Swedish upper secondary school teachers' experiences with coping with emergency remote teaching (ERT) - emerging pedagogical issues in pandemic times

This paper reports the results of a research project on the advanced use of digital technology in Swedish upper secondary schools. The study was aimed at mapping and analysing teachers’ experiences during the first six months of their mandatory emergency remote teaching (ERT) experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. In total, 16 teachers at three schools were interviewed from late June until the end of August 2020. The findings from a qualitative thematic analysis showed that ERT was a major positive catalyst or boost for both their profession-based digital competence and their schools’ digitalisation. Moreover, they experienced decreased workloads during the first six months of ERT. However, the teachers found it challenging to be tied to a specific digital platform or digital tool. Other findings revealed that, for teachers, the key to leading well-functioning digital classrooms was to develop personal relationships with their students. In addition, the teachers reported seeing several aspects of their ERT practice that they planned to sustain after the pandemic. From the study, it can be concluded that the teachers’ ERT practice not only included teaching and learning but also made a huge difference in their collegiality. Further research is needed regarding which newly established digitally supported pedagogical practices should be upheld after the pandemic.