Differential Effects of Emergency Remote Teaching Strategies During COVID-19 Pandemic in Gombe State, Nigeria

The Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted the lives of millions around the world. In the education sector, schools had to abruptly transition from traditional in-person classes to emergency remote teaching, which presents a unique set of challenges for students, teachers and administrators alike. This research examined the various forms and the differential effects of Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) strategies that were offered to primary and secondary school students in Gombe State, Nigeria during the COVID 19 pandemic lockdown of educational institutions. The study was guided by four research questions and four hypotheses. The causal comparative and survey research designs were used. The target population were all public and private primary and secondary school teachers in Gombe State, Nigeria. The participants comprised of 493 teachers from 197 schools comprising of 208 (42%) male, and 285 (58%) female was chosen through the multistage stratified random sampling technique. The stages were senatorial zones, local government areas, as well as school ownership (public/private), educational level (primary/secondary) and location (urban/ rural). A questionnaire titled Teacher Experiences on Emergency Remote Teaching Questionnaire (TEERTQ) was used for data collection after undergoing validation and a reliability coefficient of 0.84 obtained. Data were descriptively and inferentially (t-tests) analysed using the SPSS statistical software. The findings indicated the ERT platforms used were Radio, WhatsApp, Zoom, and YouTube. The result further indicated significant difference on the forms of ERT provided based on level, ownership and location. However, no gender differences exist on the forms of ERT provided. Based on the results, it was recommended that in order to prepare for future disruptions and minimize the negative impact of school closures on student learning, robust continuous learning strategies and high-quality remote learning policies should be developed and implemented to ensure that all students have equal access to remote learning opportunities and resource as well as maintain the standard of education delivery.