Online education- A solution or a problem?
Children and adolescents spend most of their time in schools, due to which schools are crucial in child and adolescent development. The positive interactions between the students and teachers, the peer interactions, the joint activities that students are involved in, the consequent learning, and the education process contribute to social, emotional, and cognitive development in the students.
As far as adolescents are concerned, the schools significantly contribute to their identity development (Verhoeven, Poorthuis & Volman, 2019). However, the current pandemic is hindering this process.
The pandemic has resulted in unprecedented changes to the varied spheres of life, and education has not been an exception. With the closure of schools, the traditional chalk and talk process is undoubtedly affected. For more than a year now, online education has edged out the conventional educational system in India. Although technology is a boon and the schooling did continue, how are our students, specifically the adolescents, coping with this? To what extent do they like the online classes? Are they motivated with the online classes?
The secondary school teachers lament about the adolescent students “being inactive online," "switching off their videos," "not responding to the questions," "copying during the exams”. On the other hand, adolescents have their own set of concerns to express. The commonly reported problems are that the online classes are monotonous, the family members cause distractions, the long duration of online classes lead to digital exhaustion, poor net connectivity, absence of devices to attend online classes, worries about their appearance if they switch on their video, lack of complete online safety in the presence of their mischievous peers, inability to clarify and discuss their doubts with teachers and each other. Most importantly, the adolescents miss the peer interactions and the fun they had during leisure and light classes like the games period. Peer relationships significantly influence an adolescent’s well-being (Gray, Romaniuk & Daraganova, 2018). The school closures and the restrictions imposed by parents on telephonic/online interactions are detrimental to their mental health.
“There are no advantages with online education. I generally ask questions if I did not follow my teacher and when I am sure others too haven’t understood. On the online platform with videos being off, I cannot gauge if others have understood, and I am hesitant to clarify. I also miss getting ready in a rush, waiting for my school bus, chatting throughout the journey to the school, playing fun-filled pranks during the breaks, and having celebrations on specific days during which I used to lead. I feel stagnated now. I feel my learning has stopped. I am fed up being confined to my room…”
expresses an adolescent, which substantiates the agony. Although many acknowledge that online education has been a quick solution to the current problem, its flip side takes a toll on them. Those devoted to academics and are competitive are frustrated with the online exams and cancellation of the board exams. The unpleasant experiences and distress associated with online education increase the risk of relapse in adolescents with mental health needs (Lee, 2020). Overall, adolescents are dissatisfied with online education (Devan, 2020) and eagerly await the schools to reopen.
When discussing this subject, it is worth questioning if introverted adolescents have a different experience to share. Although there is no scientific evidence on their perception, a few isolated research studies with older introverted adolescents suggests that they too prefer offline education (Astuti, 2021).
The experiences of adolescents from impoverished backgrounds differ. As per a report from Karnataka, 39% of school-going students didn't have access to online education (“Decision on reopening”, 2021). These are from families that have poor or no access to internet facilities and devices required to attend online classes, disrupting the positive educational experiences for these students. A few cases of adolescent suicide due to inadequate resources, inability to participate in online classes, and the consequent stress (Agoramoorthy, 2021) are sad reminders of the digital divide caused by economic inequality. The school closures have resulted in their losing the mid-day meals on which they used to rely. The insufficient meals result in their being malnourished and naturally impacts their physical and psychological development and academic outcomes. The demands of online education are also associated with the high risk of parents stopping the education. The dropout rate of secondary school students in the year 2019-20 was 17% (“In academic year”, 2021). This paves way for other social vices like child marriage, with girls being the common victims.
Verbatim, as mentioned earlier, anecdotes and facts indicate the definite impact online education has had on adolescent mental health. Although they are coping, we should try to make the online education experience close to offline- pleasurable and enriching.
Way forward:
Many mental health professionals are volunteering and delivering their services without charges. They can provide online mental health programmes to the school staff and the students. They could also sensitize students about safe online behaviours and against online/cyberbullying.
Schools could arrange online extra-curricular activities. For example, having online competitions or getting the students video-record some of their performances, and the schools can play it on a particular day.
Teachers could attempt to adopt innovative methods. These should be based on the background of the students.
Encourage the students to have informal chat for a short period, say five minutes, before commencement of the class.
Get to know their expectations, set joint rules to make online classes enjoyable.
Encourage instant online discussions between peers.
Use breakout rooms and have guided group discussions.
To facilitate discussions and make the classes exciting, use additional applications like Menti-quiz.
Rather than sticking to the only syllabus-based topic, the focus can also be on some issues around the subject.
Give them breaks for every 45 mins similar to offline classes. Avoid long-duration classes.
Make use of apps for practical demonstrations.
Get the students to make some presentations.
If a school caters to the needs of students from impoverished families, teachers can additionally:
Make use of recordings rather than online classes. Share the recordings via local TV channels and applications commonly used by adolescents, like 'What’s App,' for instance.
Schedule days to clarify the students’ doubts.
The adolescents and schools could work jointly and come up with strategies to sail through the crisis smoothly. Involving innovative young minds in decision-making will ensure positive outcomes. However, the State should play its role wherever required. For instance, in the academic year 2019-20, only 22% of the schools had provision of internet facilities that closed the digital or hybrid education option offered by the schools that did not have these facilities (“In academic year” 2021). Naturally, the adolescents from these schools miss out on education. In situations like these, the responsibility for the children and adolescents is on the State, which should develop effective strategies. For instance, the Indian Space Research Organization has offered helping the government in setting up satellite TV classrooms (Kumari, 2021). Strategies like these would naturally address the issues faced by teachers and students like poor connectivity, data expenses and lack of devices. In implementing this, the State has the responsibility of ensuring that the families have television sets. When these strategies are adopted, it narrows down the digital divide. Teachers could meet their students online/telephonically for clarification purposes. These measures will warrant the continuity of students’ education irrespective of their backgrounds and positive outcomes.
References:
Agoramoorthy, G. (2021). India’s outburst of online classes during COVID-19 impacts the mental health of students. Current Psychology (New Brunswick, N.J.), 1–2. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-01745-0
Astuti, N.W. (2021) “I feel less judged, so I speak more” introverted students’ response to online learning platforms in speaking class. Journal of English Language Teaching and Learning, 2(2), 8-14. http://ejournal.uin-malang.ac.id/index.php/jetle/article/view/11795/pdf
Decision on reopening. (2021, June 29). The Deccan Herald. https://www.deccanherald.com/state/decision-on-reopening-of-schools-in-a-few-days-1002589.html
Devan, N. (2020). Student perspective on online learning during COVID-19 pandemic: a descriptive study of school students in Ernakulam District, State of Kerala, India. Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal). 4962. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/4692/
Gray, S., Romaniuk, H & Daraganova, G. (2018). Adolescents’ relationship with their peers. Retrieved from https://aifs.gov.au/publications/adolescents-relationships-their-peers
In the academic year. (2021, July 1). The Deccan Herald. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/in-academic-year-2019-20-only-22-indian-schools-had-internet/article35082011.ece
Kumari, R. (2021, July 4). ISRO satellite TV classrooms to bridge learning gap in schools amidst pandemic. R.Republicworld.com. https://www.republicworld.com/india-news/education/isro-satellite-tv-classrooms-to-bridge-learning-gap-in-schools-amidst-pandemic.html
Lee, J. (2020). Mental health effects of school closures during COVID-19. The Lancet Child and Adolescent Health, 4, 421. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2352-4642(20)30109-7
Verhoeven, M., Poorthuis, A., Volman, M. (2018). The role of school in identity development. A literature review. Education Psychology Review, 31, 35-63. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-018-9457-3