What Teachers Tell Us About the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Public Education in Italy

The Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) state of emergency has brought about a radical change in the way of teaching. In a questionnaire, we asked 120 teachers from Italian Primary, Middle and High Schools about the advantages and disadvantages of online teaching, the students’ conduct during lessons and the methodologies applied to students with special educational needs. Primary School teachers most strongly reported an increase in boredom and distraction, and disagreed that online teaching helps students’ learning and that it makes them more active. The main advantage of online teaching was the technical and methodological innovations, while the main disadvantage was the lack of relationship with students. In the case of students with special educational needs, many teachers reported that they used simplified procedures and personalized meetings. Overall, teachers appear to think that online teaching has many drawbacks, though it also has some positive aspects that need to be appreciated and exploited.