HOW INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS IN CHINESE MEDICAL SCHOOLS PERCEIVE DISTANT LEARNING DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.20535/2410-8286.229325

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this study is to assess the perception of international medical students of e-learning in China, since medical teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic had to adapt to challenges, and students had to cope with the new teaching modality, more so international students. Therefore, the opinion of students with their first contact to a fully virtual education will be helpful to modify e-teaching to better suit the students’ needs. Method: Four hundred seven medical students, in China, were recruited via social media and were asked to complete structured questionnaires, regarding technical and content aspects of their e-courses.  Findings: Most issues reported were of technical nature, especially for students attending the school distantly and network instability/unavailability was frequently (52.48%). Moreover, the audio was less helpful than texts/images and the senior students were less satisfied with the technical (0.005) and content (p=0.001) aspects. They also were more critical of their teachers’ performance (p=0.042). Clinical cases and scenarios also received the lowest score. Implications for research and practice: Overall students did not feel confident with the e-learning, comfortable implementing it to patients and were reluctant to embrace it. Both  technical difficulties and understanding issues impeded international students from embracing e-learning medical teaching, in China and efforts need to be made to acclimatise them to this new reality.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Mohammed AlGerafi, Shaanxi Normal University

Mohammed A. M. ALGerafi is a Ph.D. candidate at the College of Education, Shaanxi Normal University (SNNU), Xi’an China. has publications in academic journals. His research interests include educational technology, Artificial intelligence in education, Electronic education, virtual medical teaching, and currently on the impact of COVID-19 on education.

Wenlan Zhang, Shaanxi Normal University (SNNU)

Wenlan Zhang is Professor, Associate Dean in the School of Education and Director of the Institute for Digital Education at the Shaanxi Normal University (SNNU). Her major area is on Learning Psychology and Technology, ICT Uses in K‐12 Teaching and Learning and Blend Learning.

References

  1. Australian, G. (2020). China’s education arrangements during COVID-19 pandemic period. https://internationaleducation.gov.au/international-network/china/PolicyUpdates-China/Pages/China's-education-arrangements-during-COVID-19-pandemic-period.asp
  2. Börjesson, M. (2017). The global space of international students in 2010. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 43(8), 1256–1275. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2017.1300228
  3. Broudo, M., & Walsh, C. (2002). MEDICOL: Online learning in medicine and dentistry. Academic Medicine: Journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges, 77(9), 926–927. https://doi.org/10.1097/00001888-200209000-00028
    |
  4. Cardinale, M., Newton, R., & Nosaka, K. (2011). Strength and Conditioning. Wiley-Blackwell.
  5. Choules, A. P. (2007). The use of elearning in medical education: A review of the current situation. Postgraduate Medical Journal, 83(978), 212–216. https://doi.org/10.1136/pgmj.2006.054189
    |
  6. Hou, C., & Du, D. (2020). The changing patterns of international student mobility: A network perspective. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 0(0), 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2020.1797476
  7. Jiang, Z., Wu, H., Cheng, H., Wang, W., Xie, A., & Fitzgerald, S. R. (2021). Twelve tips for teaching medical students online under COVID-19. Medical Education Online, 26(1), 1854066. https://doi.org/10.1080/10872981.2020.1854066
    |
  8. Li, W., & Sun, H. (2019). Migration intentions of Asian and African medical students educated in China: A cross-sectional study. Human Resources for Health, 17(1), 88. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12960-019-0431-z
    |
  9. Liles, J., Vuk, J., & Tariq, S. (2018). Study Habits of Medical Students: An Analysis of which Study Habits Most Contribute to Success in the Preclinical Years. MedEdPublish, 7. https://doi.org/10.15694/mep.2018.0000061.1
  10. Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China. (2019). Statistical report on international students in China for 2018. http://en.moe.gov.cn/news/press_releases/201904/t20190418_378586.html
  11. Mok, K. H., Xiong, W., Ke, G., & Cheung, J. O. W. (2021). Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on international higher education and student mobility: Student perspectives from mainland China and Hong Kong. International Journal of Educational Research, 105, 101718. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2020.101718
    |
  12. OECD. (2020). Students—International student mobility. https://data.oecd.org/students/international-student-mobility.htm
  13. Qazi, A., Naseer, K., Qazi, J., AlSalman, H., Naseem, U., Yang, S., Hardaker, G., & Gumaei, A. (2020). Conventional to online education during COVID-19 pandemic: Do develop and underdeveloped nations cope alike. Children and Youth Services Review, 119, 105582. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105582
    |
  14. Restaino, M., Vitale, M. P., & Primerano, I. (2020). Analysing International Student Mobility Flows in Higher Education: A Comparative Study on European Countries. Social Indicators Research, 149(3), 947–965. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-020-02282-2
  15. Sandhu, P., & de Wolf, M. (2020). The impact of COVID-19 on the undergraduate medical curriculum. Medical Education Online, 25(1), 1764740. https://doi.org/10.1080/10872981.2020.1764740
    |
  16. Sheeja, N. K., Mathew K., S., & Cherukodan, S. (2018). Impact of scholarly output on university ranking. Global Knowledge, Memory and Communication, 67(3), 154–165. https://doi.org/10.1108/GKMC-11-2017-0087
  17. UNESCO UIS. (2020). Global Flow of Tertiary-Level Students. http://uis.unesco.org/en/uis-student-flow
  18. Wen, W., & Hu, D. (2019). The Emergence of a Regional Education Hub: Rationales of International Students’ Choice of China as the Study Destination. Journal of Studies in International Education, 23(3), 303–325. https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315318797154
    |
  19. Wilcha, R.-J. (2020). Effectiveness of Virtual Medical Teaching During the COVID-19 Crisis: Systematic Review. JMIR Medical Education, 6(2), e20963. https://doi.org/10.2196/20963
    |
  20. Yang, P. (2020). China in the global field of international student mobility: An analysis of economic, human and symbolic capitals. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 0(0), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057925.2020.1764334
    |

Downloads

Published

2021-07-31

How to Cite

AlGerafi, M., & Zhang, W. (2021). HOW INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS IN CHINESE MEDICAL SCHOOLS PERCEIVE DISTANT LEARNING DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC. Advanced Education, 8(18), 119–129. https://doi.org/10.20535/2410-8286.229325

Issue

2021: Issue 18

Section

ARTICLES

License

Copyright (c) 2021 Mohammed Al-Gerafi, Wenlan Zhang

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

    1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.

    1. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.

  1. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).