Introduction for this title in research."Factors affecting the study habit of stem students during the pandemic."
Answers
Explanation:
Developing digital competency for the younger generation is always a primary concern of most
governments toward Quality Education (Sustainable Development Goal 4) [1]. Educational digital
transformation is not a technological renovation, but also a transition between generations. In particular,
millennial teachers are taking over baby-boomer teachers, and the new generation of students are
“born digital.” Especially in countries that consider technology absorption as a vital sustainable
development strategy, educating digital citizens is an essential pillar of the national education
strategy [2]. Therefore, standing on the perspective of SDG4, educators should emphasize digital
self-efficacy rather than the regular concept of self-efficacy. At a micro-level, teachers’ teaching habits
and learners’ learning habits play essential roles in the transformation processes of any educational
institution [3]. Romero-Rodríguez et al. [4] underlined the necessity of learners’ self-efficacy and
self-regulation toward sustainable academic achievement, especially in e-learning contexts. Concerning
students’ self-efficacy as a grand puzzle for their sustainable learning trajectory, several studies have
been taken to examine Vietnamese students’ learning habits. Le et al. [2] measured the ICT competencies
of Vietnamese students regarding cognitive and non-cognitive skills among various social strata and
figured out that even in big cities like Hanoi or Danang, students’ level of e-device usage is not high.
Moreover, Vuong et al. [5] provided a mosaic of Vietnamese students’ reading habits and triggered
further studies on examining students’ self-efficacy amidst different social and cultural facets. Overall,
the importance of self-regulated skills, such as ICT, non-cognitive, and reading habits, need more
attention from the government, school managers, teachers, and parents, especially in the urgent
circumstances, such as the passive digital transformation due to COVID-19.
The success of students relies a lot on their prior knowledge, teacher and teaching
quality, the possibility of accessing possibilities, socioeconomic status (SES), and their effort [6].
Students’ learning habits are caused by and contribute to the students’ intrinsic motivation [7].
However, students do not maintain the same learning habits during the summer, winter, and spring
breaks as they do during school. Warner et al. [8] pointed out the significant changes in student learning
and sleeping habits during holidays, in which the solid learning hours of school and homework are not
maintained regularly. Notably, students’ learning habits are partially distracted by the usage of social
networks and entertainment activities at home [9] or suspended by traveling [10]. Notwithstanding,
these kinds of degradation effects on learning habits are seasonal and predictable [8]. There is a
limited number of studies regarding students’ studying at home behavior during sudden school
termination, in which the students are required to stay at home and have to adjust their living and
learning habits [11,12]. Due to the pandemic, students also have to face potential mental issues, such as
depression, fearfulness, worry, and stigmatization [7,8], which might also affect their learning habits.
The longer that COVID-19 lasts, the higher quantity and level of issues and risks the educational
system worldwide have to face.
During early January, 2020, the spreading of COVID-19 from Wuhan, China, alerted governments
and societies worldwide [13]. Within a month, China locked down ten cities and closed all schools
over the country [14], while neighboring countries had various perspectives and approaches toward
the issue. Globally, nearly 300 million students were affected by school closure [15]. Countries such as
Japan, Iran, Italy, and North Korea applied nationwide school shutdowns, while Vietnam, South Korea,
Singapore, Thailand, France, Germany, and the United States adopted a localized school closure
policy [16]. Regardless of the size of the pandemic and the debates on school closure policy, pedagogical
transformation became a popular topic in most countries [17]. In a short time, various kinds of
initiatives to support students and teachers have been released. For instance, top-tier universities,
such as Harvard University [18] and Cambridge University [19], delivered guidelines and handbooks
to support distance learning. Furthermore, various NGOs (Non-Government Organizations) and
NPOs (Non-Profit Organization) provided support and instructions to enhance mental health [20–22].
Ed-tech companies and publishing houses also introduced entirely free or occasionally free accounts
and materials from their portfolios and databases [23,24].