Gender differences of international students' perceptions in online learning during COVID-19

Abstract

The outbreak of the epidemic has promoted a large-scale application of online learning in the field of higher education. More research and systematic scientific design of online education are needed to fully and deeply integrate online education with the existing higher education system. Understanding students' perception of online learning is essential to the scientific design of online education. Perceiving gender differences can provide a perspective for understanding the interactions and relationships between online education elements and different types of students. However, the current research results on gender differences in students' online education perception are not equivalent, and in the context of COVID-19, gender differences in online education are likely to form a new paradigm, which needs to be further explored. By applying POSTOL, OLRS, and gender role theory as the theoretical framework to analyze seven dimensions of students' perception of online education and five aspects of gender roles, this study aims to put insight into this problem. 189 students studying through online learning were recruited for data collection, and quantitative analyses were conducted, including descriptive statistics, ANOVA, and moderating analysis. The research findings are summarized as follows: a) During the epidemic, students were generally satisfied with online learning. However, students generally believe that online learning does not bring more benefits than traditional learning methods. b) The gender differences in students' cognition of online learning have formed a new paradigm in the epidemic environment. The differences are more concentrated in the cognition of online instructors, the content and form of online courses, and self-efficacy. c) In terms of communication between men and women, women are more sensitive, active, and more likely to receive support from teachers and peers. In terms of technology, men tend to have more positive views on the dimensions of technology trust and self-efficacy than women. d) The different gender roles of students will affect their cognition of online learning, thereby forming gender differences. In terms of theoretical contributions, this research fills a gap in the study of students' perceptions of gender differences in a wide range of online education applications under the influence of COVID-19. In terms of actual practices, this research provides a reference for the long-term development of online education and the comprehensive and in-depth integration of the existing higher education system.