Abstract:

The present research looks into the changes the Greek public primary school had to implement in order to comply with the new educational conditions brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic. In Greece, the Covid-19 coronavirus appeared in winter 2020 and highlighted the need for an educational organization to transform into a learning organization that gives priority to a change in its culture and the professional profile of its teachers (Fullan, 1995), hence cope with the new conditions more effectively. The digital transformation of the educational organizations was achieved with the use of distance learning platforms that became invaluable tools for teachers to conduct their lessons. The knowledge of operating these platforms for the provision of long distance education was proved to play a key role in its perception as an effective method of education while at the same time it contributed to the educational organizations’ transformation into learning ones.

In particular, this research focuses on the impact the gender and the age of primary school principals, in the region of Western Greece, have regarding the use of distance learning platforms. According to the results that came up from a self-report questionnaire with close-ended questions, the correlations between the gender and the age of the participants and the use of the new distance learning platforms are statistically significant. In terms of gender, the male school principals claimed to have more knowledge and skills in the new distance learning platforms and appeared to be less cautious and biased against them in contrast to the female ones. In terms of age, the principals belonging to the age group of 40 and over were, also, found to have limited knowledge and skills in the new distance learning platforms, a condition that puts pressure on them and makes them feel insecure.

Keywords:

Covid–19, Greek primary school, new distance learning platforms, digital transformation, learning organization.