An Investigation of the Educational Challenges During COVID-19: A Case Study of Saudi Students' Experience

<p style="text-align: justify;">The outbreak of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has shaken the world, forcing countries to implement a state of emergency, including the education system. Students have been forced to remain in hostels or houses since they cannot get to university campuses. As a result of this predicament, university authorities have no option but to implement an online learning environment. Specifically, Saudi universities have faced numerous difficulties in bringing the online learning systems to continue the educational process. On the other hand, students faced difficulties to cope with such circumstances (complete online learning) without any preparation or backup plan. According to the findings of the literature research, students experienced difficulties that were difficult to overcome. The aim of this study was to determine the challenges that first-year students of the University faced. The present research got a total of 234 valid responses from the participants. The findings indicate that respondents were not fully prepared in this situation in terms of physical, environmental, and psychological readiness, with some variances in viewpoints depending on their gender and age. Respondents expressed concern about the effect of lockdown on their ability to perform well academically. In this study, the researchers found that switching suddenly to an all-online alternative cause significant obstacles for students. It was determined that the present blended learning model, which utilizes online learning to support face-to-face instruction, has encountered a critical challenge when it comes towards replacing it, particularly with underprepared learners.</p>

Common Spelling Mistakes of Hamza and Alif among Beginners

Alif is considered one of the first Arabic alphabets, while most linguists count the Hamza from the Arabic alphabet census, and these two letters have different forms in writing. So that some scholars do not consider both letters: Hamza and Alif, as independent letters of the alphabet, and at the same time they imagine in front of beginners in a close form, in addition to the lack of attention to train in writing these two letters correctly. This research seeks to detect mistakes made by students when writing and spelling with regard to Hamz and Alif, and to present the most appropriate ways to treat these mistakes. The researcher relies on the descriptive approach. As for the research tools, the research refers to the questionnaire, which is distributed to 103 first-year students from the Department of Arabic Studies of the South Eastern University of Sri Lanka, in addition to the secondary data that helps the researcher cover the first objective—knowing that the analysis of the information is done by MS Excel. The research also concluded that the students have a theoretical knowledge of the use of the Hamza and the Alif in different words and phrases, but when they come to the practical side, they misspell, and they also have a simple experience in writing the Hamza and the Alif in various patterns, in addition to the difficulty that most students face when distinguishing the difference between them in sentences.

Psychological Well-being of First-year Psychology Students Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic

University life is always colorful, filled with a plethora of memorable moments, both academic and non-academic. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, however, first-year university students’ academic experiences might be slightly different from their expectations due to being fully conducted in online learning. The COVID-19 pandemic denied first year students the opportunity to join the face-to-face classes and become involved in university’s activities in the real setting. All activities were replaced with virtual setting and they could only contact their course mates and lecturers via social media platforms. This derailment of their expectation to experience real-life university settings may dampen their enthusiasm and impact their motivational and happiness levels. To explore the phenomenon, a study was conducted with 143 first-year psychology students to examine their self-reported motivational and happiness levels before and after seven-week of online classes. This study included 113 females (79%) and 30 males (21%) with a mean age of 20.68 (SD=1.88). Data collected revealed that students’ motivation and happiness levels declined significantly after their online classes. According to their extent of agreement with the single statement ‘Overall, I am happy with my university life’, 48 (33.60%) students agreed, 76 (53.10%) were neutral, and 19 (13.30%) indicated dissatisfaction. This study may assist the university and relevant authorities in understanding students’ perceptions of dealing with academic and life challenges through online classes amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, psychological strategies should be considered to enhance first-year students’ motivation and happiness levels when faced with online classes in their new first semester.

Lingering effects of COVID-19 on the mental health of first-year university students in Japan

Background The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is continuing unabated in Japan, as of October 2021. We aimed to compare first-year university students’ psychological distress before the pandemic in 2019, during the pandemic in 2020, and one year after the onset of the pandemic, in 2021. Methods The study conducted online surveys over three years from April to May each year. Participants were 400 first-year students in 2019, 766 in 2020, and 738 in 2021. We examined differences in scores on the Counseling Center Assessment of Psychological Symptoms—Japanese version (CCAPS-Japanese) between the three years using a one-way analysis of variance, and differences in the CCAPS-Japanese critical items using chi-squared test and residual analysis. Results The average scores on the Depression and Generalized Anxiety subscale in 2021 were significantly higher than those in 2020, but remained the same as in 2019. The Academic Distress subscale score in 2020 was the worst compared to 2019 and 2021. Meanwhile, the number of students who experienced severe suicidal ideation increased year by year from 2019 to 2021. Conclusion The mean mental health of first-year university students worsened after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and recovered to the pre-pandemic level over the next two years. However, the number of high-risk students with suicidal ideation continued to increase. A system is required for early detection and support for students at high risk of mental health issues.

The Impact of Learning Environment on EFL Students’ Academic Achievement: A study of Socio-Cultural Factors Affecting Academic Achievement

It is worth pointing out that learning a foreign language in a multicultural context is a long and complex undertaking. Several factors influence whether or not English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students can accurately perceive and produce the foreign language. These variables can potentially contribute to the success and, or failure in learning and acquiring a foreign language. Given the Moroccan educational system, the research provided minimal insight into the relationship between those factors and language achievement. The present study’s aim, therefore, was to investigate the environmental factors that affect students’ academic performance. It also aimed to find out how these variables affect students’ academic achievements. To achieve this aim, data have been collected via open-ended questionnaires, and interviews addressed mainly to First Year Students of Master Programs, Department of English, FLDM, USMBA-Fez. The findings have shown that students’ academic achievements were significantly positively/negatively linked with the environmental factors, namely societal, home/family and school/classroom variables. The findings also revealed that the more highly sophisticated the social environment is, the more likely it is to foster EFL students’ academic achievements. In addition, the more similarity exists between the students’ cultures, the more successful the learning is. This study also showed that the development of EFL proficiency is a product of contextual factors influence. As such, the study concludes with several implications that brought up for possible effective change in the future to enhance the learning environment atmosphere, boost students’ academic achievements, and, therefore, achieve better results.

The possibilities of using fairy tale therapy in dealing with destructive psychological scenarios of first-year students of educational institutions of higher education

The article considers one of such obstacles to qualitative constructive changes in personality development, namely the destructive behavioral scenario. Many people repeatedly lose certain behavioral scenarios without realizing their constructiveness or destructiveness. Close people in the process of raising a child influence the formation of beliefs, values and norms, including through fairy tales, initially offering certain fairy tales to the child, guided by their own preferences and assessments of the actions of the characters. Recently, this genre of folk folklore has been actively used in psychology and pedagogy as an element of correction. The purpose of the study was to identify destructive behavioral scenarios. The communicative-cognitive and psychosomatic approaches were used, the study was conducted in the 2019-2020 academic year in educational institutions of higher education of the Moscow region. The respondents of the study were 60 first-year students of various (average age 18.7 years). Male and female students were equally present. The results of the study show that first-year students of educational institutions of higher education demonstrate a certain attitude towards themselves and the world, reflected in the fundamental resource life attitudes formed in childhood through fairy tales. This attitude affects their current state, which is characterized by a commitment to the previous lifestyle, but also a desire for transformations associated with a change in the social situation of development

Diferentes actitudes hacia la sexualidad entre estudiantes de Enfermería de primero y cuarto curso

Objective: To evaluate whether attitudes towards sexuality acquired by students during a Spanish nursing degree are sufficient for their performance in professional practice. Methods: This is a descriptive, cross-sectional, and quantitative study based on a self-completion survey composed of standardized scales that compare sexual attitudes among 101 first-year students with 86 fourth-year students. The 187 nursing students, 24 men and 163 women were between 18 and 60 years old (Mage=21.21, SD=5.48). The evaluative instrument was an anonymous questionnaire that consisted of sociodemographic questions and two standardized scales: Attitudes Towards Sexuality Scale (ATSS-28) and Double Standard Scale (DSS). Results: Comparison between cohorts using the Mann-Whitney U test proved to be close to being significant in the ATSS, U=3625.50, z=-1.95, p=.052 and significant in DSS, U=3560.50, z=-2.13, p=.034. These findings indicate that fourth-year students have more positive attitudes towards sexuality and less rigid adherence to gender roles. In addition, a medium negative correlation, rs=-.307, p=.001, between ATSS and DSS was obtained, showing a positive association between attitudes and less adherence to gender roles. These results suggest that nursing degree training had a positive impact on sexual attitudes. Conclusion: Healthcare professionals are centrally involved in the care of patients and families. Nurses’ attitudes towards sexuality are important in terms of patient comfort and the accessibility and acceptability of care. Implementation of training in sexuality has a positive effect on nursing care and favours the establishment of global health strategies. Objetivo: Evaluar si las actitudes hacia la sexualidad adquiridas por los alumnos durante el Grado en Enfermería son suficientes para su desempeño profesional.Métodos: Se trata de un estudio descriptivo y transversal basado en una encuesta compuesta por escalas estandarizadas que comparó las predisposiciones sexuales entre 101 alumnos de primer curso con 86 de cuarto. Los 187 estudiantes de enfermería, 24 hombres y 163 mujeres tenían entre 18 y 60 años (Medad=21.21, DT=5.48). El instrumento utilizado para su evaluación fue un cuestionario anónimo que estaba constituido por preguntas sociodemográficas y las dos siguientes escalas, la Escala de Actitudes hacia la Sexualidad (ATSS-28) y la Escala de Doble Estándar (DSS). Resultados: Los resultados obtenidos estuvieron cera de ser significativos por curso en la ATSS, U=3625.50, z=-1.95, p=.052 y significativos en la DSS, U=3560.50, z=-2.13, p=.034. Estos hallazgos indicaron que los alumnos de cuarto tuvieron actitudes más positivas hacia la sexualidad y una menor adherencia a los roles de género. Además, se obtuvo una correlación negativa moderada, rs=-. 307, p=.001, entre la ATSS y la DSS que mostraba asociación entre las actitudes positivas y la menor adhesión a roles de género. Estos resultados sugieren que la formación enfermera tuvo un impacto positivo en sus actitudes.Conclusión: La enfermería está involucrada de manera central en el cuidado de los pacientes y sus familias. Sus actitudes hacia la sexualidad son importantes en términos de comodidad del paciente, accesibilidad y aceptabilidad de su atención.

A Pedagogical Model to Integrate Computational Thinking Logic to First Year Design Studio

Today, computational thinking and computational design approaches transform almost all stages of architectural practice and education. In this context, since students are most likely to encounter computers, in this study, the approach of teaching students computational design logic is adopted instead of teaching how to use computers only as a drafting or representation tool. This study focuses on developing a pedagogical model that aims to teach computational thinking logic and analog computing through a design process. The proposed model consists of four modules as follows: abstraction of music and text (Module 1), decomposition of buildings (Module 2), analysis of body-space (Module 3), design of a space by the help of spatial patterns (Module 4). The proposed model is applied to first-year students in Interior Design Studio in the 2019-2020 fall semester. As a result of Module 4, students designed both anticipated and unanticipated spaces in an algorithmic way.