Department of Mathematics and Statistics, American University of Sharjah, Sharjah P.O. Box 26666, United Arab Emirates.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Mar 3;19(5):2979. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19052979.
With the aim of appraising the impact of Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) amidst the COVID-19 pandemic on college students, an online survey was conducted in December 2020 on a total of 588 undergraduate students at the American University of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. The purpose of the study was to probe into the perceptions of college students regarding their learning process and its influence on their mental health with the abrupt transition from face-to-face classes to ERT in the Spring 2020 semester. A comprehensive analysis was performed using structural equation modeling and other statistical techniques to reveal crucial results associated with the factors that have an effect on the students' psychological distress, such as quality of courses, academic performance, and readiness for future work or studies. Findings suggest that the students' perceived quality of courses under ERT has a significant impact on their academic performance and readiness for future work or studies. Moreover, they indicate that these factors serve as a vital mediating role in provoking psychological distress among the students. The study also shows that gender, previous history of anxiety/distress, education being at risk due to financial issues caused by COVID-19, and year of study significantly affect the students' distress levels. In order to ensure and prioritize the well-being of college students during these turbulent times, new strategies are urgently needed to develop and enhance resilient ERT environments in higher education. The study concludes with limitations and suggestions for further research.
为了评估新冠疫情期间远程应急教学 (ERT) 对大学生的影响，我们于 2020 年 12 月对阿联酋沙迦美国大学的 588 名本科生进行了在线调查。本研究旨在探讨大学生对其学习过程的看法，以及这种学习方式对他们心理健康的影响，因为他们在 2020 年春季学期突然从面授课程过渡到了远程应急教学。我们采用结构方程建模和其他统计技术进行了全面分析，揭示了与影响学生心理困扰的因素相关的关键结果，这些因素包括课程质量、学业成绩以及为未来工作或学习做准备的情况。研究结果表明，学生对远程应急教学课程的感知质量对他们的学业成绩和为未来工作或学习做准备的情况有重大影响。此外，研究结果表明，这些因素在引发学生心理困扰方面起着至关重要的中介作用。研究还表明，性别、先前的焦虑/困扰史、因新冠疫情导致经济问题而面临教育风险，以及学习年级都显著影响着学生的困扰程度。为了在这些动荡时期确保和优先考虑大学生的福祉，迫切需要制定和加强高等教育中具有弹性的远程应急教学环境的新策略。本研究最后讨论了研究的局限性和进一步研究的建议。
