COVID and ICT in Primary Education: Challenges Faced by Teachers in the Basque Country

Abstract

This article focuses on the digital competency of primary school teachers in the Basque Country Autonomous Region (Spain) during the COVID-19 pandemic. The temporary closure of schools forced teachers to adapt face-to-face teaching-learning processes in order to operate remotely, making use of technology infrastructure and digital resources. While several educational policies have been developed with the aim of incorporating Information and Communication Technologies into schools, including the “Escuela 2.0” programme, research has shown that there is a lack of Information and Communication Technology training for teachers. The main objective of this study is to further understand the challenges faced by primary school teachers in adapting to remote teaching due to the COVID-19 during stay-at-home lockdown restrictions. An ad hoc quantitative questionnaire was used, which was validated in a trial by eight experts. A total of 1069 primary school teachers participated in the survey. The main results show the participants’ emphasis on their effort to reorganise and redesign subjects and their willingness to make use of information and communication technology infrastructure and resources. However, a high percentage of teachers reported that either they lacked information and communication technology training or considered themselves self-taught in these skills, and expressed interest in lifelong learning programmes in Google Classroom, Google Sites and Google Meet applications, among others.