Abstract:

The COVID-19 pandemic has provoked a sudden switch from in-class to online teaching and learning. Universities all over the world have embraced this change in their own way, trying to provide satisfactory methods in record time. This paper aims at obtaining students’ insights on the way this switch had to be addressed and at examining advantages and disadvantages of online education during the pandemic. To meet this research goal, an empirical study was conducted with students from the University of Valencia in Spain. Data collection took place from December of 2020 until March of 2021. A total of 268 students of economics and social sciences disciplines participated in the research. A structured online questionnaire was administered to students and data were subsequently subject to quantitative analysis. Our results suggest that when online vs. in-person classes were compared, students showed preferences for the latter. However, the combination of the two has been confirmed as the best option, with theoretical part of the course to be held online and practical/laboratory assignments in classrooms. Comfort of online classes and feeling safe during the pandemic emerged as the most relevant advantages, while decreased student-teacher and student-student interaction were the most significant disadvantages of online education.

Keywords:

COVID-19 pandemic, online education, advantages, disadvantages, university students, economics, social sciences.