Teachers’ perspectives of utilizing distance learning to support 21st century skill attainment for K-3 elementary students during the COVID-19 pandemic era

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Saudi Arabia, similar to other governments, discontinued face-to-face learning in favor of distance learning. The pandemic has had serious ramifications for K-3 education, and the impact of distance learning on 21st century skill attainment are important issues to explore. Using the Saudi Arabia context, this paper investigates teachers’ perspectives regarding the implementation of online education to support 21st century skills in the COVID-19 pandemic era for K-3 elementary school students. A qualitative research methodology was applied in this study. A semi-structured interview was conducted to collect data from five K-3 female teachers who implemented online education during the pandemic. Three themes emerged from the findings: 1) effects of the pandemic as related to online teaching for attainment of 21st century skills, 2) elaboration of best practices for online teaching to facilitate such attainment, and 3) challenges that exist for distance learning and student acquisition of 21st century skills. Therefore, the findings suggest that elementary teachers should find opportunities for elementary students to experience distance learning as an ongoing learning solution in order to incorporate innovative strategies that enhance their 21st century skills.