An Exploration on Online Learning Challenges in Malaysian Higher Education: The Post COVID-19 Pandemic Outbreak

Abstract

Flexible online programmes and learning are gaining popularity as a means of educating students. It can also facilitate the delivery of knowledge to pupils, as well as facilitating the learning process. The purpose of this study was to investigate Online Learning Challenges following the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak in Malaysia. This study employs the qualitative and Fuzzy Delphi Method in collecting the data. In the qualitative research phase, open-ended questions were distributed to 118 participants, while in the Fuzzy Delphi phase, expert questionnaires were distributed to 7 experts in the field of study. Qualitative data were analysed using Atlas-ti software, whereas Fuzzy Delphi data was analysed using Fudelo 1.0 software. The qualitative study discovered that students confront seven significant challenges: internet coverage, mental fatigue, learning devices, environmental disturbance, pedagogical challenges, lack of motivation, and social interaction.Meanwhile, the fuzzy Delphi analysis of the expert consensus of the theme is at a reasonable level. The overall expert consensus agreement findings exceed 75%, the overall value of the threshold (d) is 0.2, and the -cut exceeds 0.5. The study provides important insights into online learning issues and the fields for further improvement. This study also discusses the avenue for future research by future researchers for more significant benefits and contributions to knowledge in general.

Experiences of Parents and Teachers with Virtual Classrooms during the COVID-19 Restrictions: A Study Focusing on Inclusive Education in Malaysia

“…These respondents mostly either worked or lived in urban or suburban areas, rather than in rural areas. [26,27] reported students living in rural areas in Malaysia faced more challenges in accessing the internet needed for an effective online learning environment, which differs from the findings presented here. Referring to the demographics of the respondents, 242 lived in urban areas, 108 in suburban areas, and 29 in rural areas.…”

“…In this study, some respondents highlighted the need for the Ministry of Education to develop a holistic education blueprint to deal with the acceleration of digital education caused by the pandemic, as they believed that blended learning would be the new normal for future education systems. Previous studies mentioned that integrating ICT in the teaching and learning process remained challenging for many teachers and students in Malaysia [27,38]. One of the causes of this phenomenon is the lack of ICT infrastructure in schools.…”

Anxiety on Listening Course Among Students During the Pandemic of Covid -19

“…However, as stated by Lestary (2019) listing skill is challenging because students tend to experience a lack of confidence when dealing with listening class. Since students studied at home, they also tend to encounter environmental interruptions, such as noise, and sibling disruption, which posed a threat and caused them to be concerned about their comprehension in listening class (Mustapha et al, 2021). Claimed was supported by Mustapha et al, (2021) who stated that environmental disturbances, such as noise, may irritate students' comprehension and cause anxiety because students may not hear the speaker.…”

“…Since students studied at home, they also tend to encounter environmental interruptions, such as noise, and sibling disruption, which posed a threat and caused them to be concerned about their comprehension in listening class (Mustapha et al, 2021). Claimed was supported by Mustapha et al, (2021) who stated that environmental disturbances, such as noise, may irritate students' comprehension and cause anxiety because students may not hear the speaker. In addition, when studying at home students not only dealt with noise disruptions, but students also have a problem with internet connections.…”

Outcome-Based Education in Open Distance Learning: A Study on Its Implementation Amidst the Pandemic

“…Nonetheless, when teaching and learning activities in HEPs were rapidly shifted to online mode, some recent studies revealed numerous challenges that impacted the learning experience of students in Malaysia such as poor internet infrastructure (Chan Paul Leong, 2021;Husin, Sedek & Abdullah, 2021;Rashid, Othman & Yusop, 2021;Ramayah & Kumar, 2020;Tukiman, Khalid, Onn, Foong & Amran, 2020), academic performance (Chan Paul Leong, 2021), psychological well-being (Husin et al, 2021;Mustapha, Mahmud, Burhan, Awang, Sannagy & Jafar, 2021;Vasudevan, Kiat & Paramasivam, 2021), and engagement (Mustapha et al, 2021;Ramayah & Kumar, 2020). According to Lo, Ngai, Chan, and Kwan (2022), learning experiences and motivation directly influence the achievement of learning outcomes of students.…”