Experiences and perceptions of exchange students learning online during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Korea: An exploratory descriptive study

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Marglet

COVID-19 compelled schools worldwide to shift abruptly to remote learning, forcing students—especially those not initially choosing distance education—to adapt their coursework completion. This exploratory descriptive study examines exchange students in the Republic of Korea, where emergency remote or online transitions quickly disrupted academic exchanges. Survey responses from 140 exchange students show generally ambivalent perceptions across teaching-learning processes, course structure, and student support. Qualitative findings highlight desired but missing elements including faculty communication, peer interaction, and constructive feedback.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages22

Reading Time55 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Highlights

What is already known about this topic

What this paper contributes

Implications for theory, practice and/or policy

Introduction

Experiences and perceptions of exchange students learning online during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Korea: An exploratory descriptive study William H. Stewart, Patrick R. Lowenthal Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic forced schools worldwide to suddenly transition to remote learning. The change forced students, who might not choose to take distance education courses, to adjust to anew way of completing their coursework. Further, this impacted certain student groups like exchange students more adversely since distance courses complicated academic exchanges by rendering shortterm exchange students isolated on an empty campus in a foreign country, all while recently arriving to both. There are many intrinsic hardships to academic exchanges but there is a lack of research on exchange students' experiences learning online when immediately transitioning from face-to-face courses to emergency remote or online courses under such circumstances. This exploratory descriptive study investigated exchange students’ experiences learning online during the COVID19 pandemic in the Republic of Korea. 140 exchange students responded to a survey about their experiences and perceptions of their online courses. The quantitative results in this study show a relatively ambivalent experience in terms of quality Teaching and Learning Processes , Course Structure , and Student Support, although students had both good and bad experiences. Qualitative data provided insight into the desired but missing aspects of exchange students' ERT experiences: communication from faculty, interaction with other students, and feedback on their work. Keywords: Korea, exchange students, distance education, emergency remote teaching, COVID-19 Highlights What is already known about this topic: • Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) is not new, but it is a relatively uncommon subset of distance education that has become synonymous with distance education due to the COVID- 19 pandemic. • ERT is being practiced by millions of educators worldwide who do not have any background in distance education, and likely lacking much needed technological expertise to facilitate ERT effectively. What this paper contributes: • This paper investigated the experiences of international exchange students taking ERT courses in the Republic of Korea. • This paper documents how ERT courses manifested early in the pandemic, as well as how a particular subgroup of students (i.e. , exchange students) viewed their online courses, especially since these students expected a traditional residential educational experience. Implications for theory, practice and/or policy: • In crisis situations that necessitate the use of ERT, a standardized approach to course formatting and delivery would potentially improve the student experience and thus perceptions of ERT courses. • Basic courses about facilitating online/ERT courses should be integrated into pre-and in-service teacher training programs to prepare schools and educators for teaching under crisis circumstances. Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic forced education institutions worldwide to transition courses to a remote or online learning format (Hodges et al. , 2020) . In the case of the Republic of Korea (hereafter Korea), the outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 virus saw roughly 10,000 cases between February and March 2020 alone (Ministry of Health and Welfare, n.d. ) . The timing was particularly problematic since it coincided with (a) the end of the winter school holiday (mid-December to late February); (b) the Lunar New Year (late January); and (c) the start of the 2020 academic year (early March) . The overlapping of these calendar events resulted in increased regional travel between China and Korea. Since Chinese nationals comprise both the largest immigrant (Shin & Moon, 2019) and international student (Park, 2019) groups in Korea, the government was greatly concerned with the post-holiday return to campuses. As a result, w

FAQs

Why did the study focus on exchange students’ online learning experiences during COVID-19?

The paper addresses a research gap: limited understanding of how exchange students experience learning online when face-to-face courses are abruptly replaced by emergency remote or online courses.

How was data collected and what did quantitative results show?

A total of 140 exchange students responded to a survey. Quantitative results indicated relatively ambivalent perceptions of teaching-learning processes, course structure, and student support, with both positive and negative experiences.

Which missing aspects did qualitative data identify?

Qualitative data revealed desired but absent features in exchange students’ ERT experiences, particularly faculty communication, interaction with other students, and feedback on their work.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Marglet