Online learning during the Covid-19 pandemic: the experiences and perceptions of undergraduate occupational therapy students at two Australian universities
Published Online: Oct 08, 2021
Page range: 60 - 71
Received: Apr 12, 2021
Accepted: Jun 10, 2021
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ijhp-2021-0006
Keywords
© 2021 Ted Brown et al., published by Sciendo
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Purpose
To investigate if first-year occupational therapy students who have had no on-campus, face-to-face learning experiences differed from second-, third- and fourth-year students in their perceptions and experiences of online learning during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Methods
One hundred and fifty-one occupational therapy undergraduate students (80.8% female; 66.2% 20–24 old) completed the Student Engagement in the e-Learning Environment Scale (SELES) and the Distance Education Learning Environment Scale (DELES). Analysis of variance (ANOVA) with bootstrapping was completed to examine the differences between first-year and senior students’ perceptions and experiences of online learning.
Results
Significant differences were observed across several SELES and DELES scales: peer collaboration (SELES) (
Conclusion
The findings demonstrate significant differences in first-year and senior students’ perceptions and experiences of online learning during the Covid-19 pandemic. The outcomes highlight the importance of facilitating collaborative and active engagement for all students by implementing academic, technological and social support measures within occupational therapy curricula.