Abstract:

In the spring of 2020, due to the threat of COVID-19, most Russian universities switched to distant learning. The forced transition imposed new demands on faculty and students, who had to adapt quickly to the new educational conditions. These changes have raised concerns about the quality of distant learning. The purpose of this study was to identify which students were more likely to expect difficulties associated with a lack of understanding of educational material under new circumstances. The study is based on data of 6,230 Ural Federal University students surveyed in March 2020. Regression analysis showed that the fear of not being able to cope with learning was more typical for freshmen and sophomors, for students with lower self-regulated learning skills, for students who expected difficulties related to communication with faculty and student motivation, as well as for students who attended classes for the sake of learning. We discuss possible measures to support students in the conditions of rapid and mass transition to distant learning.

Keywords:

COVID-19, students, expectations, distant learning.