Abstract:

During the pandemic, distance education was transformed from an adjunct to a main educational method, due to the social distancing required to limit the spread of the disease. This change brought to the educational community heaps of issues to be resolved and issues particularly important for the effectiveness of learning processes. The aim of the present research is to investigate the psychological and social impact of the SARS-CoV2 - COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic in the educational community of Public Institutes of Vocational Training (PIVT).

The present study was implemented using qualitative analysis. The interview was carried out on a sample of seventeen (17) students of PIVT, with the aim of investigating their opinions and the attitude they demonstrate towards distance education.

In the first and General axis of the interview, we observe that all participants consider that the pandemic caused by the COVID- 19 virus radically changed the educational process, since distance teaching was applied universally, affecting not only the educational character of Public Vocational Training Institutes (PIVT) but also the social one. Most students consider that the sudden imposition of distance teaching caused multiple difficulties for both students and teachers, especially in laboratory courses, an opinion that is justified during the course of the interview. The second axis of the interview includes questions with the aim of investigating the psychological and social impact of the pandemic caused by the COVID – 19 virus, in the educational community of PIVT. Analyzing the responses of the students, the majority considers that the pandemic and the universal application of distance education affected the development of interpersonal social relationships between students and teachers. They report that the relationships became impersonal, weakened as a result of the educational process being a personal process and not a collaborative process, based on dialogue and interaction. This finding confirms that the radical changes suffered by the PIVT educational community burdened the teachers with an additional volume of work and responsibilities, as a result of which the required attention was not given to the development or strengthening interpersonal relationships. In addition, the students with their answers seemed to agree with the view that the pandemic caused by the COVID- 19 virus, mandatory confinement and distance education were the main causes of stress for students. The students state that their performance was declining during the pandemic period, for the reasons mentioned above in the general axis of the interview. Insufficient material and technical infrastructure, reduced skills of instructors, previous experience of students in such educational models and difficulties in laboratory courses, were key factors according to the students' responses, for their reduced performance. It is worth mentioning that, from the answers of the participants, it becomes clear that they recognize the positive elements of distance teaching, such as the saving of money and time and the familiarity they have acquired with new technologies, but they choose the standard in-person teaching, since the majority of them do not identify any negative points.

The paper is structured as follow:
1) Introduction and Context
2) Methodology,
3) Findings, and
4) Conclusions and Discussion.

Keywords:

Vocational training, distance learning, social impact, barrier for learning.