STUDENTS’ PERCEPTION OF SELF-AUTONOMY, MOTIVATION AND EFFECTIVE LEARNING IN THE ONLINE ENVIRONMENT

Abstract

The onset of the Covid-19 pandemic changed the global society and generated mutations in all areas of activity, strongly impacting the education system as well. The solutions for the continuation of the educational process-imposed adaptations, changes, rethinking and restructuring of the way in which the instructive-educational approach was carried out until then. The traditional school imported methods, techniques, tools, resources and moved to the virtual space, on educational platforms. In this new context, the resilience, flexibility and creativity of teachers have proven to be fundamental skills for maintaining a satisfactory quality standard, conditioned, however, in many situations by teacher-independent factors: internet connection, appropriate devices or even students’ motivation for learning. Education continued, but the differences between the social categories of students deepened. In the online environment the teacher’s authority is lower, the efficiency of some methods is lost, communication is altered by contextual, environmental factors, students’ interest and motivation are difficult to maintain. Specialists in the educational field state that human interaction in the online environment is artificial, not authentic and does not have the same formative valences as in the physical space of the classroom. After two and a half years of pandemic, in which education took place in the online environment, alternating with periods when teachers and students returned to class, there are both obstacles and opportunities to integrate modern technology in the educational process. The pandemic has shown that today’s school needs to change, to be open to the outside world and to take on viable models and paradigms that meet the current and complex needs of students. In higher education, a number of advantages of online learning can be highlighted, as students generally have independently developed study skills, autonomy and the ability to organize their own training and development process.This investigative research aims to identify the students’ perception regarding the efficiency of teaching activities in the online environment, how their autonomy and motivation for learning has contributed to a quality educational process, despite the obstacles encountered, and to identify useful landmarks for teachers in achieving an education that integrates the online component effectively. The sample of the study included 83 higher education students from Valahia University of Targoviste, Romania.