Analysis of the Satisfaction Degree of Students at Spain’s Physiotherapy Universities in Relation to Online Teaching during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Isabel Escobio-Prieto,Raquel Sobrino-Sánchez,Manuel Albornoz-Cabello,José Antonio Mingorance,Manuel García-Marín,Antonio Matas-Terrón

doi:10.3390/su132413628

Abstract

Student satisfaction is a crucial aspect in the quality assessment of higher education. The aim of the present study was to assess the degree of satisfaction among students in the Faculties of physiotherapy throughout Spain concerning online teaching during the State of Emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This was a quantitative study with a cross-sectional observational design. The online questionnaire DISFISCOVID was distributed to 24 physiotherapy faculties across Spain. A sample of 348 physiotherapy students from 14 Spanish universities completed the questionnaire. It showed high reliability evidence, achieving Cronbach’s alpha indices higher than 0.870, alongside a McDonald’s ωH of 0.876. On the whole, students were not satisfied with online learning during the State of Emergency, considering it unsuitable for their learning in either the theoretical or practical field of subjects in the degree of physiotherapy. In conclusion, the perception of physiotherapy students concerning the teaching they received, as far as practical contents and assessment methods are concerned, was not very satisfactory in those Faculties in which online learning platforms were not being used beforehand, and was more satisfactory when teaching was carried out in-person in the classroom.

Highlights

The new coronavirus infection (COVID-19), caused by a novel virus SARS-CoV-2, is a pandemic announced by the World Health Organization, raising concerns of widespread panic and increasing anxiety in individuals [1]
This study demonstrates that on the whole, students are unsatisfied with distance learning during the State of Emergency (SE), considering it unsuitable for their learning in either the theoretical or practical field of subjects in the degree of physiotherapy, thereby confirming what has been analysed in different studies among students in health sciences (HS) [7,26,27,28]
Men are the ones who have the worst consideration of the adequacy of online teaching, while the most critical are those who consider that this type of teaching has not helped them combine their personal life with their studies [7], who consider the presence of a teacher in the classroom to be indispensable

Summary

Introduction

The new coronavirus infection (COVID-19), caused by a novel virus SARS-CoV-2, is a pandemic announced by the World Health Organization, raising concerns of widespread panic and increasing anxiety in individuals [1]. In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, the Spanish government, like all other countries worldwide, ordered the cessation of inperson teaching at all levels, including all state Universities. This emergency measure was necessary in order to prevent the spread of infection and to ensure social distancing. With the generalised implementation of social distancing and self-isolation policies, it was not feasible for either teaching staff or students to attend classes or exams as they had been doing before the SE [6]. The cancellation of all in-person classes forced urgent measures to be taken

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