Abstract

ELIZONDO-MEJIAS, Jonathan; LOPEZ-ESTRADA, Patricia  and  PEREZ-HIDALGO, Estefanía. Teachers’ Views on the Implementation of Blended Education during the Pandemic in Costa Rica. Innovaciones Educativas [online]. 2025, vol.27, n.42, pp.206-218. ISSN 2215-4132.  http://dx.doi.org/10.22458/ie.v27i42.5206.

The COVID-19 pandemic reshaped every educational system worldwide. Almost a year after the pandemic hit Costa Rica obliging classes at public schools to be substituted by a distance education model, the Ministry of Public Education decided to implement a blended-learning model in 2021 which involved both face-to-face and remote teaching, with students alternating school attendance. This study, carried out in the Norte-Norte Educational Directorate in Costa Rica; specifically, the counties of Upala and Guatuso, had the main purpose of describing the perceptions of six primary English teachers regarding the blended model to arrive at a better understanding of the pedagogical methods these employed and the professional context they experienced during the COVID-19 public health crisis. This study used an inductive qualitative approach and implemented a descriptive case-study design in which data were obtained and triangulated via interviews, document gathering, and photo elicitation. Analysis of the data was then carried out using ATLAS.ti software. Despite the supposed implementation of two combined modalities, teachers experienced multiple modalities due to students’ irregular attendance of both face-toface and online classes, lack of internet connectivity, and parents’ fears impacting their decisions regarding sending their children to school. Additionally, education authorities and school management played key roles with regard to the pedagogical methods employed and the perception of decontextualization and work overload.

Keywords : blended learning; distance education; foreign language teaching; pandemics; teacher’s perspectives.

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