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“I could no longer be their teacher” : Online education as a negation of the teaching profession

Ljungqvist, Marita LU ; Svensson, Peter LU ; Neuhaus, Sinikka LU orcid and Sonesson, Anders LU orcid (2024) NERA 2024 p.384-384
Abstract

Abstract (Swedish)
Research topic/aim:
The digitalization of education is a prioritized field for governments and policymakers all over the world, not least in the Nordic countries. The educational sector is expected to play an important role in the digitalization of society and in fostering digital citizens, and to harness the potential of technology for improving its own practices (ITU, UNESCO & Unicef, 2020). Common watchwords in policies are: flexibility, choice, inclusion and individualization. Digitalized education is seen as particularly important in relation to socio-economic disadvantages, growing performance gaps and regional inequality (Ljungqvist & Sonesson 2022). As a consequence of digitalization, a growing share of teachers’ and... (More)
Research topic/aim:
The digitalization of education is a prioritized field for governments and policymakers all over the world, not least in the Nordic countries. The educational sector is expected to play an important role in the digitalization of society and in fostering digital citizens, and to harness the potential of technology for improving its own practices (ITU, UNESCO & Unicef, 2020). Common watchwords in policies are: flexibility, choice, inclusion and individualization. Digitalized education is seen as particularly important in relation to socio-economic disadvantages, growing performance gaps and regional inequality (Ljungqvist & Sonesson 2022). As a consequence of digitalization, a growing share of teachers’ and students’ work will be located outside the classroom, as both independent study and teacher-student/student-student interaction becomes increasingly mediated by various digital tools. What such a development might mean for teachers, students and schools is difficult to say with certainty; research is still meagre (Lai & Bower 2019). The Covid-19 lockdown, however, offered a unique opportunity to study digitally mediated distance education as a natural experiment. This paper examines, through a dialectical theoretical framework, how the transition to distance learning in Swedish upper secondary schools in 2020-2021 affected teachers and their teaching.

Theoretical framework:
We use a dialectical framework as an interpretation grid for our analysis, in order to study contradictions and absences in the material.

Methodological design:
Utilizing life-history interviews, 33 teachers were interviewed about their experiences during the lockdown.

Expected conclusion/findings:
A main finding was our interviewees’ experiences of a negation of their previous professional practice, a negation that exposed important, previously partially hidden aspects of the teaching profession. Large parts of the teachers' work were hindered as a consequence of the transition to distance education. Without the physical school building and the classroom as material and symbolic framings of the teachers’ work, much of the pedagogical, social, professional, collegial and interpersonal aspects of teaching were lost. The seriousness and solemnity connected to the teaching profession disappeared. Teachers were overwhelmed by a sense of powerlessness as they could no longer carry out the school’s compensatory mission. Through the digital transformation, they were deprived of opportunities to be teachers.

Relevance to Nordic educational research:
There are strong reasons to take the experiences of these teachers seriously in relation to the ongoing digitalization of education. We believe that our paper contributes to the growing field of critical research on digital pedagogy and digitalized education, with a special relevance for the highly digitalized Nordic countries. If 33 experienced and skilled teachers, who fought for almost two years with the best interests of their students in mind, could not digitally recreate the classroom that the pandemic closed – in Sweden, one of the world’s most digitalized countries – why should we continue to believe in the promises of digitalization? (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to conference
publication status
published
subject
pages
1 pages
conference name
NERA 2024
conference location
Malmö, Sweden
conference dates
2024-03-06 - 2024-03-08
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
461c87bf-8621-418d-90f2-8184b14dd8ef
alternative location
https://wordpress.invajo.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/pdf_nera2024-3655_1720011407850-2024-07-03-1257-1.pdf#__WKANCHOR_m2
date added to LUP
2024-12-17 10:53:14
date last changed
2025-04-04 15:10:52
@misc{461c87bf-8621-418d-90f2-8184b14dd8ef,
  abstract     = {{<br/>}},
  author       = {{Ljungqvist, Marita and Svensson, Peter and Neuhaus, Sinikka and Sonesson, Anders}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{03}},
  pages        = {{384--384}},
  title        = {{“I could no longer be their teacher” : Online education as a negation of the teaching profession}},
  url          = {{https://wordpress.invajo.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/pdf_nera2024-3655_1720011407850-2024-07-03-1257-1.pdf#__WKANCHOR_m2}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}