Perspectives of Hybrid Performing Arts Education in the Post-Pandemic Era: An Empirical Study in Hong Kong

Abstract

While the COVID-19 pandemic has been raging across the continents, performing arts educators have unlearned and adjusted their pedagogies in course delivery to surmount the challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Subject to the COVID-19 pandemic situation easing in Hong Kong and around the world, the whole education sector seems to be bouncing back to normal gradually. Meanwhile, there are effective lessons and insights to be learned from the hybrid pedagogy during the pandemic, which could further benefit the new normal period (post-pandemic) of performing arts education. To examine the current practice of digital learning among students and faculty (attitudes towards hybrid, online, and face-to-face learning and preferences about learning mode for professional development/training workshops), this empirical study looks at 408 students and 17 faculty members at a leading performing arts institute in Hong Kong. This study locates the key issues for performing arts educators regarding online/hybrid teaching and learning. It presents lessons and insights for quality insurance and improvement. Findings can inform the future development of digital teaching and learning for the performing arts as well as for other practice-based subjects.

Drama/Theatre Performance in Education through the Use of Digital Technologies for Enhancing Students’ Sustainability Awareness: A Literature Review

“…Being involved in the whole drama process, students become more independent and take on more responsible actions, thus being prepared to deal with real-life problems. Those findings are partly in accordance with [52] empirical study, in which the researchers examined the attitudes of students and faculties towards hybrid, online, and face-to-face learning and preferences about learning modes in performing arts educational activities. Both students and faculties are interested in multimedia workshops and show willingness to participate in activities such as professional development or training activities.…”

“…There are some studies (n = 4) that applied strictly quantitative methodological tools to extract quantitative/numerical data. Indeed, the researchers of such studies conducted questionnaire surveys and collected quantitative data from both drama teachers and students, for example [8,[50][51][52].…”

“…Researchers have begun to analyze students' positive attitudes towards the application of digital drama according to the current literature [46,51,52,56]. In a case study, students provide a positive indication of the digital drama in achieving many social skills, like team spirit, interpersonal communication, ability to coordinate, empathy, emotional intelligence, and conflict resolution aptitudes, elements practical at the workplace [68].…”

Interplay between technology and society: Effects of remote emergency teaching on undergraduate students' performance

“…With 97% of the survey participant stating that online learning format of learning is easy to use [30], and further answers discovered that they enjoyed the flexibility of online learning and appreciated the ability to work at their own pace. Also, it is important to note that results [31] showed that a majority of students, 73%, have a preference for online/hybrid mode when it comes to theory-based courses. In contrast, only 27% of students preferred the F2F mode of learning.…”

Teaching and learning delivery modes in higher education: Looking back to move forward post-COVID-19 era

“…As suggested by Abdelkader and Barbagallo (2022) , future research should investigate the long-term effects of COVID-19 and the resulting changes in teaching modes on curriculum development, learning outcomes, and student behaviors. Li, Li, Han, and Zhang (2022) also recommended exploring why postsecondary or postgraduate students choose face-to-face learning over hybrid/online learning. During the pandemic, many online courses provided to students did not represent excellent online learning, but instead served as a stop-gap solution for emergency remote education.…”