Remote teaching in times of social distancing: a study in the accounting and actuarial sciences courses

Abstract

Purpose: Considering the imposed social isolation measures to contain the spread of the Sars-Cov-2 virus, the cause of COVID-19 pandemic, the in-person classes started to be held remotely. Those measures had an impact on education, mainly because they had to be adopted quickly, with no time for preparation. In our current study, we investigate how remote teaching has been occurring in the undergraduate courses of Accounting and Actuarial Sciences at a Public Higher Education Institution (PHEI), in times of social distancing. Methodology: An e-survey was carried out with teachers and students, in order to obtain information on the subject. The collected data were processed using statistical techniques to generate the results. Results: It came across that the studied PHEI did not have resources such as a Flipped classroom, Digital Whiteboard or any other technological tools to support remote classes, since the remote teaching modality became a need during the COVID-19 pandemic. The PHEI launched, via public notices, programs for digital inclusion in order to acquire mobile data and equipment, such as computers/smartphones/tablets for students; however, only few of the students could have access to those resources. Contributions of the Study: Our research results contribute to the state-of-the-art regarding undergraduate courses, by investigating their evolution towards remote learning. Such contributions provide information and knowledge on this subject to the national scientific literature, and give support and guidance to other courses offered by public and/or private higher education institutions.