Abstract
As part of the social distancing measures for preventing the spread of COVID-19, many university courses were moved online. There is an assumption that online teaching limits opportunities for fostering interpersonal relationships and students’ satisfaction of the basic need for relatedness – reflected by experiencing meaningful interpersonal connections and belonging – which are considered important prerequisites for student motivation and vitality. In educational settings, an important factor affecting students’ relatedness satisfaction is the teachers’ behavior. Although research suggests that relatedness satisfaction may be impaired in online education settings, to date no study has assessed how university lecturers’ relatedness support might be associated with student relatedness satisfaction and therefore, student motivation and vitality. This study tested this mediating relationship using data collected during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study also investigated whether the relations were moderated by a high affiliation motive which reflects a dispositional wish for positive and warm relationships. The possible importance of the communication channel selected by the lecturers (video chat yes/no) and the format of a class (lecture/seminar) were also investigated. In a sample of N = 337 students, we tested our hypotheses using structural equation model (SEM). Results confirmed mediation, but not moderation. The use of video chat (video call) seems to facilitate the provision of relatedness support but our data did not show that the format of a class was associated with relatedness. Our findings indicate that both teaching behavior and the technical format used to deliver lectures play important roles in student experiences with online classes. The results are discussed in light of other research conducted during the pandemic.
Highlights
The COVID-19 pandemic led to the adoption of social distancing measures in many countries and educational institutions were faced with the challenge of teaching their students remotely
This study examines the relation between perceived relatedness support and relatedness satisfaction and student outcomes in the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic
Three weeks after social life in Switzerland was largely restricted and the government mandated that teaching had to move entirely online to prevent the spread of COVID-19, an email was sent to all lecturers at a Swiss university, using the official university contact list, inviting them to participate in the study and forward a questionnaire to their students
Summary
The COVID-19 pandemic led to the adoption of social distancing measures in many countries and educational institutions were faced with the challenge of teaching their students remotely. In higher education, this resulted in most traditional in-person lessons moving exclusively online, raising questions about how student motivation could best be fostered in that environment. Despite the emphasis on the importance of relatedness need support and satisfaction in the educational psychology literature, before the pandemic there were few studies investigating its role in online classes at university level. Following calls in the discipline to consider individual student characteristics when examining teaching quality (see the opportunity-use model, Helmke, 2017), this study examines whether differences in the need for relatedness between individuals affect student outcomes in this specific situation
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