Extracurricular activities during the COVID-19 pandemic: Teachers' experiences and lessons

Abstract

Due to the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, certain adjustments in the way that extracurricular activities in school are implemented had to be introduced. Given the importance of extracurricular activities in the realization of the school's educational role and student development, research with the aim of investigating the manner of organization and implementation of extracurricular activities during the COVID-19 pandemic was conducted. A descriptive, non-experimental method and the survey technique were applied. The research included primary school teachers from three districts in Serbia (N = 242). According to the teachers, extracurricular activities were only partially organized due to the pandemic, most commonly directly and through a combination of face-to-face (direct) instruction and online learning platforms, but their implementation was marred by numerous difficulties, which had numerous implications for the areas and possibilities of student participation in school competitions, and the level of engagement in them. The assumption about the influence of independent variables (town, grade year, level of education, professional experience, attitude toward digitization in education, development of a teacher's digital competencies) on the teachers' opinions regarding the organization and implementation of extracurricular activities during the pandemic was partially confirmed. Based on the results obtained, recommendations regarding direct instruction were given, and directions for further research in this area were outlined.