Students’ experiences with remote learning during the COVID-19 school closure: implications for mathematics education

This paper reports the findings of a descriptive survey research that explored secondary school students' experiences with mathematics remote learning during the Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) school closure. The study involved 367 students of ages 13 to 21 selected from six secondary sch...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Angel Mukuka, Overson Shumba, Henry M. Mulenga
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2021-07-01
Series:Heliyon
Subjects:
ICT
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844021016261
Description
Summary:This paper reports the findings of a descriptive survey research that explored secondary school students' experiences with mathematics remote learning during the Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) school closure. The study involved 367 students of ages 13 to 21 selected from six secondary schools in Kitwe district of Zambia using the cluster random sampling method. Using a mixed-methods research approach, quantitative and qualitative data were merged to provide a comprehensive analysis of the main findings in the context of the existing literature, the government's response to COVID-19 school closure, and the challenges associated with remote learning during that time. Research findings show that more than 56% of the respondents did not have sufficient access to Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), electricity, and internet services. Most of these respondents also held a belief that mathematics is a subject that is best learned with face-to-face interactions between the teacher and students, and among students. These results suggest a need for the education systems in Zambia and other similar contexts to put up infrastructure that supports the blended and online learning models during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
ISSN:2405-8440