The Relationship Between Student Attitudes Toward Online Learning and Environmental Factors During Covid-19 Pandemic: The Case of the University of Tetova

Neziri, I.; Ahmeti, K.; Memeti, A.

During 2020, students and higher education institutions faced massive change regarding the online teaching/learning process, which evoked numerous debates within the institutions, teachers and students. The aim of this study is to verify the relationship between the attitudes towards online teaching and environmental factors, equipment, noise and distraction from other people, in the students of the State University of Tetova in North Macedonia. Attitudes towards online learning are addressed in three specific dimensions, namely cognitive, affective and behavioral, while the environmental factors are focused on the conditions the learning process takes place, the noise, the technological equipment and distractions from other people during online learning. The methodology used in this study is non-experimental correlational with quantitative data gathered through relevant instruments, with a sample of 801 University of Tetova students, in North Macedonia, whereas the most frequented age was 18–22 years. The findings of the study, through relevant statistical tests, report slightly more emphasized negative student attitudes towards online learning, while the correlational analysis result as statistically moderate, with a negative direction between student attitudes towards online learning and environmental factors. The multiple regression analysis shows a statistically significant model for predicting the level of students’ attitudes towards online learning by environmental factors such as: teaching conditions, noise and distractions from other people. Negative attitudes towards online learning are more associated with increasing difficulties of the environmental factors where online learning takes place. © 2021, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.