Transition to the Online Education in the Content of Pandemic: Initial Outcomes

Abstract

The paper is aimed at reviewing the first outcomes of the forced transition to the online higher education within two years of COVID-19 pandemic. The study focuses on advantages and disadvantages of the online education as perceived by the main stakeholders of the education process. The author summarizes the results of the large-scale sociological surveys of teachers and students of the Russian universities. These surveys were conducted by the HSE University, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, Moscow State University, and RUDN University. New unpublished data from an HSE University Monitoring of Teachers’ and Researchers’ Life conducted in December 2021 is also attracted. The author examines contradictory views of teachers and students regarding the distant learning. Special attention is paid to the opportunities and shortages of the online education, comparative quality of distant learning and psychological conditions of students. Finally, general conclusions are made with regard to the increasing de-subjectivation of relationships in the teaching process and prospects for the distant learning after the pandemic.