In our study, conducted during the first two months of the COVID-19 pandemic in Greece, we trace the instant effects of the crisis conditions on the university education. We examine the case of a Department of Education at the University of Patras, in order to investigate the students’ assumptions and emotions on the sudden shift to online teaching, in the frame of two academic courses during crisis. Having in mind that University of Patras was one of the first institutions in Greece that responded to the lockdown and moved promptly to the shift to distance learning, we designed a questionnaire with open-ended and closed-ended questions that was filled in by 103 students of the specific Department. The questions refer to students’ emotions and their motives of participation in the educational programme, activated due to the current conditions, and whether they foster or prevent the learning process. Our aim was not to compare the two different ways of teaching (online and face to face) but to investigate the lessons learned by this experience and the implications to higher education pedagogy. The results indicate specific points of interest on teaching and learning in higher education, therefore, the necessity of evolving university pedagogy is emerging.
Gannon, K. (2020). 4 Lessons from Moving a Face-to-Face Course Online. The Chronicle of Higher Education, Special Issue “Moving Online Now”, 24-27.
Hodges, C., Moore, S., Lockee, B., Trust, T., & Bond, A. (2020). The Difference Between Emergency Remote Teaching and Online Learning. EDUCAUSE Review. https://er.educause.edu/articles/2020/3/the-difference-between-emergency-remote-teaching-and-online-learning?fbclid=IwAR0yiCtV1QE9bUgSjiBxK4JDhS0_ORoBpSs0o6gkju2zimYHc6jWSNfnE1M
Karalis, T. (2020). Planning and evaluation during educational disruption: lessons learned from COVID-19 pandemic for treatment of emergencies in education. European Journal of Education Studies, 7(4), 125-142.
Karalis, T., & Koutsonikos, G. (2003). Issues and Challenges in Organizing Web-based Courses for Adults. Themes in Education, 4(2), 177-188. Available:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/215576866_Issues_and_Challenges_in_Organizing_Web-based_Courses_for_Adults.
Naftulin, D. H., Ware, J. E., & Donelly, F. A. (1973). The Doctor Fox Lecture: A paradigm of educational seduction. Journal of Medical Education, 48, 630-635.
Owusu-Fordjour, C., Koomson, C. K., & Hanson, D. (2020). The Impact of COVID-19 on Learning – The Perspective of the Ghanaian Student. European Journal of Education Studies, 7(3), 88-101.
Panitsides, E. ?., & Karapistola, ?. (2020). Enhancing the role of the Hellenic Open University as a Lifelong Learning Organization: Crossing the Rubicon into the e-learning era. In E. Sengupta, P. Blessinger & M. Makhanya (eds) Humanizing Higher Education: The Role of Technology. U.K.: Emerald (in press).
Pavlis-Korres, M. (2017). The Positive Effect of Evaluation on Improving E-Learning Courses Addressed to Adults: A Case Study on the Evolution of GSLLLY Courses in Greece over a Decade. Journal of Education and Training Studies, 5 (1), 1-11.
Plota, D., & Karalis, T. (2019). Organization and implementation of a Flipped Classroom course in the Greek University context. Educational Journal of the University of Patras UNESCO Chair, 6(2), 53-61.
Raikou, N. (2019). Teacher Education at the forefront: Long-term study through the prism of University Pedagogy and Transformative Learning theory. European Journal of Education Studies, 6(3), 88-102.
Raikou, N., & Karalis, T. (2011). Exploring the potential of Transformative Learning in Higher Education: the development of students’ critical thinking through aesthetic experience, 9th International Conference on Transformative Learning, Athens, 28-29 May 2011. In M. Alhadeff-Jones, & A. Kokkos (eds.), 2011, Transformative Learning in Time of Crisis: Individual and Collective Challenges (pp. 261-267). Athens: Columbia University and Hellenic Open University.
Reimers, F. M., & Schleicher, A. (2020). A framework to guide an education response to the COVID-19 Pandemic of 2020. OECD. Available:
https://www.hm.ee/sites/default/files/framework_guide_v1_002_harward.pdf.
UNESCO Institute for Statistics Data. (2020). COVID-19 Impact on Education. UNESCO. Available: https://en.unesco.org/covid19/educationresponse.
University of Patras COVID-19 Committee (2020). Second Report of the Committee for the education in the University in COVID-19 situation [in Greek]. Available: https://eclass.upatras.gr/courses/EE994/
In-Text Citation: (Karalis & Raikou, 2020)
To Cite this Article: Karalis, T., & Raikou, N. (2020). Teaching at the Times of COVID-19: Inferences and Implications for Higher Education Pedagogy. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 10(5), 479–493.
Copyright: © 2020 The Author(s)
Published by Human Resource Management Academic Research Society (www.hrmars.com)
This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this license may be seen at: http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode