Elementary School Educational Practices and the Need for Flexibility in Remote Learning Environments

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic has witnessed a continual increase in research on the relationship between the pandemic and the effects on educational approaches and pedagogical adaptations. Nevertheless, there is a disproportionate distribution of publications that focus on higher levels of education as compared to the early years of education. Most recently published documents, and research articles focus on tertiary level education or education at the higher levels. On the other hand, few studies investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on elementary school education.

Elementary education has been characterized by shifts from the physical classroom to online learning. The problem is further compounded in remote learning environments in developing countries as there is an inequitable distribution of educational resources between urban schools and remote schools. A noticeable pattern at the global era during Covid-19 is the accentuated disparity between internet accessibility in developed nations as compared to the developing nations. A major challenge here is in the field of education, especially at the elementary level, where the education system is centralised and top-down. Although more efforts are being made to infuse student-centred learning and providing online platforms in line with global learning trends during Covid-19, educational communities in developing countries face additional problems to existing ones. This is evident in developing countries (Aung & Khaing, 2016) especially in the Afro-Asia region where economic development impedes online education especially in rural and remote areas.

Internet access, connectivity and familiarity with online lessons have to be managed with limited resources, although there is a shift towards online learning. This could be attributed to long periods of lockdowns or schools being closed. Similar to many Afro-Asian countries, South East Asian countries have made concerted efforts to increase internet penetration and connectivity, but financial constraints limit their uninterrupted use of internet facilities. Internet access is available to less than 60% of the population in Indonesia and Thailand, while it is less than 40% in Vietnam and Myanmar in 2019 (Jalli, 2020). Access is just one side of the issue, as students are expected to have digital devices to access the internet. Within countries itself, there are differences with respect to computer access. A case in point would be remote schools in Malaysia which would be a microcosm of the online education challenges faced in ASEAN countries or among the Afro-Asian nations. In Malaysia, for example, only 55.5% for households in rural areas have computers (Sofea, 2021).

A sizeable number of these students are situated in environments that do not privilege learning for educational purposes using digital devices. The notion of school has been associated with formal learning in classrooms and teacher-driven. This is especially so in educational systems such as Malaysia that is trying to move towards a balanced system that includes learner-centeredness and creating more alternatives to the more conventional ways of teaching and learning. Such major shifts are guided by government policies and educational blueprints.

In many countries, the education policies with regard to overarching policies and curriculum development are driven by the government (UNESCO, 2014). In a top down approach to defining policies and curricular management, a country such as Malaysia would be a good exemplar of educational initiatives in times of unusual circumstances (Covid-19). Malaysia’s educational policies and the use of ICT take cognisance of the realities and challenges of using ICT in classrooms. The infusion and more extensive use of technology in the Malaysian education system are planned on a phase by phase basis that is governed by holistic considerations. ICT and the related use of online education are seen in alignment with curricular design, assessment and examinations, classroom pedagogy and learning environments (Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013 – 2025, 6-24).