Exploring the capacity of government primary school teachers for conducting online classes during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

This is qualitative research to explore the capacity of government primary school teachers’ skill in conducting online classes in the context of Dhaka, Bangladesh. The research focuses on 3 areas: the current practices in Bangladesh to take online classes, the type of capacity government teachers has (in terms of creating a learning environment, digital knowledge and motivation) and what new capacity building is required for teachers. Ten teachers and ten students were interviewed from ten different government primary schools in Gulshan Education Thana. Interviews and focused group discussion (FGD) were conducted to collect the data. From the opinions, expressions and experience of the participants the research discovered that so far, the approach towards online classroom has been crisis management, only teacher-centric pedagogy has been used where students are struggling to retain attention. Lastly, teachers are facing difficulty in conducting the classes due to lack of digital skills, support, infrastructure, training in these areas as well as for motivation during this time of uncertainty.