One Year of Online Education in COVID-19 Age, a Challenge for the Romanian Education System

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Jul 31;18(15):8129. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18158129.

Abstract

The study tried to analyze the implication of one year of online education in the Romanian education system. To achieve this goal, the authors of this study analyzed all the levels of education, primary education, lower secondary education, upper secondary education, and even the early childhood system, but also one of the smallest Romanian universities, considered representative for grade 1 universities representing 60% of the Romanian universities. The study is based on four online questionnaires for investigation, first with more than 2500 respondents from the primary and secondary Romanian education system, and the other three applied to more than 800 students and professors from the University of Petroșani. The investigation took place during 29 January 2021 and 11 February 2021. The authors had investigated the main feature of a standard online or a classical e-learning solution, such as the meeting solution or the video conference software, the collaborative work, such as homework or projects, and the testing method or the quizzes from both perspectives of the students and of the professors. The study results could influence the expected future hybrid educational system because these results were not covered in the previous literature but proved to be necessary for relevant knowledge strategies to be implemented in the new pandemic and also in the future context.

Keywords: COVID-19; Romanian education system; e-learning; educational challenges; online education and emerging technologies; socioeconomic impacts.

MeSH terms

  • COVID-19*
  • Child, Preschool
  • Education, Distance*
  • Humans
  • Pandemics
  • Romania
  • SARS-CoV-2