Distance Theatre Education in Greek Primary School During Covid-19 Through the Eyes of the Theatre Teachers

The suspension of school operations, which lasted for a long period of time to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic, posed significant challenges to educational institutions to continue their operations smoothly. This pilot research study explores the views and experiences of 50 theatre teachers on the implementation of distance learning in primary schools during the Covid-19 pandemic. In this research, an attempt was made to investigate the difficulties and obstacles that arose during the implementation of distance learning, as well as to record the challenges and opportunities for teaching the theatre course. The main objectives of the study were to explore the challenges of the role of theatre teachers and the difficulties they were faced with, the possibilities of their cooperation with the leadership of the school units, with their colleagues, as well as the communication with children and their families. A questionnaire was used as the main research tool for data collection, which was designed and consisted of Likert scale questions. Some of the main findings were the lack of preparation of teachers in the implementation of distance learning, technical barriers, high levels of stress, and intense concern in the digital classroom. Also, the challenges and difficulties of the students in attending the distance learning of the theatre education were mentioned, as well as the involvement of the parents in the process. Finally, the findings regarding the support and attitude of the school leadership are commented. Article visualizations: