DO TRADITIONAL UNIVERSITIES NEED TO PREPARE IN THE POST-COVID PERIOD FOR IMPLEMENTING UNDERGRADUATE REMOTE TEACHING IN EMERGENCY CRISIS CONDITIONS?

Gerasimos Koustourakis

Abstract


This paper investigates the necessity for traditional universities to prepare themselves in the contemporary post-Covid period to be able to continue delivering undergraduate education remotely and with quality during times of crisis. The study was conducted with postgraduate students who had both theoretical and practical experience with the implementation of emergency remote teaching, utilizing questionnaires and group interviews as research tools. The main findings of this research indicated the following: (a) Traditional universities, and especially those in Greece, are considered unprepared to continue delivering undergraduate education remotely and with quality in the event of serious crises; (b) the administrations of traditional universities should prioritize the preparation of their institutions by developing appropriate and detailed plans, securing the necessary technological resources and materials, and organizing essential technical support services so that undergraduate courses can continue remotely without delay during crises; (c) universities need to train their teaching staff, helping them to enrich their professional habitus not only with technological knowledge and skills but also by familiarizing them with pedagogical methods that place students at the centre of the remote educational process; and (d) finally, the administrations of these institutions must plan for both psychological support for students and teaching staff during crises and for addressing social inequalities related to the lack of necessary technological resources, which would enable students from vulnerable social backgrounds to participate in remote teaching.

Keywords


universities (traditional), emergency remote teaching, institutional habitus, organizational changes, undergraduate studies, post-Covid period

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References


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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejsss.v12i3.2198

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