The Phenomenon of Learning at a Distance Through Emergency Remote Teaching Amidst the Pandemic Crisis - read online free

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Marglet

The threat posed by Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) disrupted global education, prompting Philippine higher education institutions to shift abruptly to emergency remote teaching (ERT). Using a qualitative phenomenological design, the study explored the lived experiences of five learners suddenly immersed in remote learning during the pandemic. Four themes emerged: limited or no internet access, financial constraints, lack of technological devices, and insufficient affective or emotional support. Remote learning proved especially challenging as access issues combined with financial stability and emotional support concerns, increasing learning pressure.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages10

Reading Time25 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Online learning, distance education, and blended learning in the Philippines

COVID-19 advisories and the shift to ERT

Literature

Early ICT use and the preference for face-to-face instruction

Online learning benefits and persistent affordability/access challenges

The phenomenon of learning at a distance through emergency remote teaching amidst the pandemic crisis Abel V. Alvarez, Jr. Abstract: The threat brought about by Corona Virus or COVID-19 had made a huge impact not only on the economic, tourism, and health sectors, but it also hardly hit the education system of the world at large. Specifically, this pandemic crisis had caused the Philippine higher education institutions to abruptly shift to emergency remote teaching (ERT) as a response to the call for continued education despite the global health threat. Using a qualitative phenomenological research design, this paper discusses the lived experiences of five learners who were suddenly immersed in a remote learning context amidst the threat of COVID-19. There were four themes revealed in this study: poor to no internet access, financial constraints, lack of technological devices, and affective or emotional support. Interestingly, findings showed that learning remotely in these trying times is challenging because aside from the existing problems on access and affordability, the emerging concerns on financial stability and affective support contributed to interrupted learning engagement. Moreover, exposing culturally face-toface learners in the context of ERT can put additional learning pressure. Nevertheless, the need to listen to the students’ lived experiences in ERT will provide a lending ear to be heard and a voice for building a pedagogy of understanding about their learning journey in this time of pandemic crisis. Keywords: COVID-19, Emergency Remote Teaching, Emergency Remote Education, Enhanced Community Quarantine, Pandemic Introduction Although the concepts of online learning (Anderson, 2008; Harasim, 2017; Horzum, 2017; Panigrahi, Srivastava & Sharma, 2018; Wang, Minku & Yao, 2018), open and distance education (Bozkurt, 2019; Jung, 2019; Simpson, 2018; Weller, Jordan, DeVries & Rolfe, 2018), and blended learning (Boelens, De Wever & Voet, 2017; Dziuban, Graham, Moskal, Norberg & Sicilia, 2018) have been slowly introduced to some Philippine colleges and universities, however, the issues of affordability and accessibility to some extent still impede wide range integration of technology in the context of education. In the Philippines, the effect brought about by Corona Virus Disease 2019 or COVID-19 paved the way for schools to suspend and declare a state of public health emergency. Specifically, the Philippine Commission on Higher Education or CHEd released COVID advisory no. 5 stating the cancellation of classes and school activities, including on-the-job-training and internships, from March 9-April 14, 2020. Nonetheless, the continued increase of local transmission cases resulted for the Philippine government to extend until the end of April 2020. This also led for CHEd’s issuance of advisory no. 6 that authorizes higher education institutions (HEIs), who are still using the June-March old school calendar, to immediately end the semester. Whereas, those schools that are aligned with the August-May new school calendar were given the autonomy to make judgments on the inclusion of flexible learning and other alternative means of teaching and learning delivery, such as ERT (synchronous and asynchronous learning tasks) . Although there are some HEIs in the country who are practicing blended learning (e.g. , Lim, 2016; Mabuan & Ebron, 2016; Resurreccion, 2018), the use of ERT (Bozkurt & Sharma, 2020) for almost half of the remaining semester in this critical period of our time created unique issues and concerns of students experiences. Therefore, more than the access to technological devices and the internet, it is significant to investigate the journey of learners who were prematurely immersed in a remote learning context. Through listening to their stories and giving voices from their experiences, we can picture out their lived through learning at a distance in these trying times. Literature During the earl

FAQs

What prompted Philippine higher education institutions to shift to emergency remote teaching (ERT)?

COVID-19 led authorities to suspend classes and extend public health emergencies, and CHEd advisories required decisions such as ending semesters and allowing alternative delivery methods like ERT.

What research approach and participant basis does the paper use?

The study uses a qualitative phenomenological research design and discusses the lived experiences of five learners who were immersed in remote learning during the COVID-19 threat.

What main challenges to remote learning were identified?

Four themes were revealed: poor to no internet access, financial constraints, lack of technological devices, and insufficient affective or emotional support.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Marglet