Pandemic Experiences of Distance Education Learners: Inherent Resilience and Implications

Abstract

The COVID-19 outbreak in March 2020 affected the Indian education system quite adversely, almost bringing it to a standstill. Amid this crisis, the F2F education system adopted tools and technologies otherwise prevalent in distance education (DE). There is ample literature corroborating the widespread use of such tools by F2F education during the lockdown. However, there is a need to study how the existing distance education system in Asia and countries like India which uses printed self-learning materials, digital technology, and F2F counselling functioned during the same period. This study tries to identify the changes brought about in this system as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this study was to find out the experiences of learners of a DE program, viz.  M.A. in Distance Education (MADE) offered by the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), New Delhi, India which introduced emergency online interventions during the pandemic. A mixed-method approach was used to elicit responses from the learners regarding their psychological state, teaching-learning transaction, learner support and autonomy, and the role of technology. An online questionnaire comprising 21 Likert-type items and 4 open-ended questions was used to collect responses from 57 participants. The study found a positive response to the use of online synchronous tools for counselling with most of the participants desirous of continuation of such interventions even after the pandemic. The majority reported non-interruption in their DE studies and felt confident of completing the program owing to the flexibility of the system. The study affirmed DE’s resilience to the effect of the pandemic upon its learners. The expectations from learners and institutions for enhanced use of online technology in the future raise a strong requirement for continuous professional development (CPD) of distance teachers. The findings hint toward further strengthening of DE in the country to increase the overall resilience of education.