Students' attitudes to e-learning in high school biology instruction

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a disruption in the regular process of teaching and learning. The inclusion of electronic learning (e-learning) is a measure introduced in order to preserve continuity in school education. E-learning, however, was introduced in response to the state of emergency and the pandemic and not as a pre-planned and well-prepared innovation, thus suggesting the need to research students' attitudes towards the implementation of e-learning in high school biology instruction. 255 students of two Belgrade high schools (the Zemun High School and the Fifth Belgrade High School), in which e-learning was implemented, took part in the study. Processing of the data obtained by means of a questionnaire yielded results indicating that students on the whole have a neutral attitude to e-learning and do not want it to become their sole model of learning. Moreover, they are aware only of some of the benefits provided by e-learning. The results show that there are no statistically significant differences between the attitudes of male and female students to e-learning. Similarly, students' grade, their end-of-semester grade in biology, and rating of how interesting instructional content is, do not affect their attitudes to e-learning. Based on the results, in view of the current situation in terms of health security and the need to optimize the instruction process, further continued training of teachers and students in e-learning and instruction is being planned, as well as the provision of appropriate material and other resources for this purpose.