The COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences have put a lot of strain on the world's population, including academics. Universities were closed or went online worldwide due to lockdown regulations. In Malaysia, the first strict lockdown started on March 18th 2020 and was extended until May 12th 2020. The purpose of this four-month study is to examine…

Purpose: This longitudinal study aims at assessing the impact of openness to experience and neuroticism on affective states experienced by the academics from the Malaysian public universities during the first strict COVID-19 lockdown in 2020. Design/methodology/approach: The author collected data for openness to experience and neuroticism at the…

This Forum explores the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Higher Education (HE) sector through the experiences and perspectives in China, Malaysia and the UK, with schools and universities closed and teaching moved online with very short notice. Authors were given an open brief as to the nature of their contribution, reflecting the still…

In today's fast-paced ICT-driven world, understanding the factors influencing the effectiveness of online teaching and learning is paramount, especially during the Movement Control Order (MCO) when physical educational activities are restricted. Assessing the efficacy of undergraduate students under these circumstances can be particularly…

This article focuses on a Participatory Action Research (PAR) project that was carried out in a Malaysian Public University during three series of lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic. During that time, all higher education institutes in Malaysia were barred from conducting face-to-face lectures that resorted to fully online learning throughout…

This paper addresses the paradox of transition to online distance learning during COVID-19 pandemic in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in developing countries. The systematic review methodological procedures were employed to draw some limitations and possible opportunities that may inform future practices on online distance learning. The…

Purpose: Pre-service teachers, who are practising teachers are exposed to numerous technical skills at university. Studies on the use of technology on pre-service teachers' self-confidence are still in their infancy, despite the abundance of studies addressing pre-service teachers' intention to utilise technology in online learning. Therefore,…

This study explored the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the academic quality of a Foundation in Engineering programme. A Course Experience Questionnaire (CEQ) was administered before and during the pandemic to evaluate the six dimensions of academic quality--assessment, workload, teaching, academic environment, standards, and skills…

Purpose: Given that students were out of school in response to the COVID-19 pandemic public health measures, traditional teaching practices have been forced to switch to online mediated learning environments. This study represents the first research effort to capture the experience of Malaysian mathematics teachers about their teaching during the…

Purpose: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Malaysian government declared a Movement Control Order (MCO) to prevent the spread of the virus. Educational institutions were forced to switch their pedagogy to online learning to complete the semester curriculum, catching academicians and students off-guard that resulted in makeshift online lesson…

The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting the whole education system including the preschoolers in Malaysia in receiving a proper teaching and learning lesson especially in the classroom. Movement Control Order (MCO) implemented by the government has restricted the act for each person in the daily life. However, the action and role that has been played…

Lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic have forced universities to migrate entirely to eLearning to deliver classes. Students have found themselves using either synchronous, asynchronous, or mixed mode learning methods based on their universities' preferences. Many studies that investigated difficulties during the lockdown have been mainly…

This study examines the learning experiences including academic performance and assessments of Foundation students at a British University's campus in Malaysia during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. A focus on foundation students is important because First-Year Experience is crucial to their academic success in higher education. Using a…

Purpose: As an institution that has invested in e-learning infrastructure and technology for e-learning delivery, Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak conducted The Digital Educator Series as a means of embracing this educational disruption. In particular, this paper reports on the first three courses held under the Digital Educator Series…

The psychological wellbeing of remote-learning university students is becoming an increasing concern for educators in the COVID-19 era, due to the potential risk of conflict between academic and family/personal lives in the unusual environments they must now operate in. To determine how this conflict might influence students' psychological…