Blended learning after the COVID-19 pandemic - Undergraduate students’ perspectives on the application of blended learning in higher education

Oct 15, 2026

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Study investigates undergraduate students’ perspectives on blended learning adoption in higher education after the COVID-19 pandemic, within the context of UAE higher education institutions. A 20-item survey was administered to 1,400 undergraduates after validating questionnaire validity. Descriptive analysis reports a 3.53% arithmetic mean with 0.957 standard deviations and a high level of acceptance toward blended learning. Results show differences by gender, college affiliation, and years of study, with recommendations to continue studying blended learning.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages14

Reading Time35 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Research aim and context

Methodology

Survey instrument and participants

Results

Acceptance levels and group differences

Recommendations

Continuing blended learning study

OPEN ACCESS Research Article Blended learning after the COVID-19 pandemic: Contemporary Educational Technology, 2026, 18(2), ep641 ISSN: 1309-517X (Online) Undergraduate students’ perspectives on the application of blended learning in higher education Najeh Rajeh Alsalhi 1* 0000-0002-8807-4527 Mohd Elmagzoub Eltahir 2 0000-0003-2404-3497 Fakir Al Gharaibeh 3,4 0000-0003-2571-6884 Abdallah Qusef 5 0000-0003-4769-6992 1 Department of Education, College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 2 College of Humanities and Sciences, Ajman University, Ajman, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 3 Research Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 4 Department of Social work, College of Arts, University of Jordan, Amman, JORDAN 5 Princess Sumaya University for Technology, Amman, JORDAN * Corresponding author: [nalsalhi@sharjah.ac.ae](nalsalhi@sharjah.ac.ae) Citation: Alsalhi, N. R., Eltahir, M. E., Al Gharaibeh, F., & Qusef, A. (2026) . Blended learning after the COVID-19 pandemic: Undergraduate students’ perspectives on the application of blended learning in higher education. Contemporary Educational Technology, 18(2), Article ep641. [https://doi.org/10.30935/cedtech/18057](https://doi.org/10.30935/cedtech/18057) ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT | Received: 1 Nov 2024
Accepted: 11 Jan 2026
INTRODUCTION | United Arab Emirates (UAE) has adopted blended learning (BL) as part of its commitment to incorporating technology and learning approaches. At Ajman University in UAE, this study explores students’ perspectives on BL’s application after the COVID-19 pandemic. A 20-item survey was used, and a descriptive research study was conducted to collect data. We administered the questionnaire to 1,400 undergraduates after validating its validity. With a 3.53% arithmetic mean and 0.957 standard deviations, the study found that undergraduate students expressed a high level of acceptance for BL after COVID-19 spread. In addition, this study found that students’ perceptions differ according to gender (males are the most positive for BL), according to the students in the college (medical students are more positive), and finally, according to their years of study (sixth-year students are the most positive) . The study recommended that higher education should continue to study BL.
Keywords: blended learning, students’ perspectives, COVID-19 pandemic, higher education | | --- | --- | With the rapid advancement of technology over the last several decades, many aspects of our lives have changed, and an increased dependency on technology has been witnessed. However, the COVID-19 outbreak has also accelerated the efforts and plans of some sectors towards adopting digital technologies. Such an unprecedented shift was not an option for some sectors, as keeping the wheel turning was their main aim. One of those was the education sector, where finding ways to ensure the continuity of the learning process without interruption was the ultimate objective. Therefore, blended learning (BL), also known as hybrid learning, has emerged. Although it is not a novel concept, it was uncommon, and most of the decision-makers in educational institutions worldwide did not back such a way of teaching (Alsalhi et al., 2021) . Owston et al. (2013) pointed out that the term BL refers to the method of mixing and combining traditional learning activities by attending face-to-face lectures with online learning activities to attain enhanced and personalized student experience and outcomes in addition to improving the efficiency of the teaching practices (AlAmri et al., 2021) . Furthermore, BL emphasizes student-centered rather than teacher-centered approaches (AlAmriet al., 2021) . By recognizing the strengths of both face-to-face and online learning activities, a variety of benefits can be achieved. For instance, both Owston et al. (2013) and

FAQs

What does the study examine about blended learning after COVID-19?

The study examines undergraduate students’ perspectives on how blended learning is applied in higher education after the COVID-19 pandemic.

How was the data collected and who participated?

A 20-item survey was used and administered to 1,400 undergraduates after validating the questionnaire’s validity.

What did the study find about students’ acceptance of blended learning?

Students expressed a high level of acceptance toward blended learning after COVID-19, based on descriptive statistics reported in the abstract.

Do students’ perceptions differ across groups?

Yes. The abstract reports differences by gender, college, and years of study, including that male students, medical students, and sixth-year students were among the most positive groups.

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by jayni