ACCORDING to a recent Kaspersky survey, more than half of children in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region (55%) who switched to remote learning due to the pandemic prefer in-person education.
Although the percentage is high with almost one-in-two Asian kids liking face-to-face classroom more than online sessions, it is lowest compared with other regions globally.
Children in Latin America have the strongest preference for the traditional education (75%), followed by Africa (73%) and the Middle East (58%).
Majority of kids in APAC dislike learning online because of having to spend so much time in front of a screen (74%). Frequent technical problems are also a bummer (60%).
For 57% of students, it is more difficult to understand educational materials on remote learning comparing to offline classes. More than half also admitted missing playing and talking with their peers between classes.
However, almost half (45%) still noted that they liked remote learning better.
“The required transition to remote learning during the pandemic has been a real challenge for children, parents and teachers alike,” noted Kaspersky’s Online Child Safety Department head Andrey Sidenko.
“The curriculum needs to be quickly restructured so it doesn’t affect student learning. But unfortunately, due to various circumstances, this hasn’t always been possible. Based on our research, one in every five families globally says that the curriculum was fully adapted to the new conditions.”
Despite the fact that offline is still the most effective forms of school education, Sidenko said it is important to introduce various digital and interactive elements into the educational process.
For children in APAC, the hardest subjects to learn remotely are the exact and natural sciences: mathematics (48%), chemistry (28%), physics (25%) and biology (25%). This trend is almost the same across the other regions globally.
As for parents from the region, 68% stated they do not want to continue this learning format after the pandemic. Main reasons for this are concerns about children spending too much time in front of the screen (68%) and a general decline in the quality of education (48%).
“Remote learning during the pandemic has turned out to be stressful for everyone involved: children, parents and teachers. However, adults didn’t always make the right decisions to help simplify their children’s lives because they too were adapting to the new format,” commented Kaspersky’s managing director (Asia Pacific) Chris Connell.
“This can be seen clearly in the poll. The conclusion is simple: when the modern world deals a wild card, teachers have to master new teaching skills for remote learning using various digital tools in combination with offline learning.” – Aug 3, 2021
