Saudi Female Student Experiences with Emergency Remote Teaching During the Covid-19 Pandemic

A Narrative Approach

Abstract

The world has been reeling from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on many levels. Beginning in March 2020, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia closed its academic doors. Overnight educators and students transitioned to online Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT). This paper will investigate how female students from a private university in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia experienced online instruction. Two-hundred and sixty-two students were contacted online to reflect on their experiences with ERT. Using thematic analysis, three categories of student responses emerged from student survey reflections: 1. lack of motivation and focus, 2. comprehension and issues with autonomous learning, and 3. university as a social experience. We concluded that students were experiencing the pandemic and online education as a very stressful and unsettling period. Online classes were perceived as mostly negative learning experiences. Furthermore, students reported psychological, emotional, and social problems caused by lockdowns, social distancing restrictions, and the prolonged period of ERT.