Undergraduate Students' Motivation to Online Learning in a Low-Resource Setting: Challenges and Expectations

Introduction

With the occurrence of the pandemic in recent years, internet technology is penetrating more and more aspects of people’s life, including their thinking and learning styles. In this post-COVID period, the technological and administrative methods for implementing online learning and the infrastructure are now more suitable, accessible, and deliverable (Li et al., 2022). In this context, the capacity of students to generate meaning through constructivism while initiating and maintaining key insights and learning conceptual understanding through active engagement with digital resources is more critical (Hartnett, 2016). In such situations, self-regulation, motivation, and favorable learning characteristics among students are emphasized (Chiu & Hew, 2018). Motivation is one of the essential psychological needs in the teaching-learning process because it initiates, directs, and maintains behavior in pursuit of a goal or incentive (Cook & Artino, 2016), but it is often overlooked.

Students’ online learning processes can benefit from different focused, meaningful, and motivational strategies (Hartnett, 2019). Motivation in online courses is also determined by factors like pedagogy, instructors’ competency, students’ focus, environment, infrastructure, accessibility, flexibility, monitoring, and time management (Roddy et al., 2017). However, the flexibility, independence, and self-regulation of online learning can be a double-edged sword and can result in a lack of motivation, which is shown in greater dropout rates compared to the traditional system (Allen & Seaman, 2017). After the COVID-19 outbreak, internet technology has revolutionized the status of education in all aspects and at all levels. However, not every nation has the necessary infrastructure to promote online-based education. This shift is challenging for some institutions, especially in developing countries with minimal infrastructure (Roy et al., 2023). During this pandemic, many students received online instruction for the first time (Rajabalee & Santally, 2020; Roy & Abdin, 2023). However, students experienced emotional and physical suffering due to a lack of preparation, unsuitable technology, and management-related problems (Selvaraj et al., 2021).

Students’ online learning behavior patterns have changed in response to the post-pandemic metamorphosis. The pandemic has continued to severely affect their mental health issues, such as worry, stress, and lack of motivation (Armstrong-Mensah et al., 2020). Students were isolated, and due to a lack of interaction, they tended to lose motivation, which harmed them socially, emotionally, and cognitively (Meeter et al., 2020). The increased tension and worry caused by the pandemic might easily demotivate and disengage students towards learning, as previous research has demonstrated that negative emotions can hinder learning (Pekrun et al. 2017). During the pandemic, students experienced multiple hurdles in the online learning environment, such as a lack of technological proficiency, expensive internet fees, and restricted socialization, which caused them to lose their desire for online learning (Abou-Khalil, 2021; Suryaman et al., 2020). Lack of social connection, infrastructural difficulties, and inadequate learning environments negatively impact students’ motivation (Meşe & Sevilen, 2021). Applying numerous motivational theories to traditional face-to-face contexts has proven productive, but the online world has yet to be explored (Lazowski & Hulleman, 2016). Especially countries with low resource settings face difficulties in online education which need to be investigated.