How the COVID-19 Outbreak Shapes the Education of School Children: A case of Engineering Technology Students in the Mulatiyana Educational Zone, Matara, Sri Lanka

Abstract

In Sri Lanka, the conventional learning in schools has been disrupted with the COVID-19 lockdowns. Even though the government has introduced an online learning system with the hope of making a concerted effort to maintain the continuous learning of school children, the grass-root level’s feedback has not been adequately explored yet. Therefore, the present study was designed to examine the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on Sri Lankan school education system and locate the obstacles of the online education system with special reference to the Advanced level Engineering Technology students in the Mulatiyana Educational Zone, Matara, Sri Lanka. Primary data were collected through a questionnaire survey directed to the purposively selected 84 Engineering Technology students in the selected educational zone. Data analyzed using SPSS showed that 88% of the students have continued their academic process via online learning. Among these students, 39% had the capability to learn 02 hours per day. Student exhibited their highest consent (48%) to use mobile apps for online learning while illustrating a significant gender difference (Mmale=4.38, Mfemale=3.50; t=2.553, p=0.015). Interestingly, the majority of the students (59%) were satisfied with online education though with a significant gender difference (Mmale=2.84, Mfemale=3.75; t=3.716, p=0.000). The study revealed that lack of access to devices is the major drawback for the majority (40%) of students for online learning. Accordingly, the study adds Asians’ voice to the existing literature to implement future online classes in a more efficient and effective manner. Present study suggests the need for future research in this direction while addressing representative samples from whole country, if possible, to generalize the current findings.