The Antecedents and Consequences of Study Commitment to Online Learning at Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Cambodia

Abstract

A rapid spread of the COVID-19 outbreak has recently shifted teaching and learning at higher education institutions (HEIs) worldwide from the traditional classroom to the online process. During the educational disruption, online teaching and learning have become an alternative to pursue education. This paper aims to analyze the antecedents and consequences of students’ study commitment at Cambodia’s HEIs during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research focused upon: adaptation of online teaching and learning, consequences and antecedents of students’ study commitment to online learning, and factors influencing students’ willingness to participate in online learning during the post–COVID-19 pandemic. The research was primarily based on an online survey among 1002 undergraduate students at Cambodia’s largest and oldest University for quantitative data. The SPSS 25 and AMOS 23 were adopted to proceed with the data analysis, especially in Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). We found that: (1) two stages of online teaching and learning processes were adopted at the Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP): individually-managed and institutionally-managed processes; (2) the students’ study commitment played an active role in improving their learning satisfaction. Meanwhile, academic support is one of the most outstanding factors influencing students’ online learning; and (3) in the post–COVID pandemic, 81.4% of undergraduate students did not propose to continue online learning. The survey confirms that online learning significantly reduced their academic performance, and 62.3% claimed online teaching negatively affected their studies. A prediction reveals that gender, the effect of online learning, permanent address, and home WIFI connection influence the students’ willingness to take online education in the post–COVID-19 pandemic. The findings of this research have advanced knowledge of students’ study commitment and provided scientific evidence for practitioners, planners, policymakers, and researchers to promote online teaching and learning at Cambodia’s HEIs during the post–COVID-19 pandemic.