Many countries have agreed (rightly) to shut down schools, colleges, and universities.

Most families around

the world experience the extreme short-term disruption: home-schooling is not only a massive shock to the
income of the parents but also the social life and learning of the children. Teaching moves online, on an
untested and unparalleled scale. Student evaluations also move online, with a lot of trial and error and
uncertainty for all.As a result, many international students used different learning methods, including online
learning based on various platforms. Schools can actively promote good personal hygiene, a health-
conscious schedule, encourage physical activity, a healthy diet, good sleeping habits, and incorporate these
health promotion resources into the curriculum (Brazendale et al., 2017). Life and learning at the university
campus have a crucial role in students' mental development, and psychological impact on university students
has been hypothesized in the home containment-related issues. The global shutdown of educational
institutions has led to substantial disruptions in student learning, delays in internal assessment, and the
cancelling or replacement of public performance assessments for an inferior alternative (Burgess &
Sievertsel, 2020). Burgess & Sievertsel (2020) further notes that home-schooling is not only a massive blow
to the prosperity of the parents but also the social life and learning of the children. Teaching and learning
have generally been moved to online untested during this period and caused many problems for learners.
Student reviews are also moving online, with teachers and students getting many trials and errors and
confusion.

Distance education has become an indispensable component in today’s higher education. With the
development of technology, distance learning enables students to learn at their own pace, to have broader
access to information, and to engage in learning with students from different cultures (Appana, 2008;
Harasim, 2000; Kim, Liu, & Bonk, 2005). Interactions that occur in distance learning settings differ from
face-to-face discussions. Most of the distance learning interactions, including learner-to-instructor, learner-
to-learner, and learner-to-content, are asynchronous, which may reduce the extent of communication, delay
replies, and require additional time and effort in preparing responses (Anderson, 2004; Curtis & Lawson,
2001). It was found that this feature could bring both advantages and disadvantages for students’ learning.

Gunawardena, Wilson, and Nolla (2003) claimed that the distance education is beneficial for students’
learning because it frees students from the bonds of physical appearances. Particularly for students whose
first language is not English, the online environment provides them with more privacy and extra time to
respond to class discussion (Yi & Majima, 1993). Beamer and Varner (2008) indicated that international
students felt more comfortable to express their own opinions in the online setting when compared to face-to-
face classrooms. Yildez and Bichelmeyer (2003) studied non-English speakers in face-to-face and virtual
classrooms, including Confucian-heritage culture students from Taiwan. They reported that international
students actually participated more in the online discussion because the online environment focused less on
simultaneous responses, which require higher competencies in listening, speaking, and making comments on
the spot. In fact, online classrooms provided students with more time to read and prepare their posts. Gerbic
(2006) claimed that Chinese students preferred online discussion rather than face-to-face classes because
they had better control of the pace of discussion and were more confident in expressing their opinions.
However, the global shutdown of educational institutions also led to substantial disruptions in student
learning, delays in internal assessment, and the cancelling or replacement of public performance assessments
for an inferior alternative (Burgess & Sievertsel, 2020). .As a result, many international students used
different learning methods

Recently, there has been an explosion of studies relating to the new normal in education. While many
focused on national policies, professional development, and curriculum, others zeroed in on the specific
learning experience of students during the pandemic. Among these are Copeland et  al. ( 2021) and Fawaz
etal. (2021) who examined the impact of COVID-19 on students’ mental health and their
coping mechanisms. Copeland etal. ( 2021) reported that the pandemic adversely affected students’
behavioral and emotional functioning, particularly attention and externalizing problems (i.e., mood and
wellness behavior), which were caused by isolation, economic/health e ffects, and uncertainties. In Fawaz
etal.’s (2021) study, students raised their concerns on learning and evaluation methods, overwhelming
task load, technical difficulties, and confinement. To cope with these problems, students actively dealt with
the situation by seeking help from their teachers and relatives and engaging in recreational activities. These
active-oriented coping mechanisms of students were aligned with Carter et al.’s ( 2020), who explored
students’ self-regulation strategies.

Suryaman et al. (2020) looked into how learning occurred at home during the pandemic. Their find-
ings showed that students faced many obstacles in a home learning environment, such as lack of mastery of
technology, high Internet cost, and limited interaction/socialization between and among students. In a related
study, Kapasia etal. (2020) investigated how lockdown impacts students’ learning performance. Their
findings revealed that the lockdown made significant disruptions in students’ learning experience. The
students also reported some challenges that they faced during their online classes. These include
anxiety,depression, poor Internet service, and unfavorable home learning environment, which were
aggravated when students are marginalized and from remote areas. Contrary to Kapasia et al.’s ( 2020)
findings, Gonzales etal. (2020) found that confinement of students during the pandemic had significant
positive effects on their performance. They attributed these results to students’ continuous use of learning
strategies which, in turn, improved their learning efficiency.

SYNTHESIS

The current study explores the challenges that students experienced in an online
learning environment and how the pandemic impacted their online learning experi-
ence. The findings revealed that the online learning challenges of students varied in
terms of type and extent. Their greatest challenge was linked to their learning envi-
ronment at home, while their least challenge was technological literacy and com-
petency. Based on the students’ responses, their challenges were also found to be
aggravated by the pandemic, especially in terms of quality of learning experience,
mental health, finances, interaction, and mobility. With reference to previous studies
(i.e., Adarkwah, 2021; Copeland etal., 2021; Day etal., 2021; Fawaz etal., 2021;
Kapasia etal., 2020; Khalil etal., 2020; Singh etal., 2020), the current study has
complemented their findings on the pedagogical, logistical, socioeconomic, techno-
logical, and psychosocial online learning challenges that students experience within
the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Further, this study extended previous stud-
ies and our understanding of students’ online learning experience by identifying
both the presence and extent of online learning challenges and by shedding light on
the specific strategies they employed to overcome them.
Overall findings indicate that the extent of challenges and strategies varied from
one student to another. Hence, they should be viewed as a consequence of interac-
tion several many factors. Students’ responses suggest that their online learning chal-
lenges and strategies were mediated by the resources available to them, their interac-
tion with their teachers and peers, and the school’s existing policies and guidelines
for online learning. In the context of the pandemic, the imposed lockdowns and stu-
dents’ socioeconomic condition aggravated the challenges that students experience.
While most studies revealed that technology use and competency were the most
common challenges that students face during the online classes (see Rasheed et al.,
2020), the case is a bit different in developing countries in times of pandemic. As
the findings have shown, the learning environment is the greatest challenge that
students needed to hurdle, particularly distractions at home (e.g., noise) and limita-
tions in learning space and facilities. This data suggests that online learning chal-
lenges during the pandemic somehow vary from the typical challenges that students
experience in a pre-pandemic online learning environment. One possible explana-
tion for this result is that restriction in mobility may have aggravated this challenge
since they could not go to the school or other learning spaces beyond the vicinity of
their respective houses. As shown in the data, the imposition of lockdown restricted
students’ learning experience (e.g., internship and laboratory experiments), lim-
ited their interaction with peers and teachers, caused depression, stress, and anx-
iety among students, and depleted the financial resources of those who belong to
lower-income group. All of these adversely impacted students’ learning experience.
This finding complemented earlier reports on the adverse impact of lockdown on
students’ learning experience and the challenges posed by the home learning envi-
ronment (e.g., Day etal., 2021; Kapasia et al., 2020). Nonetheless, further studies
are required to validate the impact of restrictions on mobility on students’ online
learning experience. The second reason that may explain the findings relates to stu-
dents’ socioeconomic profile. Consistent with the findings of Adarkwah (2021) and
Day etal. (2021), the current study reveals that the pandemic somehow exposed the
many inequities in the educational systems within and across countries. In the case
of a developing country, families from lower socioeconomic strata (as in the case
of the students in this study) have limited learning space at home, access to quality
Internet service, and online learning resources. This is the reason the learning envi-
ronment and learning resources recorded the highest level of challenges. The socio-
economic profile of the students (i.e., low and middle-income group) is the same
reason financial problems frequently surfaced from their responses. These students
frequently linked the lack of financial resources to their access to the Internet, edu-
cational materials, and equipment necessary for online learning. Therefore, caution
should be made when interpreting and extending the findings of this study to other
contexts, particularly those from higher socioeconomic strata.
Among all the different online learning challenges, the students experienced the
least challenge on technological literacy and competency. This is not surprising
considering a plethora of research confirming Gen Z students’ (born since 1996)
high technological and digital literacy (Barrot, 2018; Ng, 2012; Roblek etal., 2019)

Regarding the impact of COVID-19 on students’ online learning experience, the

findings reveal that teaching and learning quality and students’ mental health were
the most affected. The anxiety that students experienced does not only come from
the threats of COVID-19 itself but also from social and physical restrictions, unfa-
miliarity with new learning platforms, technical issues, and concerns about finan-
cial resources. These findings are consistent with that of Copeland etal. ( 2021) and
Fawaz etal. (2021), who reported the adverse effects of the pandemic on students’
mental and emotional well-being. This data highlights the need to provide serious
attention to the mediating effects of mental health, restrictions in mobility, and pre-
paredness in delivering online learning.
Nonetheless, students employed a variety of strategies to overcome the challenges
they faced during online learning. For instance, to address the home learning envi-
ronment problems, students talked to their family (e.g., S12, S24), transferred to a
quieter place (e.g., S7, S 26), studied at late night where all family members are
sleeping already (e.g., S51), and consulted with their classmates and teachers (e.g.,
S3, S9, S156, S193). To overcome the challenges in learning resources, students
used the Internet (e.g., S20, S27, S54, S91), joined Facebook groups that share free
resources (e.g., S5), asked help from family members (e.g., S16), used resources
available at home (e.g., S32), and consulted with the teachers (e.g., S124). The vary-
ing strategies of students confirmed earlier reports on the active orientation that stu-
dents take when faced with academic- and non-academic-related issues in an online
learning space (see Fawaz etal., 2021). The specific strategies that each student
adopted may have been shaped by different factors surrounding him/her, such as
available resources, student personality, family structure, relationship with peers and
teacher, and aptitude. To expand this study, researchers may further investigate this
area and explore how and why different factors shape their use of certain strategies.
Several implications can be drawn from the findings of this study.