A call for gender-neutral and/or sensitive pedagogy: gender invariance and moderation in self-determination and technology-use efficacy in self-regulated learning

Abstract

This paper presents a study on gender invariance in and moderation between self-determination and technology-use efficacy in self-regulated learning at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Research on gender invariance and moderation in self-determination and self-regulated learning in online and distance education is not new. However, with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, all higher education institutions were forced to switch from face-to-face classes to blended and/or hybrid learning modalities that may have changed the landscape of many antecedents to learning. Seven hundred fifty undergraduates enrolled during the second semester of the academic year 2020 to 2021 from one of the state universities in the Eastern Visayas Region, the Philippines, participated in the study. Partial least squares structural equation modeling revealed that overall, perceived choice, perceived competence, and relatedness have direct effects on technology-use efficacy, a gender invariance exists in all variables under study, and gender moderation occurred between perceived choice and technology-use efficacy. A reflection on education during disaster situations and the need for gender-neutral and/or sensitive pedagogy and scaffolding of self-determination in self-regulated learning is provided.