Elsevier

Technology in Society

Volume 63, November 2020, 101317
Technology in Society

Distance education as a response to pandemics: Coronavirus and Arab culture

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2020.101317Get rights and content

Highlights

  • Drawing a comparison between traditional distance education and crisis distance education.

  • Formulating a conceptual framework for crisis distance education.

  • Qualitatively scrutinising crisis distance education.

  • Viewing crisis distance education through sociological lenses.

  • Documenting Arabs' views of (and dealings with) crisis distance education.

Abstract

Some countries have replaced face-to-face education with distance education in response to the coronavirus. This form of distance education differs from conventional distance education: being suddenly, unreadily and forcefully implemented, invading schooling and constituting a globally discussed phenomenon. This article builds a conceptual framework for this education, addressing the question: What are the ramifications of implementing distance education amid coronavirus? It targets Arab culture, although globalisation and the media may have harmonised any substantial cross-cultural variations. Various ramifications have emerged through analysing social-media posts, online classes and interviews. Concerning social and cultural ramifications, some may, for ideological considerations, tolerate, support, reject or subvert this education through campaigning, rumour and humour. Regarding pedagogical and psychological ramifications, unreadiness and incompetence may compromise education. Additionally, staying home may entail problems (pandemic-related stress, anxiety, depression, domestic violence, divorce and pregnancy), preventing students and teachers from learning and teaching. Concerning procedural and logistical ramifications, some Arab contexts may be digitally readier than non-Arab contexts. Additionally, stakeholders may intensify efforts to profit, ethically or unethically, from the over-demand for this education. Distance education is one of several social distancing initiatives, which Arabs have welcomed despite their well-rooted social closeness, bonding to debond, forming unorthodox ‘distanceship’.

Keywords

Distance learning
Crisis
Social distancing
Emergency
Disaster

Cited by (0)

Abdulrahman Essa Al Lily: Department of Curriculum and Teaching Methods, King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia +966540015997, [email protected]. Abdulrahman Al Lily is an Amazon bestselling author, Oxford graduate, manager and associate professor. He is the director of the National Research Centre for Giftedness and Creativity and the editor-in-chief of the Scientific Journal of King Faisal University. He has published with the largest global academic publishers: Elsevier, Springer, Taylor and Francis, Wiley, SAGE, Palgrave, Nature Research and Oxford University Press. His writings and interviews have been translated into different languages, including Chinese, Spanish, German, Italian, Pashto, Arabic and English. He has co-coined the following theories and concepts: ‘multiple stupidities’, ‘retroactivism’, ‘the pedagogy of poverty’, ‘idiocy-dominated communities’, ‘crowd-authoring’ and ‘crowd-reflecting’. For more info., kindly visit: https://abdulallily.wordpress.com.

Abdelrahim Fathy Ismail: College of Education, Assiut University, Egypt and the Scientific Journal of King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia +966591508620, [email protected]. Dr Ismail is an associate professor of curricula. He has more than 15 journal articles in addition to many conference papers. He has two books published with international publishers, one German and the other Saudi. He has taught a large number of undergraduate and postgraduate students and supervised their dissertations. In addition to being a trainer, he has attended more than 60 training courses as part of his continuing professional and academic development.

Fathi Mohammed Abunasser: The National Research Centre for Giftedness and Creativity, King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia +966559915510, [email protected]. Dr Abunasser is an associate professor of educational leadership. He has published seven books and more than 30 articles in regional and international journals. He has supervised and examined around 60 dissertations and theses. He an accredited trainer, conducting three thousand training hours. He has, moreover, participated in many national, regional and international research projects.

Rafdan Hassan Alhajhoj Alqahtani: Deanship of Information Technology, King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia +966544457025, [email protected]. Mr Alqahtani is a researcher in the field of educational technology. In addition to his theoretical and academic interest in this field, he is also interested in its practical and technical aspects. He has put considerable effort into improving the technical and administrative aspects of workplaces. He has an interest in introducing technology to education, especially at the primary education level. He has offered many consulting services for individuals and educational institutions in the sectors of school education and higher education.

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