Understanding Middle School Students’ Perceptions of the Usefulness of Online Classes

Abstract

The spread of the COVID-19 pushed K-12 schools to swift their traditional face-to-face in-person classes to online classes. This study examined middle school students’ perception of usefulness in online classes, as well as the relationship between perceived usefulness and its key influencing factors. A questionnaire survey was conducted on 350 7th-9th grade students in China who had synchronous online classes during the outbreak of COVID-19. Results showed that students’ overall perception of the usefulness of the online class was positive, comparing to the traditional face-to-face class. The relationships of students’ perceived social presence, sense of community, and ease of use on their perceived usefulness of the online class were tested by multiple regression. The results indicated that students’ perceived social presence and ease of use online learning system were two significant predictors of their perceived usefulness of the online classes. The findings of this study suggest that online learning can be further integrated into the K-12 curriculum and activities after the COVID-19 pandemic to make the K-12 school system more flexible, resilient, and enriching.