WHAT'S NEXT TO KOVID? - STUDENTS 'ATTITUDES (ON THE EXAMPLE OF NBU STUDENTS)
Author: Elena Blagoeva (New Bulgarian University)
Keywords: online education, higher education, student opinion, education management
The Covid-19 crisis struck suddenly in early 2020 and affected all spheres of life. Higher education institutions, after a short initial period of confusion, proved to be extremely adaptable and responsible in dealing with the situation. The digitalisation accelerated by the crisis has allowed the majority of students to continue their education.
Despite the great and concerted efforts behind this, the academic community should still avoid assessing this period as a success for higher education. The short-term impact is global and the measures for this period are more or less clear. However, the long-term impact of the crisis on the current generation of students and the future of higher education and society as a whole cannot be easily predicted. The reasons for this lie in the complexity of education as a process - the connection teaching - learning - acquisition of competencies - suitability for employment; the specifics of the individual curricula and disciplines; different goals of higher education policy (sustainability, internationalisation, etc.). Additionally, an important factor is the challenge arising from the growing heterogeneity of the student body and the related diversity of interests and opinions.
This article presents the results of a pilot study, which aims to determine the attitudes of New Bulgarian University students towards online learning one year after its mass implementation. The study includes five factors: usefulness, convenience, difficulties, attitude, technology. Although one year is a short period for the formation of clear attitudes, the study outlines some trends that should be taken into account when developing measures or strategies to ensure the quality of education that students receive.
