A case study of students’ and teachers’ perceptions in a Finnish high school during the COVID pandemic

This study describes one local upper secondary school in Finland during the COVID-19 pandemic. All teaching was changed to distant for around two months. The study describes students’ and teachers’ perceptions during that time. Participants responded to the survey four times and freely described their experiences five times. The number of participants varied from 56 to 72 students and 9 to 15 teachers at different times. The data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, cluster analysis, and qualitative content analysis. The main findings indicate that distance teaching was implemented very successfully. However, open comments and cluster analysis revealed many challenges. Students complained of heavy workloads and fatigue. Some students lost motivation. These difficulties did not disappear over time. The main challenges for teachers included non-authentic interaction and a lack of the spontaneity that in-person teaching provides. Teachers quickly learned to use technological platforms, but interaction through it was not of as high quality. Teachers were also worried about students’ progress. Teachers did not recognize students’ heavy workload and motivation problems in the way that students described them. The study provides several recommendations for future remote teaching.