IMPACT OF VIRTUAL LEARNING ON PERCEIVED MENTAL HEALTH OF COLLEGE STUDENTS DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC

The study in this article addresses three research questions: a) how do college students view the effectiveness of technology-mediated virtual learning during the COVID-19 pandemic; b) how does virtual learning impact their perceived mental health; and c) what is the mode of learning they most prefer? It follows an explanatory research design and survey method. Data are collected using a questionnaire with a purposive sample of 102 students and interviews with 20 students and 40 faculty members in India. The conceptual framework of this study is quite similar to the modified version of the Technology Acceptance Model (Venkatesh and Davis, 2000). The study reveals that 86% of the students find virtual learning to be ineffective. Such learning not only fails to provide adequate opportunities for experiential learning for developing knowledge, skills, and leadership abilities but also creates several perceived mental health problems. This study may help higher education institutions while designing and implementing virtual teaching-learning systems in order to prevent their negative impact on student’s perceived mental health in future crises. Keywords: Virtual learning, perceived mental health, COVID-19 pandemic, Behavioural Intention, Perceived Usefulness