AUTHOR=Lee Hye Rin , Yang Kaidan , Rutherford Teomara , Ramirez Kevin F. , Eccles Jacquelynne S. 

TITLE=Low-income transfer engineering undergraduates’ benefits and costs of online learning during COVID-19

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Education

VOLUME=8

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/education/articles/10.3389/feduc.2023.1233978

DOI=10.3389/feduc.2023.1233978

ISSN=2504-284X

ABSTRACT=<p>Online courses were a common and growing format for higher education even before the COVID-19 pandemic, but selection effects made it difficult to understand and generalize about low-income transfer engineering students’ perceptions regarding online course experiences. However, the forced transition from face-to-face courses to online courses as a result of COVID-19 provided researchers and educators the opportunity to examine low-income transfer engineering students’ online learning experiences without selection effects. Using a naturalistic method, the present study examined low-income transfer engineering students’ (<italic>N</italic> = 7) communicated perceived benefits and costs of online learning during the pandemic. Analysis using inductive coding found three overarching themes of benefits and costs: <italic>benefits and costs related to the learning environment</italic>, <italic>benefits and costs related to the format of instruction</italic>, and <italic>benefits and costs related to external factors</italic>. Students named studying at their own pace as the most frequently occurring benefit of online learning. On the other hand, difficulty self-regulating was the most frequently named cost of online learning. Implications for theory, practice, and future work are discussed.</p>