COVID-19’s impact on learning processes in Australian university students

Abstract

The novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) has accentuated the role and interplay of numerous educational factors, inviting pedagogical research concerning online education. Using self-determination theory's basic psychological needs and fundamental learning theories, identified educational factors were integrated into three pathways: (1) autonomy, technology acceptance, and self-regulation of learning; (2) relatedness, authentic happiness, and a classroom community; and (3) competency, harmonious passion, and trait conscientiousness. This study extends educational research by elucidating the relationships between psychological need fulfilment, educational factors, and students' expectations of their future grades during the impact of COVID-19. Australian university students (N = 226, 77% female) completed questionnaires assessing their experience of home isolation, factors of each hypothesised pathway, and their expected grades. Structural equation modelling revealed that higher need fulfilment significantly predicted engagement in educational factors and that educational factors are complexly interrelated, providing resilience, motivation, and the mechanisms that facilitate learning. Most importantly, relatedness between academics and students positively influenced all learning pathways. Reciprocal determinism demonstrated the most substantial association with expected grades, and new insight was gained into the interrelationships of passion, trait conscientiousness, and self-regulation of learning.

Rewords and Struggle of Online Teaching of Pathology During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Middle East Medical Students’ Judgment

“…Furthermore, in our study, the students were satisfied with the support given by the teachers during the pandemic. This is in sharp contrast to the findings of the study, which reported that teachers faced many difficulties in supporting students due to a lack of experience in online teaching [ 25 ]. A possible explanation for the superior satisfaction observed in our study could be the extensive training provided to the teachers by our university’s deanship of learning and distance education.…”

Adolescents’ school experiences: Understanding the needs of young people post COVID-19

“…Participants discussed their experiences of seeking support from a teacher and speci cally highlighted times when they felt they were being "handballed" to the wellbeing team, resulting in these participants feeling unheard and invalidated. When students have a respectful and trusting relationship with their teacher, they are more likely to engage in proactive learning behaviours, which have a positive effect on their academic success [29]. Furthermore, literature on school belongingness highlights that teachers are pivotal sources in promoting a student's sense of belonging, even more than their peers [28].…”

“…Teachers may also consider allowing students more exibility in the use of technology in their classes and assessment tasks. Increasing technology use for students may assist students in engaging with their schoolwork and keeping up with the workload [5,29]. Hence, being creative in nding ways to foster autonomy in their learning could be an important step to bridge the degree of exibility and autonomy that was present during online learning.…”

Structural Relationships between Learning Emotion and Knowledge Organization and Management Processes in Distance Learning Environments: “An Applied Study”

“…Examination of previous studies and research related to the emotion of learning and its effects on the organization and management of knowledge in distance learning environments [5,[32][33][34]36,38,48].…”

“…In contrast, Eckley et al [ 34 ] focused on examining the interplay between psychological needs fulfillment, educational factors, and students’ expectations of future grades amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Through structural equation modeling, they found that meeting higher needs significantly predicted engagement in educational factors, which in turn fostered resilience, motivation, and effective learning mechanisms.…”