Mexico’s Higher Education Students’ Experience During the Lockdown due to the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Transition from face-to-face to remote courses in Mexico represented a challenge for teachers, students, and parents from all education levels. The Mexican federal government declared phase two of the plan to reduce COVID-19 spread on March 24, 2020. In some states, mobility restriction measures started by March 17 included the education system. On April 13, educational activities began in the remote mode exclusively, and this situation could be extended until the end of the 2020–2021 cycle, if health conditions do not improve. Universities, teachers, and students were not ready to implement the emergency remote teaching (ERT) strategy because of the limited conditions of technological adaptation and digital connectivity in the country. The purpose of this cross-sectional study is to investigate the experiences of graduate and undergraduate students concerning the change from face-to-face to the ERT modality in the health emergency context due to the COVID-19 outbreak. We collected data from 660 students from 38 universities and 22 states across the country. The study investigated students' previous experience with online courses, technological tool use, barriers faced during the new teaching–studying modality, current use of educational and specialized tools, and some physical and mental health indicators. As a result, we found problems related to time management of their work activities, the balance of time between home and school activities, and perception about studying days, which they felt strenuous. More than half of all students reported Internet connection problems. Students from private universities declared a higher use of technological tools. Students from public universities expressed more significant difficulties following teachers' instructions, perceived less attention from teachers, considered the change to remote courses was difficult, and felt overwhelmed by the required technological skills. Students in the first two years of university reported a higher proportion having deemed the most strenuous study days and having had difficulties following the teachers' instructions and considered that the distance modality change was hard. Finally, all the students declared that the expenses increased in their home in the highest proportion were electricity, mobile phone data, and Internet service. Future research should focus on measuring the impact of ERT on students’ learning outcomes.

Student engagement in online learning in Latin American higher education during the COVID‐19 pandemic: A systematic review

“…Nevertheless, online students can develop such skills by increasing engagement and participation. In the reviewed studies, the development of such skills manifested in the following ways: (a) students actively collaborated in learning (Cárdenas Zea et al, 2021 ; Rodríguez Fernández et al., 2021 ); (b) students had a positive perception of online communication with classmates (Flores Ferro et al., 2021 ; Quispe‐Prieto et al., 2021 ; Zapata‐Garibay et al., 2021 ); (c) students showed high levels of online interaction through likes and shares (Alves et al., 2021 ) and (d) students exhibited improved teamwork skills (Realyvásquez‐Vargas et al., 2020 ). All of these soft skills are essential for professional success.…”

“…Santos and Serpa (2017) mentioned the importance of promoting digital literacy in HEIs to develop students' digital strategies and make them proficient in learning through technology. In the reviewed studies, some students were perceived to have high levels of digital literacy and knowledge on digital tool usage (Cárdenas Zea et al, 2021;Mendoza-Lizcano et al, 2020;Romero Alonso et al, 2021;Zapata-Garibay et al, 2021;Zúñiga Rodríguez & Cáceres Mesa, 2021), whereas some experienced difficulties in using online platforms (Santos et al, 2021) and even requested training on their usage .…”

Students’ Emotions During Distance Education: The Role of Personality Factors and Sense of Coherence

“…Earlier studies have demonstrated the negative effects of distance learning on students’ concentration and ability to organize their studies (Commodari & La Rosa, 2021; Giusti et al, 2021) and time management (Zapata-Garibay et al, 2021). A common impression among students and educators is that forced distance learning has negative effects on students’ motivation and mood.…”

“…In an Italian study, distance learning was associated with being more distracted when studying and having difficulties in organizing studies (Commodari & La Rosa, 2021). In a Mexican study, especially time management and separation between work and free time seemed to be challenging among higher education students (Zapata-Garibay et al, 2021). In another study, the negative effects of distance learning seem to focus on concentration and learning abilities among students (Giusti et al, 2021).…”

Resilience and Higher Education Support as Protective Factors for Student Academic Stress and Depression During Covid-19 in the Netherlands

“…Student wellbeing during the coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak is heavily impacted, with students reporting higher levels of hardship and vulnerability during this global health crisis. Students, as compared to other population groups, experience added duress due to the educational transition to a predominantly online environment (5,(28)(29)(30), and report significant stress caused by changes in teaching methods (31). Grappling with the transition to remote learning presents challenges to students, with the effects of the pandemic described as removing "both the opportunity and the will to be productive" (32).…”