Abstract:

The Covid19 pandemic brought completely new conditions to education and placed different demands on all teachers than they were used to. Secondary schools in Slovakia were closed from March 16, 2020, to June 1, 2020. In the autumn of the 2020/2021 school year, the situation repeated itself. By decision of the Minister of Education of the Slovak Republic from October 12, 2020, there was an interruption of school teaching in all types of secondary schools. On February 8, 2021, teaching at some types of secondary schools was resumed, e.g., secondary medical schools, mainly due to medical practice. On May 17, 2021, all high school students returned to school. Throughout this period, the teaching took place in a distance manner.

The aim of the article is to find out the situation in teacher education and their support during Covid19, especially regarding digital skills. We carried out a questionnaire survey among secondary vocational schoolteachers focused on distance education. We examined the level of digital skills of teachers and opportunities provided by the employer to improve these skills. The survey was conducted between the May 2021 and mid-June 2021. The number of questionnaires completed by teachers was 239.

Teachers acknowledged lower technical skills and weak skills in the use of online learning portals, especially at the beginning of the pandemic, which is logical, as until the crisis, only full-time teaching had been implemented in Slovakia. In the school year 2020/2021, the situation improved as teachers had acquired new skills. According to the questionnaires, the lack of training provided by the employer, i.e., the state, remained a problem. The employer provided almost no training for teachers.

Keywords:

Training, Support, Covid19, Secondary schools.