Abstract
This study investigates how university students engage with their learning affordances in a contested environment due to the Coronavirus pandemic. This qualitative research employed a case study approach involving 136 participants. Data analysis was conducted using qualitative analysis as a circular process to describe, classify, and perceive the phenomenon and how the learning, affordances, and society were interconnected. The main framework of the research was the theory of affordance and how it was available for university students in their learning environment that changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected in the first semester of 2020 through an online survey on Google form. The findings indicate the importance of the social environment to provide affordance for the students to adjust with them. Four kinds of affordances emerged from the study; internet affordance, assignment affordance, domestic affordance, and distance learning affordance. The role of the social environment is definitive in changing how students manage their affordances.
Highlights
One of the key aspects of education is the society where education takes place
This research paper aimed to respond to two research questions: what types of learning affordances were available within the contested environment because of COVID-19 and how they adapt to the changes in their society and learning contexts to overcome their learning challenges
In the pages that follow, this paper aims to assess what types of learning affordances were available within the contested environment because of COVID-19 and how they adapt to the changes in their society and environment to overcome their learning challenges
Summary
Society can become a source of challenges in many aspects of life due to changes in the environment caused by natural disasters, political unrest, war, or a plague (Atmojo & Nugroho, 2020; Palvia et al, 2018; Stone, 2019). When this happens, social and environmental issues become a source of controversy. The environment where schools used to be conducted was no longer safe, and it became contested due to the plague (Liu et al, 2020; Saltiel, 2017; Vladoiu & Constantinescu, 2020). In many campuses across the globe, like in Hong Kong (Wong & Moorhouse, 2020), Indonesia (Wajdi et al, 2020), India (Li & Lalani, 2020), students and teachers were not permitted to have a direct interaction in the classroom as it could increase the risk of spreading the disease; learning had to be conducted by distance or online (Pete, 2020; Purcell & Hetrick, 2020)
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