Where did the high schoolers found support for learning during the pandemic?

Abstract

This study focused on the support of the learning process during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. We specifically aimed to identify the principal support providers and describe the characteristics of their aid. We analyzed the responses of 160 high school students (Mage = 16.78; SDage = 1.067; 77.5% female) who filled in our questionnaire at three different time points during the first wave of the COVID -19 virus pandemic, between March and early July 2020. At each time point, students answered who helped them with learning (teachers, school counselors, parents, and/or their peers) and what that support consisted of. The obtained data were analyzed both qualitatively (inductive content analysis) and quantitatively. Our findings show that during the three months of long-distance learning, students received learning support from teachers (about 85%), school counselors (7%), parents (40%), and their peers (about 90%). Regarding the content of the support, qualitative analysis of the data indicated that teachers provided learning materials, homework, working materials and audio lectures. Despite the fact that students reported to a lesser extent that they received support from school counselors, the content they received from them was diverse including topics such as learning strategies, organization of free time, how to behave in an emergency situation, mental health care advice, and service information on distance learning and Covid-19 virus. Parents provided support through helping with the learning schedule organization, reduction of household work, trying to motivate students, and increasing their interest in studying. Finally, during the first weeks, students received the most support from their peers regarding the use of digital technologies and the technical aspects of online classes. The results of this study indicate that even in emergency situations that demand reorganization of teaching and learning processes, students recognize the activities of teachers and their peers as significant support in the learning process. These findings will be discussed within the framework of sociocultural theory and role of the asymmetric and symmetric interaction in the learning process