Virtual Learning and the Issue of Student Socialization in the Covid-19 Pandemic; the Necessity of Post-Corona Policy

An important function of education is the socialization of students, which has been done in the school environment before the Covid-19 pandemics, but with the spread of the virus and the emergence of virtual learning, the socialization of students faced challenges. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify the challenges of students' socialization during the Covid-19 pandemic. This is a qualitative study using thematic analysis approach which was conducted in December 2021 in public schools of Tabas city, southern Khorasan province, Iran. Participants were selected using purposeful sampling. Semi-structured interviews werd done with 14 parents, 16 students and 6 teachers. The findings of the research showed that the authority of the school in the issue of socialization has reached the minimum possible. Meanwhile, due to the virtual learning, the media has become the main tool of socialization. The constructed themes related to the issue of socialization are: the informalization of education rituals, the reduction of teacher's authority, the harms of virtual space, the weakness of supervision and multifaceted conflicts. The conceptual model shows unintended deschooling in the issue of socialization. Paying attention to the post-Corona era and related educational changes is a serious policy-making necessity of the relevant ministry. Cultivating the correct use of virtual space, removing software limitations and developing educational software to facilitate the educational process, along with updating teachers' media literacy and developing their professional ethics, are the priorities of education in order to maintain the authority of teachers and promotion of students socialization.