scholarly journals Educators’ Perceptions on Refugee Students’ Identity Challenges Following Higher Education Through Virtual Learning

2022 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Cassandra Sturgeon Delia
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Learning ◽  
Identity Formation ◽  
Psychosocial Development ◽  
Sense Of Belonging ◽  
Virtual Learning ◽  
Virtual Space ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
Refugee Students ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities

Refugees experience specific challenges when transitioning into higher education influenced by socio-cultural issues (Kong et al., 2016). Moreover, online learning may impact identity formation leading to duelling identities (Brunton et al., 2019). As virtual learning prevails in higher education due to the globalisation of new technologies, academic needs and competition with international institutions (Olaniran & Agnello, 2008), marginalisation of socially excluded groups such as refugees may surface (Crea & Sparnon, 2017).The purpose of this study is to explore educators perspectives of challenges and opportunities refugee students’ face when following higher education via a virtual space that impedes these specific students identity and sense of belonging. This paper provides the concept based on Erickson’s psychosocial development theory to extend this area of investigation by assessing the impact of learning via online spaces on identity.Five educators working within higher education were interviewed using a qualitative phenomenological methodology to generate an in-depth, unique perspective on the challenges and opportunities observed by teaching refugee students’ and focusing on identity formation. The data generated were transcribed verbatim and analysed using a computer-assisted data analysis software (CAQDAS), NVivo 12 Plus, to classify group-specific codebooks emerging from the data collection.The finding suggests that refugee students’ studying via a virtual space face specific challenges linked to their lived reality; however, pedagogy and educators need to be more culturally responsive to support students from diverse backgrounds and aid in the identity transition. Moreover, opportunities gained through online learning allow a sense of belonging to a global education and skills fostered will prove fruitful academically and beyond. This study concludes with implications for professional practice within the higher academic setting.

scholarly journals Online learning - Global Challenges and Opportunities for Students in Higher Education amid the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Libyan Context

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 159-164
Author(s):  
Abdelbasit Gadour
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Learning ◽  
Mode Of Delivery ◽  
Education Students ◽  
Postgraduate Students ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Students Attitudes ◽  
Changing Times ◽  
High Level

The spread of COVID-19 has had psychological effects on higher education students globally reflected in high level of anxiety associated with worries of failing to complete their studies (Holmes et al., 2020; Sawahhel, 2020). Due to COVID-19 all universities in Libya were closed for ten months causing a massive impact and leaving about quarter a million students without education. However, during this period some universities took preventive measures and maintained functioning from a distance. An attempt was made in this study to explore higher education students’ attitudes toward online learning and appreciate more the advantages and challenges associated with online learning. Of the 100 questionnaires sent out to university students, 58 responded back of whom 40 undergraduate and the remaining postgraduate students. The results of this study suggested that students are more interested in conventional way of learning in favour of face-to-face communication with tutors and peers as opposed to remote learning. For online learning to be successful in Libya, universities ought to upgrade their educational mode of delivery making the learning contents and assessment more desirable and responsive to the needs of the changing times. Furthermore, students must be technically and financially supported with unlimited access to internet.

scholarly journals Online simulated workplace tasks to enhance business English learning

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thi Hong Le Vo
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Learning ◽  
Blended Learning ◽  
Task Design ◽  
Activity Level ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
Business English ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Online Activities ◽  
The Way

PurposeThis paper aims to provide evidence that online well-designed educational tasks can provide more relevant and richer active learning environment for business English learners. The benefits of online tasks, as an education tool, became more apparent and gained more importance during the events related to the Covid-19 pandemic. The task design is based on task-based interactions and in a sequence of tasks with the support of an online learning management system (LMS). The findings suggest that online task-based learning (and would-be blended learning in the future) enables meaningful and authentic activities promoting interactions and communicative competences to prepare for learners of business English to enter the workplace.Design/methodology/approachThe overarching aim of the study is to explore how task-design-utilizing online LMS could contribute to enhancing the learning process and to the development of the learner's communicative competences. The study included two aspects, namely: (1) the design of online tasks and (2) pilot evaluation. The task design involved tasks that required interactions between the learners. The pilot evaluation relied on data collection via questionnaires.FindingsTwo aspects relating to the findings: (1) a description of the teaching initiatives which was designed to see how blended learning and online tasks can enhance learning and develop the skills of the learners: with questioning techniques targeting communication skills, simulated workplace situations and timely feedback and peer influence; (2) the findings of the pilot study evaluation to see the actual implementation of online tasks. The students' responses corroborate the teachers' comments. The findings of this research showed that LMS tasks, which were designed for this study, helped the learners to enhance their competence in business English. Such competences included communicative skills needed for learners to enter the workplace such as interpersonal skills, presentation skills and negotiation skills in contexts. These findings lead to significant recommendations regarding the way forward for developing active blended learning.Research limitations/implicationsFirstly, teachers need to be trained and involved in designing such online tasks and materials to be used in active blended learning. More training in language teaching methodologies should be investigated to adapt the transition from a traditional to a computer-assisted language learning teacher. This helps teachers to design and implement online simulated workplace tasks. Secondly, time for the use of online tasks should be allocated satisfactorily. This can be achieved by building online learning sessions into class schedule or developing active blended courses. The time for the use of online simulated tasks should be allocated satisfactorily with lab or simulation room, in which students would be shown how to access the online tasks designed on the university LMS and the way to practice with different kinds of tasks.Originality/valueIn this study context, the online tasks design can initiate at activity-level blending to support face-to-face (F2F) activities, for example, online activities to support tasks for the topic Make a request or Offer for help. This can be extended to course-level blending when more online activities are designed to use with F2F activities such as online comparing and contrasting tasks to develop skills in connections with the awareness of cultures. The findings of the research suggest to develop and to implement online tasks alongside with classroom learning and teaching to enable the objectives of business English programme at university for preparing learners to enter the workplace. The recent pandemic highlighted the need for effective methodologies for active blended learning. It is now required that professionals in higher education to collect evidence base to inform future practice of such methodologies. Further significant research efforts should be directed towards collecting such evidence of the effectiveness and improvements of such methods. The support of higher education management professionals in securing funding for such research will be essential.

scholarly journals Supporting entrepreneurship students’ sense of belonging in online virtual spaces

2021 ◽  
pp. 095042222199926
Author(s):  
Jacqueline Brodie ◽  
Renata Osowska
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Sense Of Belonging ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Virtual Space ◽  
Attrition Rate ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Learning Space ◽  
Course Experience ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Uk Higher Education

Universities globally are aspiring to grow through investing in the delivery of online learning programmes. However, the attrition rate for online learning is high. It has been noted that those students with a sense of belonging to their course experience increased enjoyment and reduced anxiety and are therefore less likely to withdraw. Yet too often programme design guidance to support a sense of belonging for student communities focuses on localised, full-time and young students rather than older, globally dispersed, time-starved students such as those in the online entrepreneurship programme that is the subject of this paper. The authors explore how a sense of belonging in entrepreneurship students can be supported effectively in a virtual learning space throughout their online degree studies. The research presented adopts an interpretivist perspective and includes interviews with eight students studying a 1-year top-up degree in a UK higher education institution. The teaching and support staff interviewed were based solely in the UK. The data collected were examined using thematic analysis. The paper contributes to the debate about what a sense of belonging means in a virtual space for entrepreneurship students and identifies how such students can feel connected and supported to finish their course.

scholarly journals Shifting focus to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Universities: Challenges and opportunities

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Nouf Aljohani
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Learning ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
Learning Systems ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Integrate Technology ◽  
The Impact

Since 2020, Saudi administrations have provisionally closed educational institutions to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. At the time, employing technology was imperative to accelerate learning efforts and offer methods of enhancing interactions between learners and among learners and tutors. In this review, I first describe the e-learning systems that were used in higher education before the pandemic. Then, I investigate the impact of COVID-19 on Saudi higher education and how universities and public educational institutions responded to the pandemic. In the conclusion, I argue that policymakers, university sectors, and syllabi developers should unify national e-learning strategies, integrate technology in a systematic way, and design e-learning curricula to meet the needs of an ever-advancing world and revolutionise the learning process.

scholarly journals A peer-observation initiative to enhance student engagement in the synchronous virtual classroom: A case study of a COVID-19 mandated move to online learning

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 184-205
Author(s):  
Lesley Andrew ◽  
◽  
Ruth Wallace ◽  
Ros Sambell ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Learning ◽  
Student Engagement ◽  
Learning Environment ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Virtual Learning ◽  
Virtual Learning Environment ◽  
Peer Observation ◽  
Learning And Teaching

The global COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated a rapid shift to online delivery in higher education. This learning and teaching environment is associated with reduced student engagement, a crucial prerequisite of student satisfaction, retention and success. This paper presents a case study that explored student engagement in the synchronous virtual learning environment, during the mandatory move to exclusive online learning in Australian higher education in April to June 2020. Three university instructors used the Teaching and Learning Circles Model to observe a series of their peers' synchronous virtual classrooms, from which they reflected on ways to enhance their own practice. The findings demonstrate how student engagement in these classrooms can be strengthened across the four constructs of Kahu and Nelson’s (2018) engagement conceptual framework: belonging; emotional response; wellbeing and self-efficacy. The case study also reveals limitations of the synchronous virtual environment as a means of supporting student engagement in the online learning and teaching environment, and proposes ways to address them. Against emerging reports of increased mental health issues among isolated university students during the current pandemic, the case study's recommendations to improve student wellbeing and belonging are particularly salient. This article also highlights the usefulness of the Teaching and Learning Circles Model of peer observation as a way to guide its participants' reflections on their own practice, support their collegiality with academic peers and build their confidence and competence in the synchronous virtual learning environment.

scholarly journals Determining the Challenges Faced by Syrian Refugees Students at Jordanian Camps According to Their Perspective: A Case of Universities Role to Supporting

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 176
Author(s):  
Luma Fakhir AbduRazak ◽  
Reda Salamah AL Mawdieh ◽  
Asaad Ali Karam ◽  
Abdulsalam Yousef Aljaafreh ◽  
Mohammed Elias Al-Azzaw
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
University Students ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Access To Higher Education ◽  
Refugee Students ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Syrian Refugee ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Multiple Challenges

This study aimed to identify the most important challenges facing the Syrian refugee university students in Jordan camps, and the universities’ role in supporting them from their perspective, by providing answers to the following questions: What are the challenges that facing the Syrian refugee university students in Jordanian camps from their perspective? And what kind of support could Jordanian universities provide for the Syrian refugee university students from their perspective? This study employs a quantitative and qualitative approach and intends to explore the challenges and opportunities for Syrian refugee students in Jordan. The results show that the large number of Syrian Refugee University Students at Jordanian camps present challenges for local communities in meeting the needs of both the refugees and the host universities. Refugees face multiple challenges in Jordan:(1) Financial shortcomings; (2) legal issues including lack of documentation and restrictive host country policies; (3) Psychological and Family challenges. Findings of the study add to the understanding of the vital role of higher education in improving living conditions and giving a sense of hope for the future. The study offers policy and program recommendations to decision- and policy-makers for the national and international communities, donors and other institutions with the overall goal to improve and guide further practice and research in supporting access to higher education.

scholarly journals The challenges and opportunities of online learning during Covid-19 pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-14
Author(s):  
Ho Nhut Quang ◽  
Ha Minh Tri
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Learning ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Crisis Response ◽  
Educational Activities ◽  
Open Mind ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Migration Strategies ◽  
Desk Research

As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to spread over a year after the original outbreak, it is critical to have an open mind about the innovations higher education institutions (HEIs) have implemented to keep teaching going, as they may help HEIs if appropriately implemented. The pandemic has caused many activities, including traditional educational activities, to be shut down. This has necessitated a vast wave of response migration for HEIs with Online Learning (OL) as the educational platform. This paper conducts desk research to review the challenges and opportunities of OL during Covid-19 pandemic. It was apparent that OL is different from emergency remote teaching, and as a result, OL is more justifiable. The unique aspects of the crisis response migration strategies of HEIs, teachers, and learners were discussed. Our findings offer insights for HEIs and especially educational managers, teachers, and learners to be aware of such challenges and opportunities to deal with them.

scholarly journals Virtual Learning in Radiology during COVID-19 PandemicOpportunity or Challenge?

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-2
Author(s):  
Rabail Raza ◽  
◽  
Kashif Siddiqui ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
World Health Organization ◽  
Virtual Learning ◽  
Crisis Response ◽  
World Health ◽  
Educational Activities ◽  
The World ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Health Organization

“Every challenge you face today makes you stronger tomorrow. The challenge of life is intended to make you better, not bitter.” ― Roy T. Bennett, the Light in the Heart Every crisis brings deep challenges and opportunities for transformation which ultimately leads to better future. The World Health Organization has declared Covid-19 as a pandemic that has posed a contemporary threat to humanity, forcing global shutdown of several activities, including educational activities, which resulted in tremendous crisis-response migration of institutions with online learning serving as the educational platform

Breakthroughs, Breakdowns, and Some Productive Pedagogical Paradoxes of Virtual Learning

2010 ◽  
pp. 142-153
Author(s):  
Vachel Miller ◽  
Kelly Clark-Keefe
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Learning Environment ◽  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Hybrid Learning ◽  
Virtual Learning ◽  
Virtual Space ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Transformative Potential ◽  
On Line ◽  
Hybrid Learning Environment

Learning sites in higher education have become more diffuse, diverse, and tangled. As instructors, we can hybridize our encounters with students, meeting them one week in class; another week, in virtual space. Our initial experimentation with hybrid learning has left us face-to-face with breakthroughs, break-downs, and deep pedagogical dillemmas. In this chapter, we voice our emergent sensibilities about the transformative potential—both for our students and ourselves—of inhabiting a hybrid learning environment. Our discussion is based on our observations of doctoral students’ interaction and engagement on-line, as well as our own embodied sensitivities about how we, as instructors, experience ourselves and our work in the pedagogical movement between our classrooms and virtual space.

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