Significance of Psychological Contract in Education – A Study with Special Reference to Response of Students to Online Classes at the Time of Lockdown Due to Covid 19

Abstract

Psychological contracts are being studied by many researchers in the present days. This paper attempts to establish the importance of psychological contract during formal education stage, by considering the response of UG and PG students to online classes at the time of lockdown due to Covid 19. With the limited literature research it was found that many have tried to understand the benefits and pitfalls of online teaching. But the researches that establish a relationship between online education and psychological contract were found to be less explored, which is exactly what this paper attempts to do. The objectives of the study is to find out the challenges faced by the students and the faculty members during the online classes and to understand the reasons behind the decreased student attendance. A pilot tested questionnaire was used to collect the data from 246 students and 112 Faculty members from various streams including Engineering, Commerce and Management. The collected data were analysed using Chi Square test. The results showed that weaker psychological contract plays a major role in the decrease in student attendance during the online classes. Other factors include lack of face to face interaction, internet connectivity issues etc.