Adaptation of students who started higher education during remote teaching in Minas Gerais

Abstract

This article presents a study performed in early 2022 with 186 students who started higher education at a federal university and in a private college – both in the countryside of Minas Gerais – during the remote teaching period, that is, 2020 and 2021. The research was carried out remotely by emailing a form to all participants and having an online discussion with two of them. The questionnaire consisted of questions about the students’ profile, their experiences during remote teaching, as well as of the reduced version of the Academic Experience Questionnaire – QVA-r, which aims to investigate the students’ experiences and adaptation to higher education. The data showed that students’ interpersonal relationships were affected by remote teaching. As for the personal dimension, measured by the QVA-R and related to mental health and wellbeing, it was severely impaired, which can be an effect of social distancing caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. On the other hand, it was surprising to observe how students and the educational institutions themselves developed ways of becoming close - not only in class but also extra-classroom - by using information and communication technologies to have relationships, even from a distance. The results also show that students considered that their learning had been negatively affected by remote teaching, and that, despite it being easy and convenient, they were eager for better learning with the return of face-to-face classes.