Open AccessAcademic student satisfaction and perceived performance in the e-learning environment during the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence across ten countries
Author(s) -
Damijana Keržič,
Jogymol Kalariparampil Alex,
Roxana Balbontín-Alvarado,
Denílson da Silva Bezerra,
Maria Cheraghi,
Beata Dobrowolska,
Adeniyi Francis Fagbamigbe,
MoezAlIslam E. Faris,
Thais França,
Belinka González-Fernández,
Luz María González-Robledo,
Fany Inasius,
Sujita Kumar Kar,
Kornélia Lazányi,
Florin Lazăr,
Juan D. MachinMastromatteo,
João Marôco,
Bruno Pereira Marques,
Oliva Mejía-Rodríguez,
Silvia Mariela Méndez Prado,
Alpana Mishra,
Cristina Mollica,
Silvana Guadalupe Navarro Jiménez,
Alka Obadić,
Daniela Raccanello,
Md. Harun Rashid,
Dejan Ravšelj,
Nina Tomaževič,
Chinaza Uleanya,
Lan Umek,
Giada Vicentini,
Özlem Yorulmaz,
Ana-Maria Zamfir,
Aleksander Aristovnik
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0258807
Subject(s) - pandemic , psychology , quality (philosophy) , structural equation modeling , empirical evidence , medical education , higher education , covid-19 , mathematics education , medicine , computer science , economic growth , economics , philosophy , disease , epistemology , pathology , infectious disease (medical specialty) , machine learning
The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically shaped higher education and seen the distinct rise of e-learning as a compulsory element of the modern educational landscape. Accordingly, this study highlights the factors which have influenced how students perceive their academic performance during this emergency changeover to e-learning. The empirical analysis is performed on a sample of 10,092 higher education students from 10 countries across 4 continents during the pandemic’s first wave through an online survey. A structural equation model revealed the quality of e-learning was mainly derived from service quality, the teacher’s active role in the process of online education, and the overall system quality, while the students’ digital competencies and online interactions with their colleagues and teachers were considered to be slightly less important factors. The impact of e-learning quality on the students’ performance was strongly mediated by their satisfaction with e-learning. In general, the model gave quite consistent results across countries, gender, study fields, and levels of study. The findings provide a basis for policy recommendations to support decision-makers incorporate e-learning issues in the current and any new similar circumstances.