State University Students’ Learning Locations and Remote Learning Challenges During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Online classes during the COVID-19 pandemic were confronted with varied challenges. Examples are the technological and economic issues that university students had to deal with, especially in developing countries such as the Philippines. Data were collected from two groups (N = 60) of Bachelor in Secondary Education (BSEd) English major classes during the second semester of the 2020 academic year. This paper presents the participants’ demographic profile, their learning locations, and their remote learning challenges in attending online classes during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study employed mixed-methods research. For the quantitative part, student participants completed a survey questionnaire using Google Forms, where they identified key challenges while attending their online classes during the COVID-19 pandemic. A quantitative design was used to describe the demographic profile of the participants in terms of age, gender, type of senior high school (SHS) they graduated from, devices used for online learning, internet service provider, and the location of online learning. A qualitative research design was used to determine the challenges encountered by participants in online learning. Thematic analysis using Braun and Clarke’s (2006) model was employed to analyze the qualitative data gathered on remote learning challenges. Findings revealed three major themes of student online learning experiences. The first was a poor and unstable internet connection, together with finding a reliable signal to be able to connect to the internet. The second and third were limited economic capabilities leading to restricted data or no load balance, and a non-conducive learning environment, respectively. The state university students in the Philippines grapple with these challenges that interfere with their studies instead of embracing more opportunities to engage in meaningful remote learning experiences.