Higher Education Students’ Perceptions of Online Learning during COVID-19—A Comparative Study
Abstract
:1. Introduction
- RQ1:
- What digital home learning environment id students have access to?
- RQ2:
- How did students engage in the online sessions?
- RQ3:
- What were the student preferences for participation with the online learning platform?
- RQ4:
- How did emergency eLearning education impact student learning skills?
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Confirmation of Dimensions and Questions
2.2. Demographics of Participants
3. Results
3.1. Analysis of the Dimensions
3.1.1. Home Learning Environment
3.1.2. Student Engagement
3.1.3. Participation Preference
3.1.4. Impact on Student Learning Skills
3.2. Features Shaping the Participating University Student Groups
- Home learning environment: I have a good learning environment at home (or where I reside).
- Engagement: (1) I found it easy to interact with my lectures and peers during an online lecture/seminar session; (2) I preferred accessing the digital learning environment more than the in-person on campus learning.
- Participation Preference: I always have my video on when attending an online session.
- Impact on learning skills: (1) The online academic education during the pandemic improved my digital literacy; (2) the online academic education during the pandemic helped me to become more independent as a learner.
4. Discussion
- RQ1:
- What digital home learning environment did students have access to?
- RQ2:
- How did students engage in the online sessions?
- RQ3:
- What were the student preferences for participation with the online learning platform?
- RQ4:
- How did emergency eLearning education impact student learning skills?
5. Concluding Remarks and Future Work
- The younger students preferred face-to-face teaching and found it difficult to engage with lecturers and peers online, which may suggest that blended learning could be introduced later in students’ academic studies.
- There were significant differences between the responses from the participating universities within the three countries, in terms of how students experienced the online learning environment. This depended on how the country responded to the pandemic crisis, the support provided to students, and the resources made available. It is clearly important to understand the digital requirements of students, as well as the challenges of their home study environments, and to provide access to study spaces to those not privileged enough to have appropriate home learning spaces.
- The development of the online study content requires careful consideration to ensure that the study sessions incorporate enough activities to keep students engaged.
- Opportunities should be created for developing digital, information and academic skills early on in University careers, so that students learn to become independent learners.
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
Appendix A
Comparisons of Column Proportions | Group | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Hungary | Wales | South Africa | ||
(A) | (B) | (C) | ||
I have the appropriate digital equipment to access the university digital environment | Disagree | A (0.022) | ||
Neutral | ||||
Agree | C (0.001) |
Comparisons of Column Proportions | Group | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Hungary | Wales | South Africa | ||
(A) | (B) | (C) | ||
I preferred accessing the digital learning environment more than the in-person on campus learning | Disagree | A (0.000) | A (0.005) | |
Neutral | ||||
Agree | B (0.000) C (0.000) |
Comparisons of Column Proportions | Group | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Hungary | Wales | South Africa | ||
(A) | (B) | (C) | ||
I found it easy to interact with my lecturers and peers during online lecture/seminar sessions | Disagree | A (0.000) C (0.021) | ||
Neutral | ||||
Agree | B (0.000) C (0.007) | B (0.036) |
Comparisons of Column Proportions | Group | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Hungary | Wales | South Africa | ||
(A) | (B) | (C) | ||
I miss the in-person interaction with other students | Disagree | B (0.008) C (0.004) | ||
Neutral | ||||
Agree | A(0.000) | A(0.001) |
Comparisons of Column Proportions | Group | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Hungary | Wales | South Africa | ||
(A) | (B) | (C) | ||
I cannot concentrate and engage with the learning effectively when the lecture or seminar video is longer than 15 min | Disagree | B (0.000) C (0.004) | ||
Neutral | ||||
Agree | A (0.002) |
Comparisons of Column Proportions | Group | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Hungary | Wales | South Africa | ||
(A) | (B) | (C) | ||
I always have my video on when attending an online session | Disagree | C (0.000) | C (0.002) | |
Neutral | A (0.000) B (0.014) | |||
Agree | A (0.003) |
Comparisons of Column Proportions | Group | |||
Hungary | Wales | South Africa | ||
(A) | (B) | (C) | ||
The online academic education during the pandemic, helped me to become more independent as a learner | Disagree | C (0.014) | ||
Neutral | ||||
Agree | A (0.000) B (0.011) |
Comparisons of Column Proportions | Group | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Hungary | Wales | South Africa | ||
(A) | (B) | (C) | ||
The online academic education during the pandemic, improved my digital literacy | Disagree | C (0.000) | C (0.004) | |
Neutral | ||||
Agree | A (0.036) | A (0.000) B (0.011) |
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Dimension | Factor Loading |
---|---|
Home learning environment | |
I have a good learning environment at home (or where I reside) | 0.659 |
I have the appropriate digital equipment to access the university digital environment | 0.812 |
I am satisfied with my Internet access | 0.683 |
Student engagement | |
I miss the in-person interaction with other students | −0.809 |
I cannot concentrate and engage with the learning effectively when the lecture or seminar video is longer than 15 min | −0.616 |
I found it easy to interact with my lecturers and peers during an online lecture/seminar session | 0.753 |
I preferred accessing the digital learning environment more than the in-person on campus learning | 0.789 |
Participation preference | |
I like to actively participate in online discussions | 0.770 |
I always have my video on when attending an online session | 0.566 |
I prefer to work independently | −0.494 |
Impact on learning skills | |
The online academic education during the pandemic, helped me to become more independent as a learner | 0.820 |
The online academic education during the pandemic, improved my digital literacy | 0.801 |
Comparisons of Column Proportions | Group | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Hungary | Wales | South Africa | ||
(A) | (B) | (C) | ||
I have a good learning environment at home (or where I reside) | Disagree | A (0.001) | A (0.000) | |
Neutral | A (0.001) | |||
Agree | B (0.000) C (0.000) |
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Cranfield, D.J.; Tick, A.; Venter, I.M.; Blignaut, R.J.; Renaud, K. Higher Education Students’ Perceptions of Online Learning during COVID-19—A Comparative Study. Educ. Sci. 2021, 11, 403. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11080403
Cranfield DJ, Tick A, Venter IM, Blignaut RJ, Renaud K. Higher Education Students’ Perceptions of Online Learning during COVID-19—A Comparative Study. Education Sciences. 2021; 11(8):403. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11080403
Chicago/Turabian StyleCranfield, Desireé J., Andrea Tick, Isabella M. Venter, Renette J. Blignaut, and Karen Renaud. 2021. "Higher Education Students’ Perceptions of Online Learning during COVID-19—A Comparative Study" Education Sciences 11, no. 8: 403. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11080403