Study the Indicators of Academic Facilities and Academic and Life Difficulties or Challenges of Online Learning/Teaching during COVID-19 Pandemic among School Students in India

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 impact was everywhere, which resulted in the closure of schools and other educational institutions. Initially, most governments have decided to temporarily close the schools to reduce the impact of COVID-19. Later, it was reopened for a few grades, which increased the number of infection rates and then closed again. The study was planned to analyze the indicators of academic facilities and academic and life difficulties or challenges of online learning/teaching during COVID-19 pandemic among school students. Survey also looked for to solicit participants’ feedback regarding their experience in online education and academic difficulties during the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and Methods: It was a cross-sectional observational study with a convenience sample conducted in a school at India. An online structured questionnaire was developed using Google forms, with a consent form appended to it. In few cases, structured questionnaire was filled offline. The target population comprised undergraduates of school students in class XI–XII standards. The respondents in the target population were sampled by a convenience sample. An analysis of descriptive statistics was conducted to illustrate the demographic and other selected characteristics of the respondents. Categorical data were described by the number (n) and percentage (%) of subjects in each category. All statistical calculations will be performed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, version 21.0. Data will be expressed in n (%). Results: Male student participants were more in number in comparison to female medical students in 11th and 12th standard classes. Majority of the student’s participants were staying at city or town areas. Uninterrupted internet facility at home was available almost 79–83% cases among participants. Online instructions were used almost 100% cases during lockdown period. Laptops were used mostly commonly by students (53–58%) followed by smart phones (19–25%) for online teaching. On an average 3 h per day, online classes attended by students (53–64%) followed by 4 h/day (23–31%) during lockdown period. Type of online class portal used was more with Zoom (100%) followed by Google meet 11–16%). Google classroom has been used almost 100% cases to share notes, video lectures, online class tests, and other communications. Conclusion: Ability to focus on academic work (69–72%) and difficulties with online learning (23–31%) were the most commonly cited issues related to academics. Ability to focus on academic work was also a significant predictor of somatic problems, together with problems in completing assignments and tests. The findings, further, revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic had the greatest impact on the quality of the learning experience and students’ mental health.