Abstract:

Contributing to the growing body of research which explores the impact of COVID-19 on education, this study investigates university teachers’ digital practices, emotions and attitudes before and during different phases of the online learning that took place during the pandemic, in the oldest higher institution in Greece, the National and Kapodistrian University (NKUA) of Athens. The paper reports the findings of a systematic study which took place for a period of over a year. An extended online questionnaire consisting of close and open questions was completed by 188 professors and lecturers from different departments and schools. The questionnaire consisted of three parts. The first part aimed to investigate university teachers’ familiarization with different digital environments, tools and educational materials; the second focused on issues related to professional development; and the third explored feelings, emotions and attitudes towards distance learning in times of crisis.

Quantitative analysis of responses showed that, as expected, university teachers used different and more digital tools during the two lockdown periods as compared to the period before the pandemic. Moreover, the majority of the respondents reported that they improved their digital skills and attended more professional seminars during the pandemic as compared to before the pandemic period. In terms of feelings and experiences, most participants reported significantly higher levels of negative fatigue (comfort, insecurity, anxiety, loneliness) during the first lockdown and the first exam period and higher levels of positive emotions during the second lockdown period. The findings showed no effect of gender, years of experience, age or scientific specialization on the participants’ positive feelings and attitudes about distance learning. However, it was found that only participants who had previous experience with online and distance education training programs had significantly higher score in the factor “positive attributes of online education”, indicating more positive attitude, compared to those without such experience.

Acknowledgement:
The study was conducted in the context of the Centre of Excellence “Digital Transformation and Humanities and Social Sciences” and was funded by the School of Philosophy of the NKUA.

Keywords:

Digital practices, emotions, attitudes, distance learning, Covid-19, university teachers.