The Shift to Online Education Paradigm due to COVID-19: A Study of Student’s Behavior in UAE Universities Environment

Abstract

The shift to an online education paradigm has been dramatically seen in educational systems and universities due to COVID-19 across the world, especially in United Arab Emirates. The emergence of COVID-19 forced educational institutions to divert all strategies from physical to online platforms for the safety of students, instructors and all the other staff members. However, this is not the case in educational institutions only because other governmental and non-governmental institutions are affected in the same way around the world. The objective of this research is to understand the behavior of students due to a sudden shift towards an online education experience in university environment and gauge their preference either on physical or online education system for the future. The research collected data through an online questionnaire from 210 undergraduate university students which further helped the researcher to draw the discussion and conclusion. The research proves that a high majority of students are willing to change from physical education to an online platforms and they believe that they can perform well by the adoption of this new platform of online education system. The research recommendations are helpful for the educational policy developers.