Iranian University Teachers' Perceptions about Advantages and Disadvantages of Online Classes during the COVID۱۹ Pandemic: A Phenomenographic Study

With the abrupt emergence and dissemination of the COVID-۱۹ pandemic, all dimensions of life have been immensely affected. Concerning education, face-to-face classes have been replaced by online classes (OCs). This quick transformation may have brought out both advantages and disadvantages for different educational stakeholders, and accordingly, call for empirical studies to shed light on them. Hence, the present study aimed to demonstrate the advantages and disadvantages of OCs from the Iranian university teachers’ (n=۱۶) perceptions. To this goal, a phenomenographic approach was used to analyze the participants’ perceptions gained through a reflective written statement. Findings yielded five advantages, including flexibility, self-directiveness, cost-effectiveness, improvement of professional competence, and increased motivation, as well as four disadvantages, namely additional workload, technical and institution barriers, absence of face-to-face interactions, and student dishonesty. Finally, the study closed with proposing some implications and suggestions for getting better aims.

Keywords:

Online Classes , COVID-۱۹ Pandemic , Phenomenographic Approach , University Teachers