Digital school groups during the COVID-19 pandemic in Cuba

Abstract

The research focused on the study of the school group. It transcended its traditional treatment and focused on its operation in virtual environments, as a consequence of the global health crisis and the containment measures applied. The objective of the research was to characterize structural elements of virtual school groups for middle and high school that functioned in the 2020-2021 school year during the COVID-19 pandemic in Cuba. For this, a quantitative methodology was followed with the application of an online questionnaire. The final sample was made up of 436 students and 82 middle and high school teachers. The results revealed the characteristics of the structural elements of these groups, which were generally identified by formality, low interaction, lack of norms that efficiently regulate the functioning of the group, and low levels of integration and significance of belonging to these groups. Significant differences were also shown in terms of teachers and students and the levels of middle and high school education that marked a diversification in the findings. The study included a projection towards future research that addresses in greater theoretical and methodological depth the relationships between the school group and virtuality and its possible edges in terms of the student-teacher relationship and methodological challenges of distance education.