Abstract:
Background/scope and aims of the studyLike most other campus-based universities, Hong Kong institutions provided flexible options for synchronous online learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While studies on students’ choice of course modalities are limited, less evidence is available on students’ choice of real-time learning environment (online on campus vs. online at home). Such studies also do not address this issue in terms of psychological factors or across multiple disciplines. This study aimed at exploring the factors associated with students’ choice of learning environment for synchronous learning during the pandemic.Research designA survey was adopted using well-established measurements (self-efficacy for online learning, conceptions of learning, and previous online course experience) and implemented in a Hong Kong university. Quantitative data on participants’ choice of learning environment drew on the variables that showed impact on students’ choice of learning environment in previous studies. The survey also invited the participants to elaborate in writing what led to their choice of studying online but out of class when on campus. The analyses on group differences and logistic regression were conducted to understand participants’ choices.Key findingsData were collected from 643 undergraduates across ten disciplines in one comprehensive university in Hong Kong. We identified significant associations between participants’ choices and gender, year of study, origin, and discipline. Significant differences were also identified in participants’ ratings on their self-efficacy for online learning and some dimensions of conceptions of learning and perceptions of their prior online course experience across groups of different learning environment choices, genders, origins, and disciplines. The logistic regression indicated that the odds of studying synchronously online on campus but not in class were greater for those who perceived their previous online course experience as having clearer goals, preferred stimulating education, or preferred co-operative learning. Eight themes emerged from participants’ responses to the open-ended questions. They further confirmed the findings from the quantitative data and suggested some factors to be explored in the future studies on student choice of learning environment.Implications for future researchThis study suggests quite a few possible areas for future studies on this topic such as testing the associations between student choice to attend online or in-person and other psychological factors such as personality and self-regulation, and exploring whether the same factors will have a similar impact on students’ choice in wider contexts and when there is no pandemic.