Remote Teaching and Learning in the COVID Era: Empirical Evidence from three Universities in Thailand

Abstract

In an abrupt and unprecedented move to cancel face-to-face classes across the country for all institutions in higher education (HE), the paradigm of emergency remote teaching emerged (ERT). The purpose of ERT is to give students consistent, but temporary and quick access to training and instructional support. The quick transition concerned not just instructors but also students, who had little time to adjust to the new circumstances. The study aims to close a knowledge gap by validating previous research with a limited sample, as well as identify possible correlations between perceived satisfaction and specific sociodemographic characteristics in different geographical settings within Thailand. Empirical data was collected from 874 undergraduate students at three different universities in Thailand. The findings revealed that the students were not satisfied with ERT based on their experience. Moreover, the study concludes by providing theoretical and practical implications for educators and policymakers in HE.

Crisis-Based Remote Education: A Comprehensive Model

“…While academics agree that conventional residential education, distance education, and ERT are distinct practices (Hodges et al, 2020;Jandrić et al, 2021;Moore et al, 2021;Stewart et al, 2023), scholarship on ERT has generally not focused on differences and nuances of remote teaching within the practice itself (Moore et al, 2021;Shattuck, 2021;Stewart et al, 2023;Tulaskar & Turunen, 2022). Thus, not only is a reflection on crisisbased remote teaching warranted, it is direly needed (Cicha et al, 2022;Crutchfield & Eugene, 2022;Shiratori et al, 2022) since educational learning outcomes as a consequence of ERT have ranged from ambiguous at best (Abdulrahim & Mabrouk, 2020;Fuchs & Fangpong;Keser Aschenberger et al, 2023;Stewart, Baek et al, 2022) to disproportionately negative at worst Stewart and Lowenthal Open Praxis DOI: 10.55982/ openpraxis.15.4.577 (Ávalos et al, 2022;Jelinska & Paradowski, 2021;Mostafa et al, 2022;Wladis et al, 2021;Woo & Archambault, 2022). In addition to inconsistent and/or mixed educational performance, scholars have noted the formation of a negative feedback loop starting from the transition to ERT which remained throughout the pandemic, often showing little if any improvement (Alqurshi, 2020;Cicha et al, 2022;Jandrić et al, 2021;Moore et al, 2021;Schlesselman, 2020;Shattuck, 2021;Shim & Lee, 2020;Stewart et al, 2023;Tulaskar & Turunen, 2022).…”