged students, as well as students living in rural areas where there are no computers, Internet and even electricity (Radina & Balakina, 2021).

The rector of Dubna State University Dmitry Fursaev (2021) believes that higher education 20 years ago performed a social function – students and teachers spent time within the walls of the university. Now people go to universities to get a qualification and make a career.

It has been noted that in the context of a pandemic, school graduates make a choice in favour of regional universities and, on the contrary, there is an outflow of non-resident students from metropolitan universities and, at the same time, a decrease in the number of applicants.

As it is known, a number of universities did not complete the student enrolment program in 2021. As a result, an additional competition for budget places was announced. Those applicants who applied for paid education could switch to budget program. For example, more than a hundred state-funded places were free at Sevastopol State University. Moscow universities announced an additional enrolment, namely, Moscow State University, Russian Institute of Theater Arts, Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (Fursaev, 2021). Free state-funded places in universities remained not due to a decrease in the prestige of higher education. They remained due to the pandemic, as a result of which, instead of the 2nd wave of admission of applicants, only one wave was organized. Instead of the second wave, graduates got the opportunity to apply to 10 faculties in one university (previously they may apply only to 3 faculties). As Pavel Kudyukin (2021), co-chairman of the Universitetskaya Solidarity trade union, rightly pointed out, universities receive budget money according to the number of students enrolled. Each free place is a loss of budget funding.

The obvious advantages of distance learning are as follows:

• wide opportunities for the use of educational technologies, additional materials, their demonstration to students;
• the creation of equal learning opportunities for such categories of the population as temporarily disabled, those on parental leave, challenged persons with disabilities;
• the ability to choose your own educational platform;
• the involvement in the educational process of more students;
• economic efficiency
• saving time, financial resources, since online training can be cheaper; – the possibility of education for students from troubled families, families of migrants, that is, regardless of the level of material well-being and social status;
• the use of control forms: for example, testing, which significantly saves teachers’ time;
• more free time for a teacher and a student, due to saving it on the road, which means that there is an opportunity to study additional material;
• the possibility of a flexible training schedule, without reference to a specific time;
• the possibility of a wide choice of educational programs;
• the formation of the market of educational services.

The advantages of distance learning for a secondary school teacher are obvious: reduced psychological stress and protection from burnout syndrome (no responsibility for the life and health of students, the ability to “remotely attend” teacher and parent meetings), reduced risk of contracting viral infections, more free time. As for secondary school students, the distance learning format has more disadvantages than advantages: low motivation, inability to self-organize, lack of an educational process on the part of parents and teachers, a tendency to reduce academic performance, the inability to communicate with peers and participate in school educational activities, lack of additional education (circles, sections, master classes, festive events), the inability to attend physical education classes, receive free meals.

In general, the distance format is most suitable for students over the age of 17 who have their own civic position and motivation. The disadvantages are as follows:

• the impossibility of distance learning for students of higher and secondary educational institutions in such areas as "Choreography", "Music", "Theatrical Art";
• the impossibility of high-quality teaching of foreign languages ​​(Klimova, 2021);
• the rejection of information technologies by teachers of a certain age group;
• the dependence of students and teachers on the quality of the Internet;
• the inability to control the learning process;
• the lack of live communication
• a long transition to an optimal distance learning system that meets modern requirements of quality education;
• there is no single educational environment.

Conclusion

According to the analysis of the above-mentioned advantages and disadvantages of distance learning, several main tasks can be formulated that require a priority solution in order to increase the efficiency of the educational process and ensure quality education in a pandemic. Firstly, it is necessary to develop programs and mechanisms at various levels aimed at training teachers to work in an electronic educational environment and increasing their level of digital literacy and competence. In our opinion, it is the fundamental task of increasing the efficiency of distance educational process.

The development of this component is possible through the development by teachers of additional educational programs aimed at developing all the main components of the teacher's digital literacy: information and computer literacy, media literacy, communicative literacy and attitude to technological innovations. In addition, the constant involvement of a teacher in digital and technological innovation environment is necessary, which allows forming the appropriate skills and abilities to work with new software products, hardware and information resources, share experience with colleagues and involve students in all processes and procedures related to the use of innovative technologies in educational process (Makarova, 2021).

The most important task of the improvement of the efficiency of educational process, carried out with the use of distance learning technologies and in the conditions of emergency factors, is to increase the motivation of students and build an effective system for monitoring their progress.

Despite the fact that, according to a number of researchers, the management of motivation within the framework of remote educational process is carried out primarily by a student himself, since a teacher is often present at the lesson indirectly, through various kinds of remote software products and computer technologies (Ivanova & Krylova, 2016), this aspect is one of the basic in the activities of a teacher. It is a teacher who is responsible for managing students’ attention throughout the entire educational process, including during independent work. A teacher, due to his competence, erudition, methodological preparation, forms interest in his subject and actualizes the significance of the material that is given within the framework of a particular program, and, accordingly, forms students’ motivation in relation to the study of a discipline.

In addition, in the context of tasks aimed to create a high level of motivation of students in the context of the use of distance learning technologies, it is very important that a teacher clearly explains to students the system of the organization of the educational process and feedback within a particular discipline: the stages of its development, recommendations for information support of educational process, the forms and methods of teaching, clear requirements for students during the educational process, a specific, transparent and fair system of assessment within the framework of current progress control and intermediate certification, etc. All this, as well as a clear understanding of the algorithm of their actions and actions of a teacher during training allows a student to realistically assess their potential, abilities, interests, knowledge, time resources and introduce planning into their work, which in turn gives them confidence in their abilities and opens up the possibility for more rational and at the same time creative approach to educational process.

The next most important measure aimed to optimize and increase the effectiveness of educational activities in distance learning is the introduction of modern information technologies and the creation of a highly developed unified universal educational environment (Nisrine & Abdelwahed, 2022). Different institutions either use their own learning management platforms and software, or the most popular external platforms such as Moodle, WebTutor, Memberlux, GetCourse, Teachbase, iSpring, etc. It is also possible to use a combination of own and external software products. At the same time, the work on the introduction of modern distance learning technologies needs to be carried out more actively. It is necessary to place stakes on the most innovative and promising developments that take into account the characteristics and requirements of a particular educational institution, areas of training, educational programs, as well as faculty.

In this regard, a serious problem associated with the underdevelopment of distance technologies in certain educational institutions is the attitude towards their implementation on the part of teachers, who for the most part perceive them as a replacement for traditional forms of education, and not as addition to educational process, and also do not have sufficient motivation to master and implement these technologies in their teaching practice (Aimaletdinov et al., 2019).

Accordingly, there is a problem of insufficient quality content in educational institutions prepared by highly qualified and experienced teachers, which is often replaced by information from various kinds of Internet resources that are not always trustworthy. Therefore, among the most important measures aimed to optimize and increase the effectiveness of distance learning, it is necessary to include the active development of teaching materials that meet the requirements of educational standards, taking into account the features of distance learning format and adapting existing ones.

There is a reason to agree with the opinion of the authors that:

A full-fledged education using distance technologies is possible only if the proper level of content quality is combined with a service that provides convenient navigation between lectures, a clear structure of educational process and uninterrupted broadcasting of educational audio-video materials (Denisova & Kurilova, 2019, p. 38).

References

• Abitaeva, A. K., & Zhumagazy, S. R. (2020). Pros and cons of distance learning during a global pandemic. Young scientist, 11(41), 49–51.

• Aimaletdinov, T. A., Baimuratova, L. R., Zaitseva, O. A., Imaeva, G. R., & Spiridonova, L. V. (2019). Digital literacy of Russian teachers. Willingness to use digital technologies in the educational process. Publishing house NAFI.

• Akbaeva, Kh. B. (2020). Distance learning as an effective form of teaching a foreign language. World Science, 4(37), 138–139.

• Birichevskaya, Yu. G., & Ilinykh, T. V. (2019). On the role of the teacher's personality in distance learning. A Scientific Look into the Future, 2(4), 40–42.

• Chupandina, E. E., & Semenikhina, A. V. (2018). Implementation of online learning at Voronezh State University. Higher education in Russia, 8-9, 103–110.

• Denisova, N. G., & Kurilova, O. O. (2019). E-learning and distance learning technologies in the system of continuous medical and pharmaceutical education. Regional Bulletin, 11(26), 37.

• Fursaev, D. V. (2021). Admission campaign 2021: what is the reason for the shortage of applicants. https://radiosputnik.ria.ru/20210827/1747598322.html

• Ivanova, P. O., & Krylova, E. A. (2016). The role of motivation in distance learning of students of higher education. Innovative Science, 12, 57–58.

• Kasyanenko, E. F., Rubtsova, L. N., Dimov, I. D., & Bogomolova, V. Yu. (2019). Distance and mobile education in medical universities: problems and prospects. Modern problems of science and education, 5, 39.

• Klimova B. (2021). An Insight into Online Foreign Language Learning and Teaching in the Era of COVID-19 Pandemic. Procedia Computer Science, 192, 1787–1794.

• Komarova, Yu. A. (2020). Distance learning: the attitude of 4th-year undergraduate students to the current trend in learning. Scientific journal Meridian, 9(43), 174–176.

• Kudyukin, P. M. (2021). The failure of the 2021 admissions campaign. https://obrmos.ru/go/go_scool/news/go_go_scool_news_041.html

• Lemay, D. J., Bazelais, P., & Doleck, T. (2021). Transition to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Computers in Human Behavior, 4. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chbr.2021.100130

• Makarova, V. V. (2021). Problems of distance learning in the educational process of the university in a pandemic. Kazan Pedagogical Journal, 5(148), 64–74.

• Mukhina, M. V., Mukhina, E. S., Bulganina, A. E., Golubev, A. A., & Bychkov, D. A. (2019). Distance learning as a modern trend in the development of society. Innovative economy: prospects for development and improvement, 6(40), 57–64.

• Napso, M. D. (2020). Distance education/learning: some aspects. Educational Technology, 4, 62–68.

• Nisrine, S., & Abdelwahed, N. (2022). Distance education in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic Case of the Faculty of Sciences Ben M'Sick. Procedia Computer Science, 198, 441–447.

• Radina, N. K., & Balakina, Yu. V. (2021). Challenges to education in a pandemic. Educational Issues, 1, 178–194.

• Rogozin, D. M. (2021). The views of university professors on the future of distance education. Educational Issues, 1, 31–51. https://vo.hse.ru/article/view/15876

• Suyadi, & Selvi, I. D. (2022). Online learning and child abuse: the COVID-19 pandemic impact on work and school from home in Indonesia. Heliyon, 8(1).

  Google Scholar

  Crossref

• Zalessky, M. L. (2020). Remote education. Pandemic – work on the bugs. Educational Technology, 4, 51–61.