Children’s Participation in Online School. Perspectives of Children from Rural Area

Child participation in school environment acquires distinct meanings within the new context generated by Covid-19. Online teaching has led to many uncertainties, anxiety, and stress, among teachers, parents, and students, the vulnerable children being the most affected by these changes. Based on a social constructionism approach, the paper explores the challenges of pupils living in rural areas, regarding online school. Data is coming from two focus groups and three in depth interviews conducted with children, between November and December 2020. The results of this research show us that children are profoundly affected by the absence of psychical interactions between them and their access to online classes is limited by the lack of electronic devices, a poor infrastructure of telecommunications particular for the rural areas, leading to missing the lessons or misunderstanding them. Young students notice that online school creates differences and they recommend an equal education for all children regardless their social or economic condition, and a more flexible and interactive curriculum suitable for online learning.


Keywords: child participation, online school, social constructionism