Online Teaching Experience during the COVID-19 in Pakistan: Pedagogy–Technology Balance and Student Engagement

E-learning in medical education: a perspective of pre-clinical medical students from a lower-middle income country

BACKGROUND

Many of the educational institutions in developed countries have shifted to online learning. While transition from traditional to electronic learning (e-learning) has remained a great challenge in low-middle income countries, where limited resources for teaching and learning are important factors. Medical education involves not only lecturing but also deep understanding through laboratories and patient exposure. The debate about the effectiveness of e-learning in medical education is still in contradiction due to its limitations. This cross-sectional survey was conducted to assess pre-clinical undergraduate medical students' perception of their first online learning in a lower-middle income country.

METHODOLOGY

The survey was conducted among the students who had participated in online learning during COVID-19 for at least a year. A total of 824 preclinical medical students who completed the survey from public and private medical universities in Sindh, Pakistan were included in the study. We used a validated online-based questionnaire, distributed through E-mail and social media platforms to assess the perception of students regarding their first online learning experience.

RESULTS

The response rate of the survey was 87.9%. The mean age of students was 20.7 ± 3.8 years. 392/824 (47%) were males and 57% were females. Our study indicated that 613/824 (75%) of students were experiencing online learning for the very first time while 631/824 (77%) were facing technical issues like internet accessibility and lack of IT-related skills. 381/824 (46%) were not satisfied with the institute's readiness for online teaching. However, 79% (654/824) of participants were of the idea that traditional learning is more effective in developing their practical skills as compared to e-learning. Of note, 668/824 (81%) showed overall dissatisfaction with e-learning.

CONCLUSION

Based on our study findings, we concluded that most students have a negative perception of e-learning. Difficulty in connectivity, electricity issues, less interaction with colleagues and teachers, and issues with the structure of online courses were the most frequently reported problems by the students.

Physical education and student well-being: Promoting health and fitness in schools

The school students are facing mental health issues, and their performance is not improving in China. Health education policies are not implemented at the school level in China. However, scholars focus on college students' health education, but the school student is neglected. The research's primary objective is to answer the question: What is the impact of health education on the psychological well-being of school students? A sample of 549 10th grade students is collected from China's public and private sector institutes. The partial least square-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) is employed to analyze the data. The outcomes highlighted that the impact of health education is significant on the psychological well-being of school students in China. Furthermore, the study introduced that the moderating role of sustainable health exercise and sports participation is critical as it positively influences the relationship between health education and psychological wellbeing. This research improves literature as the novel contribution are highlighted in theory. Furthermore, the government education policies must be reframed under the light of this research' findings to improve students' health.

Determinants of anxiety and depression among university teachers during third wave of COVID-19

BACKGROUND

To estimate the determinants of anxiety and depression among university teachers in Lahore, Pakistan, during COVID-19.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted by enrolling 668 teachers from the universities of Lahore, Pakistan. Data were collected using a questionnaire. Chi-square for significance and logistic regression for the association were used.

RESULTS

Majorly, the university teachers, with an average age of 35.29 years, had regular jobs (72.8%), job experience of > 6 years (51.2%) and good self-reported health (55.4%). The majority of the teachers were working as lecturers (59.6%), lecturing in arts (33.5%) or general science (42.5%) departments, having MPhil (37.9%) or master (28.9%) degrees, and teaching via synchronous video (59.3%) mode. Anxiety and depression, severe and extremely severe, were higher among lecturers, MPhil or master degree holders, teachers lecturing arts and general science subjects, and in those on contract employment. Anxiety was significantly associated with academic departments; arts (OR;2.5, p = 0.001) and general science (OR;2.9, p = 0.001), poor health status (OR;4.4, p = 0.018), and contractual employment (OR;1.8, p = 0.003). Depression was associated with academic departments; arts (OR;2.7, p = 0.001) and general science (OR;2.5, p = 0.001), and health status (OR;2.3, p = 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Among university teachers, anxiety and depression, severe and extremely severe, were prevalent among lecturers having MPhil or master degrees, belonging to arts and general science departments, and among contract employees. Anxiety and depression were significantly associated with academic disciplines, lower cadre, and poor health status.

Does school shutdown increase inequality in academic performance? Evidence from COVID-19 pandemic in China

The school shutdown due to the global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can lead to an increase in educational inequality through disproportionately affecting disadvantaged children. We use data from a unique survey of 7202 junior high school students and their parents from Shaanxi province to explore whether the school shutdown enlarged the educational gap between students with different parental socioeconomic statuses (SES) during the pandemic. We find that students with more highly educated parents experienced an increase in relative test rankings after the shutdown period. A 1-year increase in parents' education led to a relative 0.18-percentile increase in students' rankings of total test scores. We also identify the mechanisms behind the enlarged gap by means of heterogeneity analyses. We show that parents' education mainly affected children's academic performance through parents' engagement in their children's homeschooling, mitigating the negative impacts of Internet addiction on students, and serving as substitutes for teachers who were unable to teach well online.

Online Teaching during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Case Study of Albania

The spread of COVID-19 has caused the interruption of education in all levels of schools, forcing them to seek urgent solutions to reconfigure traditional education programs for distance learning. The emergency restrictions related to social distancing, gathering, etc., have generated a disruption, resulting in a massive quick shift to distance and online teaching. The disruption of teaching has been highly critical and complex, especially for developing countries due to the lack of technological infrastructure, low Internet access, low level of preparation of teachers and parents to use technology, and lack of learning motivation. This paper aimed at identifying the main teaching practices, challenges, and contextual characteristics that impacted the adoption and use of online teaching solutions, during the COVID-19 outbreak, in a developing country, Albania. The paper reached this goal by providing the results of a survey involving 100 educators from different levels of public education institutions in Albania (high schools and universities). The results revealed that despite a set of challenges faced, the online teaching experience during the pandemic time brought improvements in computer teaching skills and communication with students by using several applications for interactivity.

COVID-19 Lockdown in New Zealand: Perceived Stress and Wellbeing among International Health Students Who Were Essential Frontline Workers

This study examined the stresses and wellbeing of international postgraduate health and nursing students at a tertiary education institute in New Zealand who were mainly essential frontline healthcare workers during the COVID-19 lockdown. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected by purposeful sampling (n = 43). The study utilised a cross-sectional survey, along with the Short Form of Cohen's Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), adapted for the COVID-19 lockdown, and followed by semi-structured individual interviews. This study is the first in New Zealand to demonstrate that, with a mean PSS-10 score of 21.7 (±7.1), international health students experienced higher than optimal levels of stress, with supporting qualitative data identifying four themes for the sources of stress: (1) familial relationships, (2) essential work, (3) finances, and (4) study. However, these students coped because of the extensive support provided by their education institute and employers. These students played a critical role in the pandemic's response and made a significant public health contribution by working in the frontline of the COVID-19 outbreak. Considering the global shortage of healthcare workers and understanding the key challenges, means of coping and support provisions, as we have here, offer insights for building and maintaining a resilient and resourceful health workforce through international health and nursing students in New Zealand and elsewhere.

Impact of Perceived Skillset and Organizational Traits on Digital Wellbeing of Teachers: Mediating Role of Resilience

Given the current unstable and unpredictable circumstances, especially due to the COVID-19 education system has evolved, requiring frequently distinct skills, and coping behavior. This study intended to empirically test the impact of perceived skillset and organizational traits on teachers' digital wellbeing with the mediating role of three levels of resilience. To serve the cause, non-probability convenience sampling was chosen, and data was gathered through an online survey from 336 on-duty teachers in the education sector of Pakistan. The results of the study have been drawn by using the PLS-SEM partial least squares structural equation modeling technique through the Smart-PLS software 3.0 version. The findings show that perceived skillset had a positive and significant impact on digital wellbeing and organizational traits had an insignificant effect on digital wellbeing. Moreover, results indicate that organizational resilience and employee resilience positively mediate the relationship between perceived skillset and organizational traits on digital wellbeing. Similarly, findings illustrate that team resilience positively mediates the relationship between perceived skillset and digital wellbeing. Furthermore, results show that team resilience negatively and insignificantly mediates the relationship between organizational traits and digital wellbeing. Lastly, discussion, theoretical and practical implications were also discussed in this research article.

The practice of online assessment in an EFL context amidst COVID-19 pandemic: views from teachers

For many years, technology has been applied to improve the quality of language learning and teaching. However, the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the integration of technology in different language learning contexts. The sudden shift to online teaching faced educators with an array of challenges they had not experienced before. In particular, the teachers encountered many barriers with the online assessment of the students. To shed more light on what passed, following a qualitative mode of inquiry, the present study set out to find out how a group of 20 Iranian English language teachers at Persian Gulf University faced with the online assessment challenges posed by COVID-19. For this aim, the researchers conducted in-depth semi-structured retrospective interviews with the teachers at different times throughout the course. In addition, the teachers were asked to provide a narrative account of how they responded to the crisis. The analysis of the findings showed that after the shift to online assessment, the teachers initially faced with serious pedagogical, technical, administrative, and affective barriers, but as the course proceeded, they could adjust their practice with the new situation. However, the teachers recounted problems that still remained and negatively affected their practice. Overall, the study discusses that to improve the online assessment in the post-COVID-19 era several technological, pedagogical, and administrative measures should be taken into account. These would further improve the integration of the technology in the pedagogical context in the long run.