The attitudes of elementary and middle school students and teachers towards online learning during the corona pandemic outbreak

The coronavirus pandemic has impacted the education systems worldwide and most, including the Israeli, have transitioned to online learning. Moreover, closing schools has extreme social, cultural, educational and economic implications on the student, teacher and parent populations. This is especially true for students from families of lower-socio-economic status and young students who need parental assistance. Furthermore, online learning is not suitable for all teachers, because some lack the technological capabilities needed. To examine the attitudes of teachers and students towards online learning, questionnaires were administered to 476 students, grades 3–7 and 250 teachers from the Arab and Jewish sectors. The findings revealed that age plays an important role both among teachers and students, where mainly younger children and older teachers encounter difficulties in this transformation. Furthermore, gender and sectoral differences were found both among teachers and students. These findings show that conversion to online learning may widen the existing gaps.