STUDENTS’ SATISFACTION WITH ONLINE LEARNING EXPERIENCE DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: STUDY BASED ON ARABIC COLLEGES IN AMPARA DISTRICT OF SRI LANKA

Abstract

The purposes of this study are to examine the level of satisfaction among the teachers and students of Arabic Colleges those who were involved and participated in the learning and teaching activities carried out through online learning during the period of restriction due to covid-19 pandemic and also to identify the factors that hindered the process of online education. The number of 270 students were selected from the Arabic Colleges situated in the Ampara district of Sri Lanka those who are currently (2022) pursuing shari’ah education therein and questionnaires were distributed among them. All the obtained data were subjected to the descriptive analysis method with the help of SPSS software (Version-26). According to the results of this study, the teachers (84%) and students (66.6%) have expressed their dissatisfaction with the online education activities carried out during the period of restriction where various factors have contributed to such dissatisfaction. Such as Lack of access to appropriate internet communication devices due to poverty experienced by the family (70.5%), Unable to obtain clarifications regarding the subject matter (59%), Internet tracks (81.6%), Importance provided only for certain subjects (63.3%), lack of payment of incentive as additional allowances for Teachers for the service and utilizing the internet facilities (60%), Dropout rates among students have increased (76%), lack of enough attendance of students (76%). Also, it would be worth notifying at this juncture that both parties are in the mode of reluctant on recommending the trend of online education in the event of such a situation if it will be re-emerging in the future. This study is important in exploring alternatives for the effective implementation of online education in Arabic colleges in the future and the findings of this study can be a remarkable starting point for future researchers and policymakers.