A Case Study Of Kosovan Teachers' Transition To Distance Education .

36 Morina, Uka, & Raza 1997). Moore's theory of transactional distance recognized the combined importance of the structure of the instructional programs, the dialogue, and the interaction (Moore, 1997). This theory contributed to the move toward the computer-mediated mode of distance education. Today, distance education has received attention due to the benefits that it provides to both students and teachers. For instance, a study by Thomson (2011) found that communication by email with students was more personal than initially imagined, and this realization made it easier for teachers to address the needs of each individual student. Thomson's study also found that teachers faced less procedural limitations in the online environment since there was more focus on intellectual content than on administrative procedures. However, in online classes, teachers emphasized the teacher–student and student–content relations over student–student relations. In addition to the aforementioned benefits, moving a classroom totally online or into a blended-learning mode is not an easy process since there are several challenges that must be considered. These challenges can be faced by educational institutions (Cuesta Medina, 2018; Raza et al., 2020), teachers (Cuesta Medina, 2018; Ocak, 2011), and students (Broadbent, 2017; Prasad et al., 2018). Students are reported to face challenges in the online setting mainly because of issues with self-regulation (Summers et al., 2005). Their flexibility to self-direct or undergo autonomous learning activities has resulted in procrastination and spending less time on learning activities and more time on other activities (Rasheed et al., 2020). In addition, the lack of face-to-face interaction makes students feel isolated and unmotivated (Stang, 2012) since they experience discomfort and anxiety due to isolation in online study activities (Lightner & Lightner-Laws, 2016). Lightner and Lightner-Laws (2016) suggested that blended learning provides a better alternative to exclusively online classes since it improves students' success by increasing the achievement of students in classes at a level comparable to traditional courses. However, creating online teaching content is time consuming for teachers (Long et al., 2017). Furthermore, Brown (2016) found that teachers face challenges in the implementation of blended learning due to their technological anxiety and students' technological illiteracy. Leo and Puzio (2016) reported that teachers are concerned about troubleshooting technology issues, which Bower et al. (2015) found time consuming for teachers. Teachers' lack of experience in creating instructional content is another challenge for teachers (Maycock et al., 2018; Raza & Brown; 2021). Furthermore, Ocak (2011) found that instructors' problems are categorized into three areas: instructional processes, community concerns, and technical issues. Due to the variety of delivery methods and lack of training for staff, the instructional process was confusing for the instructors. Regardless of equipment availability, teachers did not prefer to integrate technology because of their technological incompetence. Rasheed et al. (2020) classified findings from a literature review that resulted in listing teachers' beliefs as another challenging category for online learning. The category International Journal on Innovations in Online Education

Kosovan Teachers’ Transition to Distance Education 37 includes “technology (as) a barrier to competency development” (Pilgrim et al., 2018, p. 559), “flipped classroom regarded as one of the barriers between technology and teachers” (Zengin, 2017, p. 89), and “the quality of online instruction and learning” (Lighter & Lighter-Laws, 2016, p. 236). These challenges have an impact on teachers' beliefs that, according to Farrell and Ives (2015), provide a strong basis for teachers' classroom actions. 2.2 Historical Context 2.2.1 Online Education in Kosova Before the COVID-19 pandemic, online/distance education in Kosova was of limited availability, as detailed in Kosova Institute of Pedagogy (KIP) (2020a). The education system was generally reliant upon traditional, face-to-face learning with limited integration of technology—meaning that schools reported an insufficient number of computer laboratories and poor or no Internet connection in their schools. Many researchers saw this practice as a roadblock to improving the quality of education in the country. For instance, Hyseni Duraku and Hoxha (2020) stated that “the quality of pre-university education in Kosova and the insufficient level of technology integration into teaching processes are obstacles in the implementation and advancement of the online learning process in the country” (p. 2). Some of the reasons for insufficient technology integration in schools were the lack of digital competence and economic conditions (KIP, 2020b). As for digital competence, studies found that teachers in Kosova did not have any previous experience in online education prior to the pandemic (Hyseni Duraku & Hoxha, 2020) and that “around 42 percent of the school leaders and teachers did not attend any training on technology or practices for teaching online” (KIP, 2020a, p. 7). Following the 2019 pandemic, governments, institutions, and teachers had to respond quickly due to unexpected school closures. For example, the Government of Kosova announced the closing of all schools to prevent the spread of COVID-19 two days before the first cases of infection were confirmed in March 2020. It took another additional 11 days for the Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI) in Kosova to launch the transmission of distance classes through Radio Television of Kosova. The program was offered five times a week and covered the majority of subjects, excluding English language and arts. The length of all lessons per grade was 30 minutes/day. Then, all lessons were posted on MESTI's YouTube channel. In addition to the television broadcasting of lessons, MESTI (2020) unfolded teachers' responsibilities and duties in the time of distance education. Although teachers resumed their classes online due to their own sense of responsibility toward their students, there were no formal or institutional instructions for the implementation of online classes (KIP, 2020a). Therefore, the circumstances under which distance education was implemented affected its overall quality. Volume 5, Issue 2, 2021

38 Morina, Uka, & Raza The lack of instructions for the implementation of the distance education system in Kosova led to concerns that burden teachers regarding students' education during this time. Teachers consider the broadcast lessons short and vague and not in accordance with the schools' curriculum (Hyseni Duraku & Hoxha, 2020). They were concerned that “the results achieved with this teaching format will not be the same as those achieved with classroom teaching” (Hyseni Duraku & Hoxha, 2020, p. 18). Thus, during their transition from traditional to distance learning, teachers felt “anxious, uncomfortable, confused, insecure, and overloaded” (Hyseni Duraku & Hoxha, 2020, p. 14). While it was established from Hyseni Duraku and Hoxha (2020) that teachers felt unprepared and lacked confidence during the transition to online education, the reasons for this anxiety had yet to be evidenced. Therefore, this study set out to examine the extent to which technology adoption impacted teachers' anxiety in Kosova. Since the existing literature suggests that Kosovan teachers have experienced challenges with educational technologies due to inadequate training and institutional support (Hyseni Duraku & Hoxha, 2020; KIP, 2020a), our study aims to better understand the experiences of Kosovan middle school teachers with the transition to online education and to see how these experiences affect their willingness to support a blended education system in the future. 3. METHODOLOGY 3.1 Research Design This research is built upon the assumption that the process of transition from traditional to online education has been challenging for teachers. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to identify the challenges that Kosovan middle school teachers faced in the implementation of online classes and how this influenced their attitudes toward the adaptation of blended learning when the pandemic is over. This study was designed using a multi-case study research design, which investigates several cases linked together, each with a unique story, while focusing on a similar research phenomenon (Stake, 2006). Since this is a very context-specific case of middle school teachers' transition to online education, the case study format was deemed as an appropriate methodology. This methodological approach allows researchers to bind their data around their research phenomenon and select the most suitable information to address their research question(s) (Yazan, 2015; Yin, 2018). This bounding is helpful in understanding the phenomenon understudy in detail and guides researchers in deciding what needs to be included in data collection and analysis, and what will remain excluded. Interviews, as one of the most common data collection tools in case studies, allow researchers to collect indepth information from people who are directly involved in the issue that a study aims to understand (Josselson, 2013). Based on this understanding, our study explored the cases of 12 teachers that experienced the innovation in the transition from traditional to online International Journal on Innovations in Online Education

Kosovan Teachers’ Transition to Distance Education 39 education. The scope of the study was on the common themes that arose from these cases. 3.2 Participants The participants represented the multi-cases of the study (n 12) and were sample selected from public, middle school teachers employed in urban and rural areas of Kosova who shifted from face-to-face to online education as a result of the 2020 COVID pandemic. Participant selection was conducted through purposeful sampling, where the judgments of the sample were made based on the purpose and context of the study (Emmel, 2013). The selection criteria, used as the unit of boundary, for the participants were that they should be teachers in one of the public schools in Kosova and had attempted to conduct their classes online in the transition to distance education during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 12 teachers of various subjects (five men and seven women), were invited to participate in the study. The average age of the participants was 34.5 years old, with an average of 10 years of teaching experience. Out of the 12 teachers participating in the study, seven considered their technology competency as intermediate, five considered their competency as basic, and none considered their competency as advanced. Table 1 provides the demographic characteristics of the teachers that participated in the study. 3.3 Data Collection This study utilized in-depth individual interviews as the primary data collection method. The interviews followed the Josselson (2013) guidelines, in which interviewing is defined as an interpersonal process and participants are considered as actors in an event and not just witnesses. For this study, the selected teachers were invited for 45-minute anonymous, online interviews. The participants were provided informed consent forms for the interview and recording, which they were required to sign and submit. The interviews were semi-structured and carried out using a pre-designed interview schedule. Semistructured interviews enable reciprocity between an interviewer and interviewee (Galletta, 2012), and allow the interviewer to ask follow-up questions according to the interviewee's responses (Rubin & Rubin, 2005). The interview questions were open ended and asked about teachers' feelings and experiences as they transitioned from the traditional to the online classroom, their use of online instruction, design and implementation features, challenges, benefits, and attitudes toward using blended learning in the future. Appendix A provides the “little q” questions (Josselson, 2013) that teachers were asked during the interview. Volume 5, Issue 2, 2021

40 Morina, Uka, & Raza TABLE 1: Participant demographics Number of Participants Parameter Percentage (%) Age (average), n 34.5 Gender Women 7 58 Men 5 42 Bachelor 6 50 Master 6 50 Education (degree) Experience (average), years 10.33 Subject Social Sciences 9 75 Hard Sciences 3 25 Urban 5 42 Rural 7 58 12 100 Area Total 3.4 Data Analysis The first step in the analysis was transcription; each interview was transcribed manually by the researchers as a way to analyze (Glesne, 2006) and develop insight into the participants' perspectives (Powell & Bodur, 2019). The transcription of each interview was sent back to the participants to ensure transparency and accuracy and then followed by a cross-case analysis (Stake, 2006). The data analysis was conducted using the QDA Miner coding software program, where codes, categories, and themes were cross-checked by the authors and modified accordingly to ensure accuracy of inter-rater reliability. Data were analyzed using the cross-case analysis method employed by Powell and Bodur (2019), which “helped reveal similarities and differences among teachers, and highlighted teachers' collective perceptions” (p. 23). The categories were predetermined from the interview questions, whereas the codes were developed during the transcription of the interviews. Furthermore, cross-case analysis of the codes and categories led to emerging themes (Marshall & Rossman, 1999), which were the challenges of dissemination, facilitation, effectiveness, interaction and engagement, resources, and teachers' mindset. International Journal on Innovations in Online Education

Kosovan Teachers’ Transition to Distance Education 41 4. RESULTS The final six themes that emerged from the interview analysis included the following: dissemination, facilitation, effectiveness, interaction and engagement, resources, and teachers' mindset. Each of the themes represents a challenge that further translates to factors affecting teachers' attitudes about the use of online components in the future. The next paragraph explains how each theme emerged from the categorization or common themes found in the teachers' responses. The dissemination theme emerged from categories such as the decision of switching to online classes as well as teachers' first impression about the transition and the organization of distance education. Similarly, categories such as lesson planning and classroom management informed the construction of the second theme, facilitation. The effectiveness theme was based on the discussions about the quantity as well as quality of the covered material. Interaction and engagement emerged from the categories such as teacher–student relationship, students' participation in class, and group work activities. Furthermore, the resources theme emerged from the categories of teacher professional development and available technological devices for both teachers and students. Finally, the mindset theme was informed by the categories such as assessment as well as teachers' beliefs, attitudes, and preferences regarding online versus face-to-face education. 4.1 The Challenge of Dissemination Teachers generally had negative feelings about the transition to online classes and described their transition with statements such as “I did not feel comfortable switching to online classes” from Teacher 2 (T2), or “it sounded funny and I did not take it seriously at the beginning, but as I got involved it felt as challenging as teaching for the first time because it took time to get familiarized with distance education” from Teacher 3 (T3). Even teachers who reported having had neutral feelings about the transition stated that they considered it challenging. For example, Teacher 9 (T9) stated, “I thought it would be challenging but wanted to wait and see the advantages and disadvantages from the experience.” Overall, the negative reactions were due to teachers' inexperience with the online teaching format and the lack of technological devices. However, the transition was found challenging even for the teachers with some sort of experience with online teaching. For instance, Teacher 10 (T10) stated, “I was familiar with online teaching, but I knew this was going to be more difficult because I had done only 1-on-1 sessions and not group teaching.” The broadcasting of lessons on TV was experienced differently by teachers since some of them taught subjects that were not included in the program. Teachers whose subjects were part of the transmission program considered it helpful. For instance, one teacher stated that “The good thing was that the videos, though, are accessible so the students Volume 5, Issue 2, 2021

42 Morina, Uka, & Raza can watch them whenever they need” and “the broadcasted lessons served as a guide for the focus of the classes.” On the other hand, teachers whose subjects were not covered by the program considered that the lack of TV-based lessons negatively affected the overall quality of distance education or even disabled the learning process entirely for those who could not attend online classes. For example, T2 noted, “the lack of broadcasted lessons made teachers the only ones responsible for distance education, and not all were able to resume classes online” while Teacher 11 (T11) stated that “English lessons should have been broadcasted at least for elementary students because we have not been very successful with them through Zoom.” However, there were teachers who considered that the broadcasted lessons were sometimes limiting for teachers. For instance, Teacher 8 (T8) stated, “for students it is better when their teachers explain the lessons because teachers address their learning needs,” while T3 said that “my course has not been broadcasted, but as a parent I could see that TV lessons covered limited material and that further limited teachers too.” In addition to the TV-based lessons, teachers were urged to resume their classes online by MESTI. However, due to the lack of instructions, most teachers were slow in mobilizing themselves and resuming their classes online, while the remaining teachers did not resume their classes at all. Teachers who resumed their classes online used video conference applications, such as Zoom and Skype, and/or messaging apps, whereas teachers who did not resume their classes online used only messaging apps for questions and assignments. 4.2 The Challenge of Facilitation Overall, teachers identified that lesson planning for online classes took teachers more time than planning for face-to-face classes. This was because teachers felt that for online classes they had to plan every minute of the class and provide more detailed instructions, which takes a considerably longer amount of time. For example, T8 stated, “Online lesson prep is longer due to the fact that in absence of interaction you need to visually present every word or lesson that you give out,” and T9 said that “instructions for students need to be more detailed and they certainly take more time.” Teachers also found class preparation for online classes more complicated than that of face-to-face classes. This was often identified because they could not include the same activities as in face-to-face classes, such as pair or group work activities, which resulted in innovating beyond traditional teaching ideas to think of alternatives. First, T2 claimed, “we plan according to the curriculum; however, it is not the same [as face-to-face classes]. I have altered my methods to ensure students gain a better understanding of the subject's concepts.” In addition, Teacher 12 (T12) described that “lesson planning for online classes was more difficult because extra work was needed.” Students would complain about a lot of homework, so we had to stop and exercise more during the classes. Also, during online classes, the teacher has to talk for most of the time.” T8 explained another reason why International Journal on Innovations in Online Education

Kosovan Teachers’ Transition to Distance Education 43 lesson planning is more difficult for online classes by stating that “we cannot include the same activities as for face-to-face classes; we cannot have pair or group work activities so we have to think of alternatives.” From the sample, there were only two teachers who found lesson planning for online classes easier than for face-to-face classes. However, that was linked with administering and reporting. For example, as Teacher 1 (T1) claimed, “online planning is easier because we are not required to prepare detailed daily lesson plans as we used to do for face-toface classes; now, the process is simpler.” Similarly, T11 stated, “online lesson planning was easier because everything was digital. At school, we are usually required to submit handwritten lesson plans, while during this time, I typed them on the computer and sent them to the director.” While lesson planning was more challenging and time consuming, classroom management was a better

& Kashif Raza 1 Marigona Morina Antigona Uka Kashif Raza 1 University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. 2 Kosova Center for Distance Education - Meso Online, Pristina, Kosovo * Address all correspondence to: Marigona Morina, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, E-mail: marigona.morina@ucalgary.ca