Comparative Study of E-Learning Readiness and Socio-Economic Factors during Covid-19 Pandemic: Evidence from High School Students in Urban and Rural Areas of Indonesia

Abstract

As the global pandemic of COVID-19 spreads enormously, educational institutions were forced to close down in most countries, affecting 91% of pupils and causing massive disruption to the education sector. In Indonesia, 62, 5 million students from pre-primary to higher education are forced to shift from conventional learning to a complete move into e-Learning. This study sought to explore students' readiness to cope with online learning both in urban and rural areas of Indonesia and to find the relation whether socio-economic factors during pandemic affect their e-learning readiness. The theory underpinning the study was the e-Learning Readiness theory which measures eight dimensions: human resource, financial, technological, equipment, content, psychological, sociological, and environmental readiness. An online survey was conducted, and a total of 1.260 million students in urban and 846 students in rural areas participated in the study. The data were analyzed using multiple regression and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). This study reveals that students in urban areas are categorized as ready, but they need improvements in several aspects with the readiness index 3, 47. In contrast, students are not ready in rural areas and need several improvements with index 3,01. The study also highlights that basic IT skills competencies are critical for the preparedness of e-learning and should be taught to students. Future studies could analyze whether ICT training will significantly impact their perceives and acceptance of students' e-learning readiness, especially in rural areas, after training has been conducted.