Lack of peer contact and motivation emerged as the two key challenges faced by higher education students last year after institutions took teaching online in response to the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns.
This was revealed in a survey conducted by the Independent Institute of Education (IIE) with students from 22 institutions, eight privates and 14 public universities.
The survey looked at student perceptions of the responsiveness of institutions to the Covid-19 crisis and the extent to which they felt they were being prepared for the working world.
According to the survey, while many respondents rated the quality of online teaching and engagement favourably, more than 27% of university students cited lack of support as an issue and expressed a need for consistency and predictability.
Dr Felicity Coughlan, director of the IIE, said as higher education is preparing to launch into a new academic year this March, lessons learned from last year will provide a valuable roadmap for the future, given that we will continue for the foreseeable future to face many of the same challenges encountered last year.
“Higher education institutions must make an extra effort to introduce measures that will support students and assist with maintaining their emotional wellbeing. One of the surprising findings of the survey was that students did not cite access to data or hardware as their primary struggles,” Coughlan said.
She said by comparison, less than 24% of university students in the study cited fees as a barrier experienced under lockdown, and 29% mentioned data struggles.
“The focus for higher education institutions this year must be on two fronts – ensuring consistency and effectiveness of teaching and learning, as well as providing the crucial support students need. Students expressed a need for safety, consistency, security and predictability, and as we head into another uncertain academic year, effort must be made to address these concerns,” she said.
Coughlan said another interesting facet of the survey highlighted the differences in the experiences and expectations of students. Only 65% of public university students felt that their online learning experience was preparing them to be successful in the future workplace.
“Although many respondents believe that studying from home prepares students for a new age of working from home, others were despondent,” she said.
Lack of motivation, peer contact are challenges faced by students during online learning – survey
Image: 123rf
Lack of peer contact and motivation emerged as the two key challenges faced by higher education students last year after institutions took teaching online in response to the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns.
This was revealed in a survey conducted by the Independent Institute of Education (IIE) with students from 22 institutions, eight privates and 14 public universities.
The survey looked at student perceptions of the responsiveness of institutions to the Covid-19 crisis and the extent to which they felt they were being prepared for the working world.
According to the survey, while many respondents rated the quality of online teaching and engagement favourably, more than 27% of university students cited lack of support as an issue and expressed a need for consistency and predictability.
Dr Felicity Coughlan, director of the IIE, said as higher education is preparing to launch into a new academic year this March, lessons learned from last year will provide a valuable roadmap for the future, given that we will continue for the foreseeable future to face many of the same challenges encountered last year.
“Higher education institutions must make an extra effort to introduce measures that will support students and assist with maintaining their emotional wellbeing. One of the surprising findings of the survey was that students did not cite access to data or hardware as their primary struggles,” Coughlan said.
She said by comparison, less than 24% of university students in the study cited fees as a barrier experienced under lockdown, and 29% mentioned data struggles.
“The focus for higher education institutions this year must be on two fronts – ensuring consistency and effectiveness of teaching and learning, as well as providing the crucial support students need. Students expressed a need for safety, consistency, security and predictability, and as we head into another uncertain academic year, effort must be made to address these concerns,” she said.
Coughlan said another interesting facet of the survey highlighted the differences in the experiences and expectations of students. Only 65% of public university students felt that their online learning experience was preparing them to be successful in the future workplace.
“Although many respondents believe that studying from home prepares students for a new age of working from home, others were despondent,” she said.
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