Abstract:

The current pandemic has caused a break in the traditional learning methods. Overnight, universities –most of which are characterized by face-to-face learning– have had to move towards virtual environments rapidly. To deal with this challenge, substantial and immediate investment has been necessary. One year after the start of this transformation process, some studies have focused on the effect of this pandemic on students’ performance, but the evidence is still unclear and mixed. While some studies point out an improvement in students’ academic performance (Álvarez-Herrero & Hernández-Ortega, 2020), others show that students have the perception of lower academic performance (Pérez-López et al., 2021). Since the reason behind this mixed evidence is unclear, further research needs to focus on studying this topic.

With the aim of addressing this gap, the goal of this paper is twofold. First, it analyzes how the current global pandemic –due to the COVID-19– impacts on students’ performance since learning modalities have gone from being face-to-face to being remote. Second, it tests the impact that the gender has in relation to current teaching models. This methodology was implemented in the Degree in Labor Relations and Human Resources (University of Murcia) during the academic years 2018-2019 and 2019-2020, and our sample is composed of 505 students (enrolled in the subject of Work Organization).

Our results student’s academic performance is worst when learning is remote (due to the COVID-19) compared to when learning is face-to-face. Also, those students with previous experience in the exam (i.e., retained students) often obtain worse results during face-to-face learning –but not during remote learning. Another variable which proves relevant in our research is the access to resources (measured by the distance from the university) because it is related to worse grates both in face-to-face learning and in remote learning. Moreover, with regard to gender, our results show that the use of assessment composed of several multiple-choice questions generates “gender bias” –since women often obtain worse grades than men; however, the use of mixed assessment systems does not generate said gender biases.

In summary, remote learning methods are having an unfavorable impact on students’ academic performance, and future research should contribute to this research field by analyzing the reasons that are behind on this, which should be taken into consideration by educational decision-makers. In addition, we note the existence of differences in performance based on gender, evidencing that the most fair assessment system to avoid this bias is the mixed one (which includes both development questions and multiple-choice questions).

References:
[1] Álvarez-Herrero, J.F. & Hernández-Ortega, J. (2020) “Evaluación y rendimiento académico del alumnado universitario en formación online versus formación presencial”. In: Colomo-Magaña, E. et al. (coord.). La tecnología como eje del cambio metodológico. Málaga: UMA Editorial, 2020. ISBN 978-84-1335-052-3, pp. 1136-1139
[2] Pérez-López, E.; Vázquez Atochero, A., & Cambero Rivero, S. (2021). Educación a distancia en tiempos de COVID-19: Análisis desde la perspectiva de los estudiantes universitarios. RIED. Revista Iberoamericana de Educación a Distancia, 24 (1), 331-350.

Keywords:

Students' performance, pandemic, covid-19, gender, online teaching.