PurposeThis paper aims to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on the students studying in higher education institutions pre and during Movement Control Order (MCO). MCO was introduced in March 2020, and the learning process must switch from face-to-face to online learning in schools and universities. This study particularly focuses on university students by analyzing the students' motivation, the community of inquiry and learning performance. In total, three factors are examined in the construct of the community of inquiry, namely social presence, cognitive presence and teaching presence.Design/methodology/approachThis paper provides quantitative analysis and paired sample t-tests on the students' learning motivation, the community of inquiry and learning performance. This paper presents the analysis of the online learning preference of 282 university students and examines whether there is significant difference in preference before and during MCO.FindingsThe findings indicated that the students lost motivation and learning performance using online learning methods during the MCO period. There is a lack of infrastructure to support the learning and social support from the lecturers and peers.Research limitations/implicationsThis research helps to explore improvements that are needed to manage such a pandemic to support teaching staff and students.Practical implicationsThe COVID-19 is a pandemic that has affected the learning process of the students, and it should not be neglected even when it is over. Policymakers shall consider providing more training and better infrastructures to cater to smooth Internet connection and platform for online learning. Students are not able to focus on learning using online learning methods and, they lack motivation during the pandemic. The teaching faculty also need to be well-trained in delivering online courses and to be more tech-savvy.Social implicationsWith the detailed analysis of the students' learning motivation, the community of inquiry and learning performance, it helps to promote a better education environment.Originality/valueThis is the first study to examine the learning motivation and performance model as well as the community of inquiry during the pandemic. It is evident that university students initially have a high level of motivation and community of inquiry before the pandemic but yield a significant drop during the MCO. The paper presented how COVID-19 seriously impacted on the learning experience.
Purpose This paper aims to investigate the impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic on university students during the Movement Control Order (MCO) and Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO). MCO was introduced in March 2020, and the learning process switched from face-to-face to online learning in schools and universities. Subsequently, with the reduced number of daily cases and active cases of COVID-19, the Malaysian Government implemented RMCO from 10th June to 31st December 2020, which had more relaxation of restrictions. This study particularly focuses on students studying in higher education institutions by analysing the impacts of the community of inquiry on students learning performance. The construct of the community of inquiry includes social presence, cognitive presence and teaching presence. Design/methodology/approach This paper provides quantitative analysis, independent sample t-tests and multiple linear regression on the students’ learning performance using the framework of community of inquiry. This paper presents the analysis of the online learning preference of 282 university students during MCO and 456 students during RMCO. Findings The results showed that there is a significant difference in students learning process during MCO and RMCO. The findings also indicated that the social presence is the most important factor in affecting learning performance during the MCO period and it changed to teaching presence during RMCO. Students lost motivation and could not perform well using online learning methods during the MCO period but the situation improved during RMCO. Research limitations/implications This research helps to identify the impact of the pandemic on higher education and provides insights into reshaping the future of higher education system. Practical implications Students are isolated from their peers in the learning process and struggle to adapt to the new normal in online learning. The teaching faculties are picking up new skills to deliver online courses and manage the risk as best as they can. This study presented the impact of the pandemic on students learning performance and explored the space for universities as business organizations to provide better infrastructures and platforms for online learning while battling with cash flow and debt level during this challenging time. Social implications Students need peer support and guidance from the faculty team in their learning journey. The study provides a better understanding of how we shall promote a better higher education environment, either blended or online learning. Originality/value To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first study to examine the impact of the community of inquiry on students learning performance during the COVID-19 pandemic. Students suffered during the MCO period and the learning experience got better when they were able to adapt to the changes. The higher education system needs a reform and the agency theory in corporate governance plays an important role in the transformation.
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