Percepción de la calidad de la docencia virtual en el marco de la emergencia sanitaria por la COVID-19

Laburpena

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a state of international public health emergency. The pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, known as COVID-19, led to the widespread lockdown of millions of people worldwide. Governments of different countries were forced to temporarily close educational institutions, affecting millions of students globally. From elementary to higher education, intensive measures were implemented to prevent and protect students and academic members, preventing 1.3 billion students from attending in-person classes. In response to this situation, most universities worldwide had to adapt their in-person models to virtual education models. During the 2020/2021 academic year, universities maintained some measures to ensure safety in classrooms, proposing alternatives to the in-person model in a virtual format and were forced to make emergency adaptations at all education levels, resulting in significant challenges. In many universities, virtual classes became synchronous, meaning that teachers and students were brought together at the same time as their in-person classes through a virtual platform. Practical activities were postponed orreplaced when possible. In the first six months, most classes transitioned to this 100% online modality. Given that it was a dramatic shift from an in-person to a virtual model, this doctoral tesis aims to analyze sociodemographic, psychological, previous experience with education and digital resources, and how they relate to the perception of the quality of virtual teaching during the pandemic period in higher education, in different phases (lockdown, hybrid, and in-person), contexts, and countries. To achieve this, a survey was conducted with students and professors from six Ibero-American countries during the years 2021 and 2022. Subsequently, a statistical análisis was performed, checking the relationship between psychological, gender, sociodemographic, knowledge area, previous experience with digital resources and virtual teaching variables with the perception of the quality of virtual teaching during the health emergency caused by COVID-19. The results showed that female students experienced elevated levels of stress during the lockdown period, as well as higher levels of anxiety and loneliness, mainly in Latin American countries. In addition, male students showed higher values in the results of difficulty learning and higher workload demand during the hybrid phase and difficulty learning during the in-person phase. This means that students during this period faced greater difficulties in learning, as well as greater difficulty in completing academic tasks. The research also showed that there are cultural, social, and health differences between Latin American and European countries about the perception of the quality of virtual teaching during the pandemic phases. The research suggests that the prevalence of mental health symptoms, such as loneliness and stress, was higher in Latin American students and professors during the lockdown phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, Latin America showed a greater convenience and preference for the online learning than Europeans. However, during the in-person teaching phase, European students and professors showed a greater preference for this learning method than Latin Americans. In fact, Latin American students had higher grades during the lockdown phase, while European students achieved higher grades during the in-person phase. Factors such as resilience, a more unfavorable and pronounced pandemic evolution, and greatersocial inequalities can explain the differences in the current results. The research also showed that Latin American professors generally had higher previous digital experience compared to their European counterparts. Additionally, European professors showed greater motivation to teach, better perceived teaching quality, teaching convenience, and a preference for in-person teaching during the in-person phase. This same group presented higher stress levels during the hybrid phase, as well as greater teaching difficulty and highly demanding tasks during the hybrid phase. Despite the effect of the pandemic on mental health, online education is postulated as an effective teaching-learning alternative. However, professors' preference for a hybrid teaching model has revealed better acceptability, especially in areas like Health Sciences, ensuring the acquisition of skills, professional competencies, and the benefits of interaction through in-person practical activities with the convenience of online theoretical learning. The transition from traditional in-person education to virtual learning during the pandemic brings significant challenges and opportunities in the educational, social, economic, and health fields. The impacts on education include pedagogical adaptation, technological barriers, teaching and assessment methods, academic performance, accessibility, digital inclusion, student participation, social interaction, motivation, overall well-being, and mental health issues among students and professors. However, the pandemic has catalyzed development in the educational field with innovative teaching methods, new virtual laboratories, augmented reality simulations, and a myriad of interactive resources that attempt to replace or improve traditional practical training. These results reveal the importance of considering psychological aspects, social and economic context, professional field, digital resources, and teacher training when examining factors influencing the teaching-learning process in virtual environments. Ultimately, the results can support governments in formulating policies to ensure equitable access to online education, prioritizing the development of a robust digital infrastructure and secure and reliable internet connectivity. It can also assist universities in implementing strategies to minimize factors that negatively impacted this virtual learning environment. As we move into the post-pandemic era, it is vitalto integrate these lessons learned to create an inclusive educational environment that is prepared for future challenges. Furthermore, future research will have comparative data to track the evolution of post-pandemic virtual teaching, contributing to the evolution of higher education.