Abstract:
While online learning was implemented voluntarily in some countries, it is
the pandemic that forced many countries to embrace online learning as the
only strategy for continuing the education of university students. Even
though Sri Lanka was returning to normalcy and reverted to a full onsite
learning mode or hybrid mode, the current economic catastrophe Sri Lanka
is facing has changed online learning yet again. Although the previous
studies focused on many aspects of online learning, students’ attitudes
towards online learning and the reasons behind those attitudes received
rare attention. In this background, this paper aimed to explore the reasons
for university students’ attitudes toward online learning based on nearly
two and half years of experience. Under the qualitative methodology, 20
semi-structured, in-depth interviews were held with students from various
disciplinary backgrounds representing both private and state universities.
The data were analysed by coding the transcribed interviews sentence-by sentence and identifying inductive codes. These codes were then collated
into categories. The data analyses revealed that while there are no students
who have extremely positive or extremely negative attitudes, many of them
believe in online learning during crises. Also, in general, participants’
attitudes toward online learning were mixed in nature since they felt
positively as well as negatively about online learning depending on
psychological, teaching methods, online learning environment,
administration, colleagues, and crisis-driven reasons. This study is unique
as it explored why students think and feel positively or negatively toward
online learning during multiple and prolonged crises, based on subjective
viewpoints. Finally, the study provides implications to higher education
institutions of the present context and beyond to improve future online
learning effectiveness
