Foreign Literature

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, over 1,000 universities in the United States closed their doors in
March 2020. Millions of students were forced to finish the semester via remote learning, resulting in
extraordinary disruptions to higher education in the United States (Goldstein, 2020). Although COVID-19
poses a low risk to the health and mortality of college-aged students (Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, 2020), the pandemic has likely resulted in stark uncertainty and distress in this population.

One particular area of concern for students in higher education is academic stress relating to their ability
to succeed in this new environment. While enrollment in online courses has increased over the past
several years, the majority of students remain unfamiliar with remote learning. A recent report indicates
that prior to COVID-19, only 35% of United States college students had taken one or more courses
online (D’Amato, 2020). This concerning given that one of the best predictors of academic success in an
online format is prior online course experience (Hachey et al., 2012). This lack of experience may be
compounded by challenging home conditions, including loss of access to academic resources (e.g.,
computers and internet connectivity) and distractions in the home learning environment. Indeed, the
initial research shows that at-home distractions (including disruptions from other family members and
additional responsibilities) are a significant challenge for college students learning from home during
COVID-19 (Son et al., 2020). Taken together, these factors are likely to lead to significant academic stress
and uncertainty.

Aside from dealing with stressors related to a potentially unfamiliar online learning environment,
students are also coping with the emotional impact of COVID-19. Much of the initial research on the
mental health consequences of COVID-19 comes from areas hardest hit at the beginning of the
pandemic including countries in Asia and Europe. This research shows that COVID-19 and its associated
disruptions have resulted in significant increases in stress, anxiety, depression, and suicidality in college
students (Husky et al., 2020; Li et al., 2020; Luo et al., 2020; Patsali et al., 2020). More recent
investigations in the United States indicate that college students show a similar pattern in mental health
and well-being to those from other regions of the world coping with COVID-19 (e.g., Luo et al., 2020; Son
et al., 2020). Unfortunately, studies from the United States addressing these phenomena thus far have
focused on students from single institutions and have under-explored gender and ethnic differences in
COVID-19 related mental health issues. These are crucial to investigate, particularly because men and
ethnic minorities are more likely to experience negative health outcomes after exposure to COVID-19
(Griffith, 2020), while women and ethnic minorities are more likely to suffer negative occupational and
mental health consequences due to the pandemic (Adams-Prassl et al., 2020; Alonzi et al., 2020; NAACP,
2020). These differences are crucial to investigate, particularly, because the initial research suggests that
women and ethnic minorities are more likely to suffer adverse changes in their emotional well-being due
to the pandemic (Adams-Prassl et al., 2020; Alonzi et al., 2020; Rothman et al., 2020; Smith et al., 2020;
Thibaut and van Wijngaarden-Cremers, 2020). For example, using a large, the geographically
representative sample of United States adults, Adams-Prassl et al. (2020) documented a significant
decrease in mental health as a result of initial COVID-19 stay-at-home orders. Of note, this decrease was
entirely driven by worsening mental health in females. Similarly, research on ethnic minority
populations suggests that the pandemic is likely to exacerbate pre-existing mental health disparities due
to significant rates of COVID-19 infection in these communities as well as quarantine-related
impediments to mental health care (Rothman et al., 2020; Smith et al., 2020). Thus, many students
(women and minority populations in particular) are likely facing challenges to their well-being during the
pandemic.

Emotional well-being during the times of turmoil depends on factors at both the individual and societal
level. Thus far, research on emotional well-being during COVID-19 has focused on societal-level factors
including response to situational stressors (e.g., infection fears, constraints on physical movement,
limited social contact, and sudden lifestyle changes). What remains under-explored is how the effects of
these stressors may vary based on individual differences such as personality traits. Neuroticism, for
example, has profound implications for mental and physical health (e.g., Lahey, 2009; Widiger and
Oltmanns, 2017). Research shows that individuals who are high in neuroticism are at increased risk for
negative physical health outcomes and the various forms of psychopathology including anxiety and
mood disorders (see Tackett and Lahey, 2017 for a review). For example, a recent investigation in
Germany found that individuals with higher neuroticism attended to and worried about the ongoing
COVID-19 pandemic more than those lower on neuroticism (Kroencke et al., 2020). Additionally, locus of
control (LoC) has been shown to predict the ability to cope with stressful life experiences (Zeidner, 1993;
Lefcourt, 2013). During the SARS pandemic of 2003, having a more external LoC was associated with the
development of PTSD following a SARS infection (Mak et al., 2010). Thus, it is likely that these individual
differences also influence students’ well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic.

LOCAL LITERATURE

The coronavirus disease (COVID) 2019 crisis has impacted not only the economic, psychological, and
social aspects of the world but also particularly, the educational sector to a great extent. The virus,
which first emerged in December 2019, became a pandemic leading to school closures and eventually,
migration to remote learning by all levels of educational institutions in the new normal education. Thus,
the traditional delivery of instruction in education has transformed and in turn, learning spaces were
reorganized. To respond to the challenge of innovating educational delivery mechanisms in higher
education, colleges and universities across the globe ventured into different practices such as distance
education, online teaching, remote learning, blended learning, and mobile learning. These practices can
be collectively called emergency remote education (ERE). It is the temporary change in the delivery of
instruction caused by the sudden occurrence of a crisis. ERE does not mean going away from the
traditional arrangement of the instructional process nor creating a completely new educational system.
It provides a temporary feasible alternative for education practitioners to perform instruction and
provide students with necessary instructional support (Hodges et al., 2020). ERE is also a branch of
distance education, however, treated as an ‘option’ not ‘obligation’ in this time of crisis (Bozkurt et al.,
2020). Furthermore, ERE enables the making the most of available resources including a wide range of
technologies that offer capabilities for remote learning. It is also emphasized that, in this case, ERE is the
best term to describe education during this interruption and is not the same as those distance education
practices long before (Bozkurt et al., 2020). Considering current COVID-19 crisis, World Bank (2020)
emphasized that education systems must make use of ERE and prepare if needed, different learning
delivery modalities to ensure that students are engaged and can continue their learning. On the Asian
Journal of Distance Education Rotas, E. E., & Cahapay, M. B.. 148 other hand, the sudden shift of
educational delivery also presents the other side of the coin for most students who are already
disadvantaged long before the pandemic. On a global scale, UNICEF (2020) reported that more than 1.5
billion learners of all ages are affected because of the school and university closures. Shutdowns have
put youth in a disproportionate state. With utmost consideration to provide education as a fundamental
human right, educational systems around the globe were once again challenged to produce different
measures to immediately sustain education efforts (UNESCO, 2020), but this does not consider giving
solutions to the problems of every particular student. Generally, the education system seems
unprepared and may transpire unpredicted consequences during and beyond the crisis (Bozkurt &
Sharma, 2020). Meanwhile, after the “no vaccine, no face to face classes” declaration by President
Rodrigo Duterte in the Philippines, the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) issued directives to
universities to start preparing for distance learning. Thus, universities across the country are forced to
close indefinitely. Classes in various universities already opened just these past few months and remote
learning are faced with multiple challenges (Mateo, 2020) which later became difficult to handle by
Filipino university students. Complicating this picture even is the fact that, not every student can provide
and adapt to the rapid advances of technology in today’s digital age (Alvarez, 2020) especially for
developing countries like the Philippines in which education is plagued by problems even before the
pandemic. In this Philippine context, remote learning reveals a digital divide among Filipino students
(Santos, 2020). This current situation in remote learning may most possibly exacerbate existing
inequalities and may translate to barriers in online learning. For example, a cross-sectional study
conducted nationwide reported that thirty-two percent (32 %) and twenty-two percent (22%) out of 3,
670 Filipino medical students surveyed have difficulties adjusting to new learning styles and do not have
reliable internet access, respectively (Baticulon et al., 2020). For some, it may present difficulty to
purchase a facilitative learning device to easily tune in to online classes and immediately turn in
assignments in the online system (Santos, 2020). Despite the efforts to make education accessible for all,
many difficulties are still confronting Filipino university students in the practice of distance education.
Several studies have been conducted to report the stress (e.g. AlAteeq, Alijhani & AlEesa, 2020; and
Baloran, 2020) and challenges encountered by students in virtual learning spaces in their respective
countries (e.g. Adnan & Anwar, 2020 in Pakistan; Arinto, 2016 in the Philippines; Henaku, 2020 in Ghana;
Matswetu, et al., 2020 in Zimbabwe; Subedi et al., 2020 in Nepal; and Dhawan, 2020 in India). A most
recent comprehensive study including 31 countries (Bozkurt et al., 2020) was also conducted to look at
how the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted the education arena across the globe. This multicountry study
significantly reported reflections, lessons learned, and suggestions on how to navigate education in this
time of uncertainty. With the goal in mind to help authorities come up with better responses to
education, this study endeavors to provide a piece of evidence in the context of a developing country as
regards the difficulties experienced by Filipino university students. If this inquiry will be addressed,
lessons can be drawn and may eventually open windows for relevant actions. Thus, this study aimed to
describe the difficulties in remote learning of university students in the Philippines in the wake of the
COVID-19 crisis. Methodol