DISTANCE LEARNING DURING THE FIRST COVID-19 LOCKDOWN: CRITICALITIES AND POTENTIALITIES

In March 2020, the epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) forced the adoption of restrictive measures to limit the contagion of the virus. In Italy, the Council of Ministers Presidential Decree of 4 March 2020 sanctioned the suspension of face-to-face teaching in all educational institutions and the transition to distance learning. The international scientific community launched investigations aimed at understanding the resulting consequences on the training system, by highlighting both criticalities and potentialities. In this scenario, the Italian Society of Didactic Research (SIRD) carried out a survey aimed at "comparing distance teaching methods adopted in Italian schools in the COVID-19 emergency period" with the objectives of outlining a framework-based synthesis regarding the school dynamics activated during the emergency teaching and providing an estimate of what achieved both at national and regional level. In this regard, an online questionnaire was administered, from April to June 2020, reaching a nonprobabilistic sample of 16.133 teachers throughout the national territory. The online questionnaire consisted of 122 closed questions, organized in 10 sections, and 6 open questions concerning: the difficulties encountered by students, strengths and weaknesses, comments and reflections. This paper aims to present the qualitative analysis of two open questions (strengths and weaknesses of distance learning) derived from teachers' responses in the Campania Region, in order to make a comparison with the national sample. The analysis unit of the Campania Region is composed by 595 teachers (about 4% of the total sample of 16.133). This work is divided in two parts: a first one relating to the method and a second one of a more descriptive nature. The first part presents the methodology adopted, which can be ascribed to the Framework method, and the working phases that allowed the extraction of the categorical model for the analysis of open questions. The second part shows the categories and subcategories emerging from the responses given by Campania teachers, limited to the strengths and weaknesses of distance learning. The answers reflect criticalities and potentialities drawn from the analysis of the national sample. In the new learning environment, the educational difficulties arose, in large part, from the discomfort caused by the lack of direct contact and physical interaction. The different actors (teachers, students and families) encountered problems related to the lack or inefficiency of digital devices that exacerbated the digital gap already reported in the ISTAT Report (2020) for the years2018-2019. On the one hand, distance learning has allowed educational continuity and an enrichment of the training offer as well as an organizational improvement, on the other, it has negatively affected the level of participation, interest and motivation of students with repercussions on scholastic achievement. Furthermore, the resulting socio-economic and cultural disadvantage has made distance learning less inclusive and accessible to all. The results obtained from the teachers' perception provide a detailed description of the situation experienced and offer important ideas to think about.