A Phenomenological Approach of Virtual Education in the Education System: Opportunities, Challenges and Solutions
Subject Areas : Virtual LearningKamyar Azemi 1 , yaser garavand 2 , hasaan jafari 3
1 - Ph.D Student in Educational Psychology, Faculty of Educational Sciences and Psychology, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran.
2 - Ph.D Student in Educational Psychology, Faculty of Educational Sciences and Psychology, Shahid ‎Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran.‎
3 - Ph.D. in Educational Administration, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
Keywords: opportunities, challenges, education, virtual training,
Abstract :
Virtual education refers to an approach to teaching and learning that uses information and communication technologies to communicate and collaborate in an educational environment. The aim of this study was to identify the opportunities and challenges of virtual education. The research design was qualitative and of the phenomenological approach. The participants included 18 teachers, principals and technology experts working in education in Lorestan province who were selected by purposeful sampling method in the academic year 2020-2021. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using Colaizzi''''s method. The accuracy of the data was obtained through the methods of triangulation, peer review and respondent validation. The results showed that 10 main themes and 26 sub-themes were identified. Increasing effectiveness and quality of education, flexibility and expansion of education opportunities, improving interaction and communication, and economic savings were classified as the most important virtual education opportunities. In addition, the key themes of virtual education challenges included issues related to students, teachers, content delivery and quality of education, culture, infrastructure and technology, and social interaction. In general, this study provides a deep understanding of the opportunities and challenges of virtual education in the Iranian education system.
Ahel, O., & Lingenau, K. (2020). Opportunities and challenges of digitalization to improve access to education for sustainable development in higher education. In W. Leal Filho, A. L. Salvia, R. Pretorius, L. Brandli, E. Manolas, F. Alves,... & U. Azeiteiro (Eds.), Universities as living labs for sustainable development (pp. 341-356). World Sustainability Series. Springer: Cham.
Alipour, E. (2018). Providing a model for identifying the components of virtual education for students with physical-motor disabilities. Journal of Excellence in Counseling and Psychotherapy, 7(27), 81-96. (in Persian).
Avarand, S. (2022). A comparative study of the advantages and disadvantages of virtual and face-to-face education. Journal of New Strategies in Psychology and Educational Sciences, 5(13), 253-253. (in Persian).
Bagherimajd, R., & Sedghi Bukani, N. (2017). Designing an e-Learning readiness model in educational system of Islamic Azad University of Mahabad. Quarterly Journal of Information and Communication Technology in Educational Science, 7(4), 149-172. (in Persian).
Baskaran, S. (2020). E-learning: Opportunities and challenges in new dimension for higher education. International Journal of Innovations in Management, Engineering and Science, 6(1), 1-5.
Colaizzi, P. (1978). Psychological research as a phenomenologist views it. In R. S. Valle, & M. King, (Eds.). Existential phenomenological alternatives for psychology (pp. 48-71). Oxford University Press: New York.
Epps, S. (2018). Middle school virtual classroom development and instruction for students with disabilities. In B. B. Eisenbach, & P. Greathouse (Eds.), The online classroom: Resources for effective middle level virtual education (pp.242-243). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
Ezhilarasu, P. (2020). Move towards virtual learning in the context of COVID-19 pandemic: Opportunities and challenges. Indian Journal of Continuing Nursing Education, 21, 2-3.
Ghanbari, S., Rezghishirsavar, H., Ziyaeei., M. S., & Mosleh, Maryam. (2019). Presentation an e-learning assessment model in Islamic Azad Univesity e-campus. Journal of Educational Administration Research Quartery, 11(41), 75-100. (in Persian).
Ghorbankhani, M., & Salehi, K. (2016). Representation challenges of virtual training in Iran''''s higher education system: A study of phenomenological approach. Quarterly Journal of Information and Communication Technology in Educational Sciences, 7(2), 123-148. (in Persian).
Gokah, T. K., Gupta, N., & Ndiweni, E. (2015). E-learning in higher education-opportunities & challenges for Dubai. International Journal on E-Learning, 14(4), 443-470.
Goldrup, S. M. (2020). The perfect storm: K-12 virtual education for students with disabilities and high stakes graduation requirements (Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Education). University of Nevada, Reno.
Golkhoo, M. (2014). The survey obstacles of quantity and quality development smart schools in the high schools city of Dezful of viewpoint managers and teachers (Unpublished Master thesis). Shahid Chamran University of Ahvas, Iran. (in Persian).
Hojati, T., Ahmadpour, R., & Armand, M. (2022). Investigating the challenges and problems of virtual education from the perspective of primary school teachers and principals. Technology and Scholarship in Education, 1(1), 11-22. (in Persian).
Howard, T. O., Winkelmes, M. A., & Shegog, M. (2019). Transparency teaching in the virtual classroom: Assessing the opportunities and challenges of integrating transparency teaching methods with online learning. Journal of Political Science Education, 16(3), 1-14.
Hussain, I., Hussain, I., & Ramzan, M. (2019). Future prospects of virtual education in Pakistan: Opportunities and challenges. Journal of Research in Social Sciences, 7(1), 1-16.
Jamy Roudy, A. Gh., Jamy Roudy, T., Jamy Roudy, T., & Jamy Roudy, S. (2021). Virtual education in corona and post-corona period: Human relations and challenges. Philasophy and Children, 6(1), 33-42. (in Persian).
Johnson, R. B., & Christensen, L. (2019). Educational research: Quantitative, qualitative, and mixed approaches (7th ed.). US: SAGE Publications Inc.
Maatuk, A. M., Elberkawi, E. K., Aljawarneh, S., Rashaideh, H., & Alharbi, H. (2022). The COVID-19 pandemic and e-learning: Challenges and opportunities from the perspective of students and instructors. Journal of Computing in Higher Education, 34(1), 21-38.
Malek Mohammadi, Z. (2021). Increasing the self-efficacy and educational productivity of teachers in virtual training. Ninth National Conference on Sustainable Development in Educational Sciences and Psychology, Social and Cultural Studies, Tehran. (in Persian).
Mulhanga, M. M., & Lima, S. R. (2017). Podcast as e-learning enabler for developing countries. Proceedings of the 2017 9th International Conference on Education Technology and Computers-ICETC 2017, 1-5.
Nouri, M. (2014). Investigating the obstacles of school smartening plan from the perspective of high school principals in Tehran Region 2 (Unpublished Master thesis). Islamic Azad University, Central Tehran Branch. (in Persian).
Otto, V. (2020). Designing and creating e-learning platform for a global distributor: Case Wipak (Unpublished Bachelor’s thesis). Tillaeus Nina, Business Solution Manager Health, Wipak.
Parapi, J. M. O., Maesaroh, L. I., Basuki, B., & Masykuri, E. S. (2020). Virtual education: A brief overview of its role in the current educational system. Scripta: English Department Journal, 7(1), 8-11.
Sabouri, S., & Alimardanzadeh, M. (2020). Exploring the possible effect of virtual education and face-to-face education methods on the score of Kerman pharmacy students. Iranian Journal of Medical Education, 20(5), 35-42. (in Persian).
Sandars, J. (2021). Cost-effective e-learning in medical education. In Cost effectiveness in medical education (pp. 40-47). CRC Press.
Sedghi Bukani, N., Mohajeran, B., & Bagherimajd, R. (2016). Challenges of e-Learning in the educational system of Islamic Azad University. Scientific Journal of Education Research, 10(42), 35-50. (in Persian).
Shahbeigi, F., & Nazari, S. (2012). Virtual education: Benefits and limitations. Journal of Medical Education and Development, 6(1), 47-54. (in Persian).
Sharifi, M., & Faghihi, A. (2013). The evaluation of e-learning design in female high school students of Arak sistrict 2 from point of view of teachers, administrators and students and possible optimizing strategies. Interdisciplinary Journal of Virtual Learning in Medical Sciences, 4(2), 25-32. (in Persian).
Taso, K., & Chakrabarty, A. (2020). E-learning in higher education in India: Experiences and challenges-An exploratory study. In S. L. Peng, L. Son, L., G. Suseendran, & D. Balaganesh (Eds.), Intelligent computing and innovation on data science (pp. 722-723). Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems. Springer: Singapore.
Valtonen, T., Leppanen, U., Hyypia, M., Kokko, A., Manninen, J., Vartiainen, H., ... & Hirsto, L. (2021). Learning environments preferred by university students: A shift toward informal and flexible learning environments. Learning Environments Research, 24(3), 371-388.
Wani, S. A. (2020). Exploring the emerging gateway to virtual-learning in India: Consortium for educational communication (CEC). Studies in Indian Place Names, 40(49), 384-93.
Zandi, B., Masoumifard, M., & Masoumifard M. (2012). Educational programming for content creation systems in e-learning. Iranian Quarterly of Education Strategies, 5(1), 61-70. (in Persian).
Zare Khalili, M., & Fereydooni, F. (2020). Pathology of e-learning from the perspective of primary school teachers; Qualitative case study. Quarterly Journal of New Advances in Educational Management, 1(2), 43-53. (in Persian).
Zaynaabaadi, H. R., & Kachoo’ee, M. (2021). Dimensions and indices of leading transfer of learning: A phenomenological study. Quarterly Journal of Education, 36(4), 7-26. (in Persian).
_||_