Resuming classes in rural populations during the pandemic: a case study in the Ecuadorian coast

Abstract

The article aims to describe the practices that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic to resume classes in a rural school on the Ecuadorian coast. The research focuses on a case study of elementary school students of Natural Sciences in Jipijapa canton. The focus of the study is qualitative-ethnographic, exploratory, and descriptive. Data was collected over six months through in-depth interviews, focus groups, collaborative mapping, and field observation. The findings show that the Ecuadorian education system lacks contingency plans that address interruptions in educational processes. This is further relevant for rural territories, where internet access and mobility are particularly restricted. It is also clear that the contents for the teaching of Natural Sciences elude information from the students' context, which avoids situational education and limits the possibilities of achieving meaningful learning. The study concludes that the national education system requires contingency plans to address future crises, sufficient data to characterize students according to the context in which they exist, and content to facilitate situational learning.