(1) The aim of this study is to investigate the psychological climate in first-year students’ academic groups in Russia after they experienced the period of distance learning at the initial stage of university studies (due to the COVID-19 pandemic) and to find out how different it is compared with the academic groups of first-year students whose university studies were not influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic. (2) Methods: Mixed quantitative and qualitative methods were applied to collect data using A. N. Lutoshkin’s questionnaire with closed-ended questions. The questionnaire determines the psychological climate in students’ academic groups. (3) Results: The results of the study reveal considerable differences in the psychological climate of the investigated groups. The findings suggest that the students whose university studies were not influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic considered their academic groups to have more mutual understanding, a greater desire to cooperate with other teams, a better mood in the team, a greater desire to participate in the joint affairs, etc., in comparison with the students who experienced a period of distance learning at the initial stage of their studies. (4) Conclusions: The transition to distance learning allows students to continue their studies under epidemiological restrictions. However, the factors affecting the speed of the adaptation of first-year students in distance learning and the determination of the degree of their influence on the socio-psychological state of the students remain insufficiently studied. This study contributes to the field by defining the peculiarities of the psychological climate in first-year students’ academic groups after they experienced a period of distance learning at the initial stage of university studies. It also specifies how the psychological climate is different from the academic groups of first-year students who were taught in a traditional format. As psychological climate plays a crucial role for EFL instruction, measures must be taken to ease the first-year students’ adaptation process while studying online.
Introduction: Enhancement of the efficiency of the educational process is one of the priority objectives of educational institutions and new approaches are developed to accomplish it. In the chase for innovations, however, the internal environment of an educational organization, in which they are supposed to be implemented, is often overlooked. The study aims to identify the factors of the educational process and their influence on the effectiveness of mastering subjects and developing competencies. Materials and methods: The participants in the experiment were the first- and second-year students and the lecturers of the Department of Foreign Languages of Peter the Great Saint Petersburg Polytechnic University. The survey of the participants in the experiment was carried out remotely by means of Google Forms. The collected data were processed using analytical methods and tools (MO Excel, Google Forms). The results of the current examinations were compared with similar indicators of the 2018–2019 and 2019–2020 academic years, which were taken from the annual reports of the Department of Foreign Languages. Results: The majority of students (72.5%) and lecturers (63.6%) noted the positive influence of the experimental grading system in terms of psychological factor. However, the study revealed a contradiction in the opinions about changing attitudes towards examination. Discussion and Conclusions: Changes made to the algorithms of the assessment of students’ performance contributed to the identification of internal trends related to the distribution of efforts made to master the subject and revise for examinations, as well as to the general approach to work, and psychological comfort during examinations.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.