Navigating the shift to online learning: student experiences of inclusivity, efficiency, and study efforts in Chile

Abstract

Online learning can broaden access to education; however, it might pose challenges for students at risk of exclusion (i.e., first-generation, low-income, disabled, rural origin, or ethnic minority students) who often lack the minimum learning resources. As online learning continues expanding, this study aims to understand students’ views regarding critical aspects of students’ learning experience, including inclusion, efficiency, grade impacts, and efforts. We employed a mixed methods study based on a survey and focus groups with college students in a large, well-known Latin American university in Chile that delivered online instruction for multiple semesters. Regression analyses of survey responses from undergraduate students indicate that students at risk of exclusion did not perceive the online learning environment to be more challenging than those not at risk. Students at risk of exclusion, however, were more likely than students not at risk to express a need to study more to achieve good grades, potentially to mitigate any challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic on academic performance. Focus group evidence indicates that while some students faced mental/emotional health issues negatively affecting learning, other students rapidly adapted their studying practices, which had positive impacts on learning.

Keywords:

• Online learning
• students at risk of exclusion
• mixed methods
• COVID-19 pandemic
• inclusion
• experiential learning

Reviewing Editor:

• Anatoly Oleksiyenko
• The Education University of Hong Kong Faculty of of Education and Human Development
• Hong Kong

Subjects:

• Adult Education and Lifelong Learning
• Higher Education
• Assessment
• Study of Higher Education
• International & Comparative Education
• Teachers & Teacher Education
• Classroom Practice
• Education Policy

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Students were also asked whether they self-identified with LGTBIQ+.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Grace Melo

Dr. Grace Melo Guerrero is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics at Texas A&M University. Her research focuses on the intersection of agricultural and environmental policy, with a particular emphasis on the role of behavioral insights in policy design. Some of her publications focus on the relationship between food assistance programs and food security and how these programs can be designed to improve food access and promote healthy dietary choices among vulnerable populations.

Diego Monteza

Diego Monteza is a researcher in Applied Economics with experience in quantitative and qualitative research applied to the improvement of food and education policy and the management of innovation and scientific entrepreneurship programs. He obtained an MSc in Environmental and Agricultural Economics from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.

Sandra Acosta

Sandra Acosta is an Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Psychology at Texas A&M University. Her research, grounded in transformative learning theory, focuses on three areas: biliteracy discourse development in adults and children, professional identity development and mentoring for early career professionals. Her methodological focus is collaborative analytical autoethnography, cultural historical activity theory, and systematic review. She developed the Methodological Quality Questionnaire (MQQ) for systematic reviews. Her most recent publication is “A Collaborative and Poetic Self-Study of Transformative Learning, Professional Identity, and Teaching in Academe”.