An Investigation Into the Impact of COVID-19 on the Academic Performance of Students in Higher Education Institutions in Namibia (original) (raw)
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COVID-19 pandemic forced several higher education institutions (HEI) to operate remotely. Emergency remote teaching, using synchronous and asynchronous instruction, was adopted by several HEIs. The experiences of students with remote teaching and learning in certain situations are not fully understood, thus need to be explored. This study explored the experiences of students with the emergency remote teaching and learning practices adopted at a selected HEI in South Africa. A cross-sectional and self-administered survey was used to gather data from 243 conveniently sampled returning students within the Department of Accounting and Finance. Descriptive statistics were used to make sense of the collected data. The study found that students preferred a face-to-face approach to learning to remote learning. The respondents underscored insufficient data, unstable network connection, unconducive home environments and loneliness as deterrents to effective remote learning. Despite these nega...
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The emergence of Covid-19 has had a significant influence on the world of education. Even though the emergence of Covid-19 has accelerated the integration of technology in learning, there are still negative classroom learning impacts. This study aims to explore student experience in online learning in the Covid-19 Pandemic period; describe the negative impacts and obstacles that arise in online learning; and describe student strategies in online learning. This research is qualitative in the type of case studies. Data were collected through open questionnaires and interviews with participants of 20 students. Data analysis was accomplished with Bogdan and Biklen models through reduction, searching for sub-themes, and seeking relationships between sub-themes to obtain the conclusion. The results of this study show that learning in the Covid-19 pandemic period has not been fully optimally done. In addition, students also get physical and mental impacts during online learning. Furthermor...
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Using the TIPEC framework, this study undertook a critical literature analysis, and student survey to explore challenges experienced by higher education institutions during emergency online pedagogies because of disruptions from the COVID-19 outbreak. The study revealed that most higher education institutions are still grappling with getting technicalities in place such as reliable network connectivity, IT capacity, clear navigation to learning content, timetabling, and session scheduling, and reliable hardware and software required to access online learning platforms to keep teaching and learning afloat. However, little attention is placed on the provision of quality online learning. Therefore, there is a need to move towards enabling epistemological access through the use of online tools in a pedagogically sound and inclusive manner to enable students to develop critical thinking skills. The current quality assurance practices also need to transform to effectively respond to the l...
Proceedings of 2nd Annual Management, Business and Economic Conference (AMBEC 2020), 2021
The purpose of this study was to analyze the advantages and disadvantages of online learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic from the university students' perspectives. This phenomenon is a stage for humans to adapt to the current situation and conditions so that they will find a new pattern of life or what is known as New Normal Life. During this pandemic, tertiary institutions have transformed the system through full online learning. At this moment, an analysis of online learning advantages and disadvantages based on the university students' perspectives as actors who directly feel the impact of these changes is needed. The method in this research employs a narrative approach. Data collection was done through interviews set online. This research was conducted on students at Universitas Negeri Malang. The informants were selected based on the representation of each department in the university. The research data were analyzed based on the results of studies and focus group discussions (FGD) related to the implementation of online learning during the COVID-19 Pandemic. The results showed that the flexibility of time and material filing, as well as documentation became more organized. Based on the perspective of the students, on the other hand, online learning has some shortcomings, including less interactive lecturers, excessive assignments given, frequently changing schedules, inadequate facilities, limited internet access or unstable internet networks, and constraints on practicum course. This article could contribute to the evaluation of online teaching during the Covid-19 pandemic
Student experiences of online learning due to Covid-19
The New Zealand Annual Review of Education, 2021
Background: Five weeks into the start of a new academic year, the University of Canterbury (UC) in Christchurch, New Zealand experienced a rapid transition from traditional on-campus education to online distance learning. On-campus lectures were replaced by a combination of interactive livestreamed Zoom sessions, pre-recorded classes, compiled videos and laboratory sessions, and other activities. It was unknown how students' learning was impacted by this sudden change to an online environment. Purpose: Our research sought to explore the main challenges perceived by students in the transition to an online learning environment in order to gain an understanding of how teaching staff can best address student needs in future emergency situations. Methods: A two part survey was electronically distributed to students enrolled in a 4-year engineering programme and a 3-year sport coaching programme at the University of Canterbury. Results: Student responses indicated a clear desire for structured, in-person delivery of tertiary education. The ability to gain rapid feedback from lecturers was missed, as was social interaction and informal learning among peers. The use of timetabled tutorials and small-stakes assessment items helped facilitate regular contact with the course material and interaction among students and between students and teaching staff. Assessment practices which constrained time to respond to questions, although useful in limiting opportunities for cheating, was unpopular with students and was associated with increased anxiety. Students preferred untimed assessments, such as written assignments and takehome tests. In addition, it was found to be important to provide practise opportunities for modified-for-online assessments prior to formal testing to help reduce stress in an already stressful environment.
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The advent of Covid-19 changed how education is carried out at the tertiary level in Ghana. Despite the lunch of emergency remote teaching at the University of Ghana in 2020, little research has been done on students' experiences. Using a qualitative descriptive design, this study explored students' experiences regarding the benefits, challenges, and the influence of emergency remote teaching on their self-esteem, academic confidence, and performance. 20 students were interviewed, and their responses were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results showed students had both positive and negative experiences which had diverse impacts on their selfesteem, academic confidence, and performance. Positive experiences resulted from the confidence to participate in class without intimidation, improved IT literacy, self-esteem and academic performance, less distraction and leniency from lecturers. Negative experiences bothered on problems with the learning management system, internet challenges, laziness on the part of students, high cost of internet data, unconducive learning environment, comprehension difficulties, increased workload and cheating by students. The findings underscore the need for university management to consider students' psychological wellbeing and needs when implementing new educational systems and further put measures in place to improve emergency remote teaching and curb academic dishonesty in order to improve tertiary education in Ghana amidst Covid-19.
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The pandemic has compelled Higher Education Institutions around the world to resort to Emergency Remote Learning (ERL). This abrupt ‘pivot to online’ learning has exacerbated existing challenges in Higher Education, particularly in South Africa. This paper interrogates whether the sudden move to ERL has compounded or ameliorated existing academic challenges for students in Higher Education Institutions. The study summarised herein draws on ‘critical humanising pedagogy’, an approach that centres student needs in the teaching and learning process. In employing student experiences and perceptions of ERL, the study adopted a qualitative approach, with specific focus on students from one of SA’s top five universities. A perturbing finding is that teaching and learning under ERL has regressed into impersonal methodologies, devoid of any notion of pedagogy as the science and art of teaching. More unsettling is that ERL has alienated and disengaged students from learning as a collaborative...
E-S-QUAL: Factors Influencing Student’s sudden online education during COVID-19
IOSR Journal of Business and Management, 2022
Background: During Covid-19 the nation implemented movement restrictions and physical segregation to curb the virus' spread. Students were affected, as physical classes were closed abrupt and online education was rolled out. This study aims to explore factors influencing students’ online learning satisfaction and retention in a college in Johor Bahru using a qualitative research design. Method:The study utilised a semi-structured interview and questionnaire from E-S-Qual with a focus group discussion consisting of 12 students. Focus group (1) consisted of six participants from the bachelor’s degree programme while focus group (2) involved six participants from the diploma programmes. The data collected were subjected to content analysis. Results: The participants agreed that the online learning environment was satisfactory. The majority of participants highlighted system availability, privacy, efficiency and fulfilment as factors that contributed to a favourable online learning experience. Respondents to the survey that acknowledged unhappiness were those who found online learning to be difficult and may intend to discontinue their studies. Conclusion: The results of the finding can assist in the development of initiatives by policymakers to improve the e-service quality, degree of satisfaction and retention rate. The study proposes the E-S-Qual framework for assessing the education e-service quality.Based on the experiences of the students the institutions’ policymakerscan improvethe online education quality, student satisfaction and retention rate.
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The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic brought about an abrupt transition from face-to-face to online learning, which caught higher education institutions off guard. Universities had to scramble for solutions to ensure that learning was not disrupted and there was adequate technological infrastructure to conduct classes online; that academics were capacitated to conduct virtual teaching and that students had access to the necessary technology and internet connectivity. To understand this move, this study explored student teachers' experiences of the emergency transition to online learning during the COVID-19 lockdown at a South African university. The study was underpinned by the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and adopted a qualitative research design, generating data from ten fourth-year student teachers using a Zoom focus group discussion and analysing the data using an inductive thematic framework. The discussion focused on the students' views on digital equity and access to technology; the teaching and learning modalities they were exposed to; their proficiency with the technology and training received; assessment as well as views on the learning management system (LMS, which is Moodle in this case). The study found that among the issues that universities had to deal with were the digital divide; constrained pedagogical approaches; inadequate proficiency in the use of the learning management system; the fact that the quality and integrity of assessment were somewhat compromised as well as students' unfavourable living conditions which make learning from home difficult.