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

Abstract

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.

Keywords

• COVID-19
• Remote learning
• Mathematics education
• ICT