The Workplace of a Teacher Under the Conditions of Distance Learning: Regulatory and Legal Aspect

Abstract

The article examines the current state of the workplace of a teacher at a higher education institution in the conditions of distance learning and remote work, which is primarily caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the introduction of martial law in Ukraine, which was declared after the full-scale military invasion of the Russian Federation. In particular, the normative and legal support of teachers' activities in the distance educational environment is analyzed. The key aspects that determine the peculiarities of the organization of the workplace of a teacher of a higher education institution in the conditions of distance learning are highlighted, such as: technical support; organization of the educational process; psychological aspects; regulatory guarantees, etc. It was noted that the implementation of distance learning "devalued" the previous work with the saturation of educational institutions, in particular - higher education institutions with computer equipment and communication connections, primarily oriented to use in the mode of physical presence in the premises of higher education institutions. Attention is also focused on the problem of ensuring the physical safety of teachers of higher education institutions and students of higher education and their urgent distance learning of the key foundations of the educational process, focused on what the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) calls joint activities (Collaborative activities), which are provided by joint workplaces (Collaborative workplace). The provisions of international standards, as well as the norms of national legislation, which regulate the requirements and guarantees of the organization of the workplace of a higher education teacher according to the hierarchical structure, are consistently laid out. It is emphasized that the regulation of the professional activities of teachers of higher education institutions when performing remote work at the level of legal norms is more or less resolved, while the introduction of secondary legal documents and local acts of higher education institutions that regulate distance learning is unacceptably slow and harms the quality of higher education. It was noted that the Ukrainian legislation and the practice of its application in distance learning left higher education students and teachers of higher education institutions alone regarding the need to ensure safe and effective conditions in the new realities. There is a lack of recommendations on the organization and equipment of the workplace of a student of higher education. This is somewhat dampened by the creative practices of teachers of higher education institutions. It was concluded that the main reason for the intensive development of the distance education system in Ukraine is its integration capacity, and the five-year Ukrainian experience of conducting distance education in special conditions requires faster state regulation of this form of education and the conduct of relevant academic research, etc.