Phenemenography-based research studies in the late 70 s (Marton and Saljo, 1976; Pask,1976; Entwistle et al,1979; Biggs,1987) confirmed different approaches to study adopted by students. A deep approach to study is undertaken by those who are intrinsically motivated and use strategies such as reading the subject widely, making connections, and applying principles and theories to real-life situations. In contrast, a surface approach to study is undertaken by those students who are extrinsically motivated and who adopt learning strategies such as rote learning and memorization. Students taking a strategic approach/achieving approach focus on the achievement of good grades by applying a mix of deep or surface learning strategies. According to Entwistle and Peterson (2004), approaches to studying in students are largely influenced by the content taught in a specific teaching context. Furthermore, Entwistle (2007) states that approaches to study are not fixed personality traits, rather these are the reactions shown by students towards the specific teaching context.
The literature on student learning in higher education acknowledges that students’ approach to study plays a significant role in their learning, and involves a dynamic interaction between personal (Biggs,1985) and contextual (Ramsden,1979) factors. Although personal factors related to students are consistent in terms of learning (e.g., students with high IQ or intrinsic motivation adopt the deep approach in their study), contextual factors on the other hand cause variability in students’ learning. With respect to contextual factors, many studies have shown that students adopt various study approaches in different academic environments (Baeten et al., 2013; Gijbels and Dochy, 2006; Human and Meier, 2020; Iannone et al., 2020; Leveson, 2004; Tetik et al., 2009).
The context of the study
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the transition from the traditional face-to-face to the online teaching context may have influenced students to adopt different approaches to study depending on the specific context. In India, the pandemic forced educational institutions to completely close down their in-person operations, therefore teachers and students were compelled to undertake teaching and learning online, which is predominantly called emergency remote teaching (Hodges et al., 2020). While online learning was not new in India, it was less common in Indian universities before the pandemic. Following the complete lockdown, the central Ministry of Education appealed to teachers at all higher education institutions to teach from home using different technological tools and utilize and share digital resources for students to continue learning. In March 2021, the national regulatory University Grant Commission notified that students in higher education can acquire and transfer up to 40 percent of course credits obtained from the national online platform SWAYAM (study webs of active learning for young aspiring minds) to earn their college or university degree. This though coincided with the imposed online teaching-learning, and the crucial question to address was students’ approach to study during the pandemic.
During the pandemic, teachers in India used several tools such as Facebook Live, Google Classroom, YouTube, WhatsApp, Zoom, and Google Meet, to continue teaching and learning. During that time of combating many challenges, teachers learned new techniques for online teaching and assessment (Meena, 2020). However, how did students adapt to this new learning environment? How much were they motivated to study online and what were their ways of studying/approaches to studying? These questions are important for curriculum designers, educators, and policymakers especially when the “preparedness, designing and effectiveness of e-learning is still not clearly understood, particularly for a developing country like India” (Muthuprasad et al., 2021, p.1). Students also faced challenges due to access to technology and tools, in particular, female students lacked a “conducive learning environment at home and they were assigned to household chores during the lockdown period, consequently, their studies were adversely affected and left them into dejection and despair” (Mishra et al., 2020, p.6).
Different social and cultural factors such as upbringing, social status, and the role of individuals in society lead to differences in the way male and female students learn (Vermunt, 2005). India is predominantly a patriarchal country and inequalities such as gender roles and stereotypes among other inequalities are socially constructed (Siddiqui, 2021). Therefore, an assessment of study approaches is needed to determine differences between male and female students.
During this period, students from both distance-learning institutions and campus-based institutions shifted to online teaching-learning. This urgent need for transitioning into remote teaching along with a push from the government agencies to promote online learning necessitated further understanding of student approaches to studying, including learning motivation and strategies during the pandemic.
Research questions
In the context of higher education during the COVID-19 pandemic, the present study was conducted to answer the following research questions.
RQ 1. What study approaches were adopted by campus-based and distance-learning students during the COVID-19 pandemic?
RQ 2. Was there any significant difference in study approaches between male and female campus-based and distance-learning students?