Barriers to online learning: adjusting to the ‘new normal’ in the time of Covid-19

Abstract

School closures during the COVID-19 pandemic have transferred learning online, in the first experience of online learning for most students in Saudi Arabia. This study specifically examines the barriers facing Secondary school students, providing suggestions for overcoming these barriers, as gathered from educational technology specialists. A mixed methodology was adopted, with interviews first being carried out with four parents and four students to discover details of the barriers that they face. This helped develop an online survey involving 518 respondents to identify the most frequently cited barriers. Curriculum barriers had the most impact in terms of hindering the learning process, followed by teaching, the learning environment, and social barriers. These four barriers were significantly greater in public-sector schools, compared to private schools. There were also statistically significant differences between male and female students. Moreover, students with access to digital devices and the Internet experienced more teaching barriers, learning environment barriers, and social barriers than those who did not. The survey results were presented to educational technology experts to suggest solutions to the problems of technology adoption. The above experts agreed on the need for a virtual learning environment (VLE) that would help develop students’ self- learning, research, and critical thinking skills.