Most schools, students, and their parents are not ready for online learning, required by the COVID-19 situation, for a number of reasons, according to an opinion survey conducted by Suan Dusit Poll of Suan Dusit University between June 14th and 17th.
With the exception of those in the Dark Red zones, such as Bangkok, schools across Thailand reopened on June 14th, about a month later than the normal opening of the new semester, due to widespread COVID-19 infections.
Suan Dusit Poll gauged the opinions of 3,749 people, including school administrators, teachers, students, and their parents, about how they view online learning, which is being applied in many schools, especially in the Deep Red zones, where on-site studying is still restricted.
The opinion poll shows that 51.35% of the respondents said that they are not yet ready for online learning, while 63.30% pointed out that the Thai educational system is not ready for virtual teaching and 77.18% of the teachers admitted that online learning necessities, such as internet connections, are lacking.
66.16% of parents are concerned that their children may not concentrate enough, while 74.25% of students are concerned that they may not understand what their teachers are teaching them.
62.22% of the respondents want the state to provide devices to students and schools for online learning, while 33.57% feel that online learning will affect learning by young children.
Dr. Uah-aree Chanthorn, head of the learning system development section of the Faculty of Education at Suan Dusit University, however, said that online learning is a new normal educational system that should be treated as an opportunity, or a new challenge, and not an obstruction to learning.
She suggested that all parties concerned adapt their digital mindset, to be more broadminded, to accept the new technology and to utilize it to the utmost, adding that teachers must adapt their teaching methods to fit in with the new method of learning.
