EFFECTIVENESS OF ONLINE LEARNING ON UNIVERSITY UNDERGRADUATES DURING COVID -19 PANDEMIC (A STUDY BASED ON THE SABARAGAMUWA UNIVERSITY OF SRI LANKA)

Abstract

The Corona virus, which became a major health problem worldwide,affected all sectors. The uncertain lockdown bitterly affected the educational institutions. Therefore, the education authorities decided to focus on online learning. But most of the undergraduates in Sri Lanka are familiar with the traditional learning process. Due to the change in this paradigm, they had to face many difficulties in their educational performances. The objective of this study is to identify the effectiveness of online learning on undergraduates during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study was based on 308 students in the Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka. The data were collected through the mailed questionnaires. A sample was selected through the two-stage cluster sampling method. Structural equation modeling was applied to analyze the collected data. According to the analysis results, students’ willingness to attend physical class was found as a negative significant variable for the effectiveness of online learning. Lecturers and the university adopting online learning and the technical capability of the students were found as significant positive variables for the effectiveness of online learning. The conclusion of this study is that all parties involving university learning can improve skills regarding online learning and that will help to improve the effectiveness of online learning.