Development of a Framework to Assess Challenges to Virtual Education in an Emergency Remote Teaching Environment: A Developing Country Student Perspective—The Case of Peru

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic forced most countries’ higher-education systems to shift to distance learning, which has been called either “Corona Teaching” or, more formally, “Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT).” Students were suddenly faced with a new class format delivery and the many challenges of virtual education. The present study aims to identify and measure the challenges in three stages: (1) a qualitative method approach was used to gather the opinions of 50 students that were then analyzed and coded to identify their perceived major challenges; (2) a survey was completed by 165 students to prioritize the relative importance of the previously identified challenges using the AHP as the weighting approach; (3) an assessment framework was developed, using statistical techniques to measure the extent of the challenges for specific stakeholders based on survey responses. The main challenges students face are inadequate physical facilities at home, difficulties with the learning platforms, and financial concerns. These results are applicable beyond the present research context. For the first time, an ERT assessment framework of the challenges was developed using composite indicators derived from students’ opinions and perspectives. This ERT framework allows for the exploration of a community of students’ vulnerability to the challenges within the context of an emergency remote environment.