University Students’ Emotional States during Virtual Learning

Abstract

This research examines students' emotional states during a virtual course at a Finnish university. The mixed methods study drew on students' experienced emotions, perceived course value, perceived control, and open-ended descriptions related to their emotions. The sample consisted of 85 university students. Data were collected at nine measurement points during a half-semester foundation course in statistics. Through latent profile analysis (LPA), we identified five distinct learner profiles described as the “Average”, “Struggling”, “Thriving”, “Victorious”, and “Determined”, and analysed how they differ based on students’ gender, form of course implementation, previous attempts at the same course, and performance. The longitudinal design revealed distinct study experiences amongst the five profiles and pinpointed that most of the challenges took place in the middle of the course. The qualitative analysis of open responses identified different explanations students gave for the changes. The multiple measurement points bring forth emotional fluctuation, which is missed if only pre-post measures are used. The multi-measurement point approach, with the identification of emotion profiles and qualitative accounts on student experiences makes a novel contribution to the field by showing how emotions fluctuate in various profiles.