International Students' Experience of Remote Teaching and Learning in Portugal

TitleInternational Students' Experience of Remote Teaching and Learning in Portugal
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2023
AuthorsAguiar, J, Sin, C, Tavares, C
JournalOpen Education Studies
Volume5
Issue1
Abstract

This article analyzes international students' assessment of remote teaching and learning (T&L) during the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic in Portugal. While all students have suffered the consequences of campus lockdowns and distance teaching, international students represent a particularly vulnerable group since, even under normal circumstances, they already have to deal with the challenges of new academic and living conditions. In Portugal, most international students come from Portuguese-speaking (designated as Lusophone) countries. Students' experiences were gathered via an online cross-sectional survey (N = 672), and the quantitative analysis compared Lusophone and non-Lusophone students and undergraduate and postgraduate students. Non-Lusophone students were more negative about remote education than Lusophone ones, being less interested in continuing to study online and giving a more negative assessment of the T&L experience than their counterparts. For them, cultural immersion is probably as important as degree attainment. Postgraduate students reported a lesser increase in study time and rated the pedagogical aspects better than undergraduate students, which suggests, by comparison, a better adaptation to the remote regime. Implementing flexible and hybrid education solutions is critical to maintaining international students' interest.

URLhttps://doi.org/10.1515/edu-2022-0190

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