Perceptions of instructor injustice in COVID-19-imposed online courses: EFL students’ perceptions and experiences in focus

Abstract

ABSTRACT The present study explored Iranian students’ perceptions of unfair instructor behavior in COVID-19 crisis-prompted online language education. Through an online open-ended questionnaire, 91 Iranian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) university students reported their beliefs and experiences concerning instructor injustice in online classes. Results indicated that about two-thirds of the students considered the nature of online courses, particularly their impact on student-instructor relational communication and favoritism, to be a factor leading to teacher unjust behavior. They also identified technological factors, including students’ online communication anxiety, as barriers. Consistent with research in face-to-face courses, students most frequently reported experiencing instructor procedural injustice, which mostly violated the bias suppression principle, followed by distributive injustice, which primarily violated equity and equality principles, then interactional injustice, which mainly violated the sufficiency/justification principle, suggesting informational justice may be especially important in online courses. Implications for theoretical development of communication and fairness are discussed.