Challenges in Emergency Remote Teaching Among Malaysian Public Elementary School Teachers

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore challenges public elementary school teachers faced when conducting emergency remote teaching during the pandemic in Malaysia. The scope of the study was limited to remote teaching which was conducted between Mar 2020 and December 2020, when Malay-sia government urged an emergency national lockdown to stop the spread of coronavirus in the country. This study adopted qualitative, case study re-search design. 10 public elementary school teachers were sampled using a purposive sampling method. Semi-structured interviews were employed to gain the insights of teachers’ challenges in implementation of emergency re-mote teaching. The data were analysed using thematic analysis and a facilitation of Nvivo 12 programme. There were six main themes emerged on teachers’ challenges, which were (1) Directing gateway; (2) Lack of skill and knowledge; (3) Unable to meet all needs; (4) Unable to engage students; (5) Lack of support from parents; and (6) Had no proper guideline. As teachers were the key persons in determining the functionality, effectiveness and de-velopment of future remote teaching, hence it was extremely crucial to listen to teachers’ voices and figure out how these educators could be supported in the future to benefit the learners and communities.