Postgraduates’ Readiness towards Online Learning during Pandemic Covid-19

Abstract

The term ‘online learning’ has been widely discussed as the pandemic COVID-19 pushed all institutes of higher education to opt for the new norm in teaching and learning delivery. In this testing time, much has yet to be uncovered about how students respond towards the new norm in teaching and learning during the pandemic and one of the student factors is their readiness. Against such a backdrop, this study sought to investigate a group of postgraduates’ learning readiness towards online learning. Three readiness constructs namely a) learning preference towards online learning, b) self-directedness towards online learning and c) technology skills and computer equipment capabilities were explored in determining the respondents’ level of readiness. Employing a quantitative research design, a set of questionnaire with a 5-point Likert scale was adapted from previous research for data collection. The questionnaire was distributed via online to postgraduate students (n = 140) at one faculty in a selected higher education institution in Malaysia. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and the mean scores for each construct were determined. The findings reveal the respondents’ level of learning readiness in each of the construct. Despite high levels were determined on the first two constructs of readiness, the level identified for the respondents’ computer equipment capabilities highlights varying degree of online learning readiness amongst the postgraduates. These findings and their implications could assist educational stakeholders and policymakers in ensuring online learning could be leveraged effectively among postgraduates as there are evidences pointing towards the need for technical skills and support.