Virtual education during the pandemic from the perspective of Peruvian teachers in rural schools

ABSTRACT

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the entire educational system migrated to the virtual modality, bringing with it social, technological, psychological challenges, etc. In this context, rural schools, which had various shortcomings since before the pandemic, became a scenario where the teaching work and, consequently, student learning was harmed in various aspects. Therefore, this research sought to collect the experiences of secondary school teachers on virtual education that was implemented in rural areas of Peru due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The methodology was qualitative, phenomenological and interviews were conducted with 23 teachers. The initial impact of the school closures drastically changed the educational dynamic, leading to great uncertainty;in response, teachers went out in search of their students despite the geographical and technological difficulties. Likewise, the digital gap worsened, teachers did not receive help from some authorities, family support was diverse and educational programs were reduced, affecting learning opportunities. Everything would indicate that the pre-existing educational, social and technological gaps in rural areas have worsened and it is expected that the new public policies will address this problem as soon as possible.