Distant yet personal: equality in distant education during Covid-19 lockdown in Italy

Abstract

Since March 2020, Italy imposed a lockdown to the Northern-Central regions, leading to the massive use of distant learning approaches in middle and high school level. This change was sudden and unsupported by any forms of preparation for the teachers, who were required to shift attitude towards digital devices in their teaching from (cit.): “They cannot have their phones in class, into use whatever you can!” This article aims at investigating the main challenges experienced by middle and high school teachers in literature and languages related subjects, through eleven interviews. We conducted a thematic analysis and identified three main challenges related to: Efficiency of teaching, social contact, and technical challenges. The sum of these challenges undermines equality in the pupils’ participation
during class activities. It also highlights existing issues related to social status and family role in education, pupils’ engagement, and proficiency. At the same time, we found that teachers experienced their role, as actors in creating a framework for equality in education in digital learning rooms, dividing teachers and pupils while connecting them on a more personal level.