The 'messy' online classroom during COVID-19: students opening up a liminal space between being controlled and exercising agency

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, diverse changes have been made in schools. The decision was made for students to be back in school online, and synchronous bi-directional online classes were launched as a means of 'blended learning'. Against this background, we aim to explore how synchronous bi-directional online classroom space is understood and materialised through a lens of socio-material assemblage. This article builds on existing literature on the potential of liminal space, which encourages a focus on the limits of the space and the simultaneous possibility of students' agency. Online ethnography was conducted to analyse the dynamics of spatiality in an online classroom. Participant observation was conducted in online classes in one 6th grade (elementary school) class in Seoul, South Korea, followed by semi-structured interviews with the teacher and students. We explore themes of students being controlled and (simultaneously) exercising their agency, thus opening up understanding of the agency of children as active actors who construct the space.

Automated summary

This article explores the understanding and materialization of synchronous bi-directional online classroom space in the context of the COVID-19 outbreak. Through online ethnography, the study finds that students are both controlled and exercise agency in the classroom, demonstrating their active role in constructing the space.