Coping Strategies IIUM Malay Undergraduate Students Adopted to Proceed with Online Learning during COVID-19
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31436/ijrcs.v5i2.255Keywords:
Environmental Control, Talking to Someone, Writing a Diary, Taking a Short Break, IIUM Undergraduates, COVID-19Abstract
This study explores the coping strategies adopted by Malay undergraduate students at the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) to proceed with online learning during COVID-19. The study employed a qualitative research approach and implemented face-to-face semi-structured interviews for data collection. Open-ended questions were utilized to enable participants to discuss their experiences freely. Using the purposive sampling technique, ten (10) IIUM undergraduates were selected, 6 females and 4 males, and all the participants were Malay students coming from Malaysia. The results of the study show that Malay undergraduate students could overcome difficulties while studying online by controlling the learning environment, communicating with someone and asking for help, writing a diary, and taking short breaks. This study is significant for showing the coping experiences of IIUM Malay students. It highlights how adopting certain mechanisms allowed them to proceed with online learning for more than two years throughout the challenging time of COVID-19, which negatively impacted a large number of students around the world. Practically, the coping strategies are applicable to students and academic organizations and can support them during challenging times that may threaten students’ academic performance.
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