Listening to the Voices of Undergraduate Students: Exploring Astin’s Theory of Student Involvement During the Covid-19 Pandemic

• Main Authors: Tan, Bee Wah, Tugiman, Nursafwah, Naim Nor Ahmad, Saidatul Nurul Hidayah Jannatun, Foo, Yen Sin
• Format: Conference or Workshop Item
• Language: English
• Published: 2022
• Subjects: L Education (General)
• Online Access: https://repo.uum.edu.my/id/eprint/29945/1/UUM%20IQRC%202022_150_160.pdf; https://repo.uum.edu.my/id/eprint/29945/
• Institution: Universiti Utara Malaysia

As future scholars and holistic education practitioners, it is important to understand how developmental theories are constructed and how they can serve as a foundation for further understanding. The primary objective of this study is to discover how the COVID-19 epidemic has affected students' involvement both inside and outside of the classroom. Astin’s Theory of Student Involvement was used to describe student involvement issues during the COVID-19 pandemic. The data for this study was gathered through a qualitative interview. Eight highly active undergraduate students were interviewed to know about their current life, whether in their involvement inside and outside of the classroom activities. Additionally, the impact of their student engagement, particularly during the COVID-19 outbreak, on their life development as individuals and university students is being investigated. The most immediate concerns among students were a loss of social connection, living conditions unsuitable for home office activities, such as inadequate data bandwidth, and a general lack of enthusiasm and concentration. As a result, the university must ensure that students have a reliable system in place for communicating with lecturers, club advisors, administrators, classmates, and peers. Maintaining a positive student-lecturer relationship, on the other hand, would surely increase academic performance and allow students to study more successfully.