THE EFFICIENCY OF ONLINE LEARNING DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF SOUTHEAST EUROPEAN COUNTRIES AS PARTICIPANTS IN THE NEW PATH OF EDUCATION

The focus of this research is education during the coronavirus pandemic in Southeastern European countries (Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina and North Macedonia). It encompasses elementary education, high schools and higher education. The aim of the research is multiple. With it, we want to present methods of distance learning during the pandemics in the above mentioned countries, challenges and advantages that have emerged, as well as potential solutions for removing faults. This is primarily qualitative research relying on several methods. We conducted interviews to understand the experiences of different stakeholders participating in the education process. This research also relies on quantitative data, i.e. researches doing by The University of Prishtina, Pedagogical Institute of Kosovo, as well as results of opinion polls and research conducted by Student Parliament and Senate of the University of Sarajevo. Their research was conducted throughout the academic year 2020/2021. Also, we compiled different texts from media, as well as statements from different stakeholders. Our method is primarily inductive – because in some cases general ideas and conclusions about distance learning in Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina are based on different individual examples. Information in this research in relation to the section on North Macedonia is mainly based on three sources: Data from the website of Ministry for Education and Science of the Republic of North Macedonia; Morphosis Foundation Survey from September 2020 entitled Status and Challenges for Managing Online Teaching in Primary School; and Findings from the research with directors, teachers, and parents: Experience and Attitudes about Distance Learning, a document prepared by Reactor. Our key conclusion is that Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina and North Macedonia were not an exception regarding to the problems that arose during the pandemic in terms of education, such as online teaching, adapting students to new learning conditions, training of teachers for teaching in extraordinary and new circumstances, assessment criteria, etc. However, the situation has also brought opportunities to re-think existing education models and to find new solutions at schools and universities.