Perceptions of UAE Science Teachers on Effectiveness of Online Science Learning in COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The UAE concentrates on maintaining a modern and smart educational development via the well-tailored teachers’ professional development and students’ support with needed skills to utilize technology. The UAE equips all local schools with all needed devices to implement technology and develop new strategies and approaches for the implementation of online learning as implied by the MoE projects and future strategies for education. The current study was carried out to investigate the science teachers’ and cycle 2 and cycle 3 students’ perceptions regarding the preparedness and implementation of the online science instructions during the COVID-19 pandemic in Dubai private education sector. From a population size of 500, 218 were taken as sample size for teachers and students. The study investigated the science teachers and students’ perceptions with regards to possible challenges faced during the science online instruction. This is a unique study which hypothesis stressed on the science online instructions for students and teachers in the school context. This research is a quantitative descriptive study using questionnaire methods conducted online for teachers and students. Two questionnaires were administered into the schools for cycle 2 and cycle 3 students and for teachers Correlations and Regression tests were applied to meet the study’ objectives. The relationship between the various variables were measured through the associative tests, correlation ship in the exploratory factor analysis, selection of the variables through regression, ANOVA and Chi Square Tests. The results found that gender, nationality, and schools do play an important role in the online teaching and learning. The study recommends that more schools must be added and tested for the study purposes. New types of participants to be involved and since the present study is focused exclusively on the quantitative lines, it is also recommended that qualitative research mist also be done to get the rigorous results.