Chapter 1

THE PROBLEM

Background of the Study

As the pandemic starts all over the world, the education sector has been

challenged by the health protocols implemented to prevent the spread of the

COVID-19. That is why different alternative learning approaches emerged. One

of these is the virtual classes that have been applied to most schools globally,

especially here in the Philippines. Virtual classes or the so-called “Online

learning” refers to education that occurs through the internet. It's also known as

"e-learning," among other things.

Since it is not the typical classroom setting, this unique learning style has

presented a significant challenge to all learners. Many students are concerned

about the introduction of online learning, which they believe makes certain simple

tasks more complex. Some difficulties are experienced when conducting lessons

online, which has resulted in the formation of digital learning behavior, leaving an

impact on online activity in our classrooms. The development of learning through

the use of technological advancements is critical, and the teacher or educator

should use it as much as feasible. It is necessary to avoid turning this

psychological development into a negative experience, reflecting poorly on

educators and students. (Peng Zhang, 2021).

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 The current situation is unusual in that it has the potential for causing the

difficulties encountered during online learning as a result of movement limits and

health measures (Gonzales et al., 2020). If the display of the learning information

is not well-designed or resembles a textbook, students will quickly grow bored.

Moreover, in a developing nation like the Philippines, there are serious

socioeconomic issues concerning online learning. Students in remote parts of the

nation lack even access to roads and electricity, let alone computers and the

internet. Furthermore, given the present internet infrastructure, even metropolitan

kids may have restricted access to the internet. As a result, a "digital divide"

emerges between those who have and those who do not. Both educators and

learners are concerned about the loss of face-to-face human connection in the

online learning environment and process. (Joaquin et al., 2020). As a result of the

sudden shift to online learning, a number of issues about the difficulties and

obstacles that teachers and students have in using online education have been

identified, as well as concerns about the quality of education obtained by the

latter. Students were seeing an increase in anxiety, bad study habits, and

academic stress. Depression, unhealthy diet, social isolation, sleeping problems,

unhappiness, and physical inactivity were all identified. Apart from various

biopsychosocial aspects and concerns affecting educators' and students' mental

health, cases of increased eating and sleeping, increased or decreased goal

setting, achievement, and worry were identified as a result of excessively

detrimental media exposure. (Ernie C. Avila et al 2021)

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 Learning that incorporates a student’s mental health should, in general,

take into account the situations that the student confronts in their everyday social

context. While there is evidence that some behaviors help students’ mental

health, the results vary depending on the situation. Teaching learners in the

COVID-19 age in a poor nation setting necessitates taking into account existing

social inequities and economic limits in order to protect their mental health in the

online learning environment.

All of these features have a big influence on online learning. As a result,

this study will analyze the Bachelor of Public Administration Students' online

learning behavior in Pangasinan State University - Bayambang Campus in order

to better understand the factors that influence digital learning practices and

behavior.

Statement of the Problem

This study will determine the students’ online learning behavior in the

Bachelor of Public Administration of Pangasinan State University, Bayambang

Campus.

Specifically, it will attempt to answer the following questions:

1. What is the profile of the respondent in terms of the following:

1.1 age;

1.2 sex;

1.3 civil status;

1.4 monthly family income, and

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 1.5 preferred learning modality?

2. What is the online learning behavior of the respondents along:

2.1 class participation;

2.2 schedule of reviewing and studying lessons;

2.3 multitasking, and

2.4 submissions of requirements?

3. What influences online learning behavior in the following factors:

3.1 psychological;

3.2 social;

3.3 economical, and

3.4 technical?

Scope and Limitations of the Study

This study will focus on the students’ online learning behavior in Public

Administration of Pangasinan State University - Bayambang Campus. This study

will utilize soft copy questionnaires through Google forms as a survey and

reference. The study is limited to 191 first year students who are first-time users

of online classes and online admission to the program. They are also considered

to have had some experience with online learning when they were in senior high

school.

This study will not cover the other problems nor the factors that are not

necessarily connected to the Public Administration Students’ online learning

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behavior. The respondents are enrolled this school year (2021-2022) in Bachelor

of Public Administration of Pangasinan State University – Bayambang Campus.

Significance of the Study

The findings of this study would be benefitting the following sectors:

Students. This can help the students determine different challenges in

online learning, complexity of the different online learning behaviors and the

impact of these to online learning that have been answered by the study itself.

Teachers and School Administration. This study can help the school

faculty and administration on how they will manage, teach or guide more

effectively than before every single Public Administration students of Pangasinan

State University – Bayambang campus in dealing with the different challenges of

online learning and how to handle online learning behaviors.

Larger Community. This study can be applied to other universities or

schools all over the world. This study will help students for future references in

case a similar study is required for them to conduct and they will also be able to

understand the online learning behavior during virtual classes.

Meeting Applications Developer. This study can introduce challenges

and ideas to all meeting applications developers of different online platforms

used in online class learning. This will help them determine other matters to be

considered in their program for more convenience.

Future Researchers. The result of this research titled “Bachelor of Public

Administration students’ online learning behavior of the Pangasinan State

University - Bayambang Campus” will be accessible to everyone. It can be

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available to those who need help and support to the future researchers with

related topics.

Definition of Terms
For the sake of clarification and a thorough comprehension of the

research, the following key terminologies related to this research have been

defined.

Digital learning. This is a learning method based on the use of new

digital tools that enable learners to learn in a variety of ways, including face-to-

face, distance learning (asynchronous or synchronous), and blended learning; it

is thus more than just digitizing educational content, but a collection of

educational methods.

Learning Behaviors. These are learnt activities that allow students to

access learning and actively connect with others in the community. These habits

are observed in the class participation, schedule of reviewing and studying

lessons, multitasking, and submissions of requirements of the students.

Learning Modality. They are sometimes inaccurately referred to as

“learning styles” Examples are face to face and/or online class learning.

Synchronous Learning. This refers to any sort of learning in which the

learner(s) and instructor(s) are in the same virtual location at the same time to

facilitate learning. This includes live online sessions with the entire class or

smaller groups, as well as in-person classes.

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 Asynchronous Learning. This refers to modes of education, instruction,

and learning that do not take place at the same time or in the same place.

Digital Environment. It is a communications environment in which digital

devices communicate and manage material and activities. The concept is built on

integrated and implemented digital electronics systems for a worldwide

community.

Online Learning Behavior. The online learning behavior is the kind of

learning behavior under the network environment of a class.

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 Chapter 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

This chapter presents reviewed literature and studies that gave the

researchers a better understanding and wider comprehension regarding this

study.

RELATED LITERATURE
This portion presents survey of related literature written by recognized

experts which have significant bearing in relation to the problem under

investigation.

Online Learning in the Philippines

In the Philippines, the Department of Education (DEPED) has applied new

modes of learning, which involve technology and internet connection. This way,

students can continue their education in remote setups through online/offline

platforms, TV and radio, and printed modules. They can access these tools in

various ways, such as blended learning and home schooling. In blended

learning, any of these modalities are combined to maximize their benefits and

achieve high-quality learning. In home schooling, students learn with the aid of a

caregiver

teacher.The Philippines is one country that has made the switch from classroom 

education to online learning systems. Even governments have endorsed mobile 

learning as an effective means for students to continue their education. Online

learning systems have been able to thrive thanks to this effort. According to a

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survey in 2021, 30 percent of Filipino respondents perceive the current distance

learning model to be around 20 to 50 percent effective. On the other hand, 14

percent of the respondents stated that such learning model is 80 to 100 percent

effective.

The lockdown quarantine protocols have shifted the traditional college

classes to online. The abrupt transition to online classes may bring psychological

effects to college students due to continuous isolation and lack of interaction with

fellow students and teachers. The result of the content analysis revealed the

following categories of difficulties in remote learning: unstable internet

connectivity; inadequate learning resources; electric power interruptions, vague

learning contents, overloaded lesson activities, limited teacher scaffolds and poor

peer communication.

Recently, the education system has faced an unprecedented health crisis that

has shaken up its foundation. Given today’s uncertainties, it is vital to gain a

nuanced understanding of students’ online learning experience in times of the

COVID-19 pandemic. Although many studies have investigated this area, limited

information is available regarding the challenges and the specific strategies that

students employ to overcome them. Thus, this study attempts to fill in the void.

Using a mixed-methods approach, the findings revealed that the online learning

challenges of college students varied in terms of type and extent. Their greatest

challenge was linked to their learning environment at home, while their least

challenge was technological literacy and competency. The findings further

revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic had the greatest impact on the quality of

9
the learning experience and students’ mental health. In terms of strategies

employed by students, the most frequently used were resource management and

utilization, help-seeking, technical aptitude enhancement, time management, and

learning environment control. Implications for classroom practice, policy-making,

and future research are discussed. In December 2019, an outbreak of a novel

coronavirus, known as COVID-19, occurred in China and has spread rapidly

across the globe within a few months. COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused

by a new strain of coronavirus that attacks the respiratory system (World Health

Organization, 2020). As of January 2021, COVID-19 has infected 94 million

people and has caused 2 million deaths in 191 countries and territories (John

Hopkins University, 2021). This pandemic has created a massive disruption in

the educational systems, affecting over 1.5 billion students. It has forced the

government to cancel national examinations and the schools to temporarily

close, cease face-to-face instruction, and strictly observe physical distancing.

These events have sparked the digital transformation of higher education and

challenged its ability to respond promptly and effectively. Schools adopted

relevant technologies, prepared learning and staff resources, set systems and

infrastructure, established new teaching protocols, and adjusted their curricula.

However, the transition was smooth for some schools but rough for others,

particularly those from developing countries with limited infrastructure (Pham &

Nguyen, 2020; Simbulan, 2020).

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Inevitably, schools and other learning spaces were forced to migrate to full online

learning as the world continues the battle to control the vicious spread of the

virus. Online learning refers to a learning environment that uses the Internet and

other technological devices and tools for synchronous and asynchronous

instructional delivery and management of academic programs (Usher & Barak,

2020; Huang, 2019). Synchronous online learning involves real-time interactions

between the teacher and the students, while asynchronous online learning

occurs without a strict schedule for different students (Singh & Thurman, 2019).

Within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, online learning has taken the

status of interim remote teaching that serves as a response to an exigency.

However, the migration to a new learning space has faced several major

concerns relating to policy, pedagogy, logistics, socioeconomic factors,

technology, and psychosocial factors (Donitsa-Schmidt & Ramot, 2020; Khalil et

al., 2020; Varea & González-Calvo, 2020). With reference to policies,

government education agencies and schools scrambled to create fool-proof

policies on governance structure, teacher management, and student

management. Teachers, who were used to conventional teaching delivery, were

also obliged to embrace technology despite their lack of technological literacy. To

address this problem, online learning webinars and peer support systems were

launched. On the part of the students, dropout rates increased due to economic,

psychological, and academic reasons. Academically, although it is virtually

possible for students to learn anything online, learning may perhaps be less than

optimal, especially in courses that require face-to-face contact and direct

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interactions (Franchi, 2020). (https://childhope.org.ph/alternative-learning-online-

education)

Online Learning Impact to Education

Online learning has been around for a long time. Today it is everywhere

because of the inaccessibility of things around us. Whether in school, college, or

regular jobs, we need it the most today than ever before. Most schools are happy

to adapt to this changing world. Many schools have been a pillar of strength for

students in these times. Also, some schools have activities online and offline to

allow children to grow.

There are one or more teachers teaching in a classroom. The online

courses provide students with greater flexibility, closure, and depth. As a result,

they have the freedom to choose. An online curriculum consists of setting

specific goals, tracking progress and deadlines. The technology enhances the

viewing experience to a great extent. It includes animations and videos used for

effective learning. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles)

According to the theory of behavioral psychology, feedback on students’

behavior characteristics and psychodynamics can be obtained by analyzing their

behavioral data (Liang et al., 2017). A student’s online operational behaviors,

which are stored as part of a student profile. Instructors can then mine the data in

the student profile to observe his or her learning behaviors. The students’

operational behaviors while engaging in online learning are considered their

learning behaviors (Liu & Feng, 2011) and can represent either the explorative

learning behavior or learning engagement patterns.

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 Online operational behaviors are diverse. Researchers can retrieve the

records of diverse online operational behaviors to deduce information not directly

shown in the raw data. The history and time of this action will be logged in the

database as part of the student profile. Such online operational behaviors, once

properly interpreted, can reflect the students’ online learning behaviors.

Environmental Factors Influencing Online Learning Behaviors

Facing challenges related to their basic biological and safety needs,

students are met with many changes to the overall social climate, campus safety,

and the general environment based on the guiding principle of uninterrupted

learning. Environmental psychology explores how people and environments

influence each other. This field examines not only how individuals change the

environment but also how the behaviors and experiences of individuals are

affected by the environment and how changes are manifested (Hsu &

Yang, 2005). The changes caused in the general environment by the COVID-19

pandemic are a topic worthy of research, especially with regard to whether the

pandemic affected the learning behaviors of students.

According to Boca (2021), online learning and education had behavioral

factors for the students engaged in online educational platforms that were only

used during online teaching. Due to the advanced technologies in this field, the

education sector has encountered times of crisis because, students and teachers

have had no experience of using online platforms that can deliver delayed

communication between them during online learning in a rapid change of

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distance learning. Moreover, the use of online educational platforms has other

disadvantages. It requires both students and teachers to have experience in the

use of computers with upgraded electronic devices and maintenance expenses.

Recently, the education system has faced an unprecedented health crisis

(i.e., COVID-19 pandemic) that has shaken up its foundation. Thus, various

governments across the globe have launched a crisis response to mitigate the

adverse impact of the pandemic on education. This response includes, but is not

limited to, curriculum revisions, provision for technological resources and

infrastructure, shifts in the academic calendar, and policies on instructional

delivery and assessment. Inevitably, these developments compelled educational

institutions to migrate to full online learning until face-to-face instruction is

allowed. The current circumstance is unique as it could aggravate the challenges

experienced during online learning due to restrictions in movement and health

protocols According to Gonzales et al., 2020; Kapasia et al., 2020, given today’s

uncertainties, it is vital to gain a nuanced understanding of students’ online

learning experience in times of the COVID-19 pandemic. To date, many studies

have investigated this area. There are two key differences that set the current

study apart from the previous studies. First, it sheds light on the direct impact of

the pandemic on the challenges that students experience in an online learning

space. Second, the current study explores students’ coping strategies in this new

learning setup. Addressing these areas would shed light on the extent of

challenges that students experience in a full online learning space, particularly

within the context of the pandemic. Meanwhile, our nuanced understanding of the

14
strategies that students use to overcome their challenges would provide relevant

information to school administrators and teachers to better support the online

learning needs of students. This information would also be critical in revisiting the

typology of strategies in an online learning environment. The online education of

students brought digital inequality because, not all students have the same social

life condition and not all students can access the internet. It depends on the

internet performance that are sometimes encountered-poor connectivity and

power interruption for the students in online education. In addition, online

education can bring inequality in learning opportunities because, it is inflexible

communication between students and teachers, especially the concern of the

students. Moreover, online learning can show students’ behavioral factors that

can promote boredom, their level of satisfaction in the modes of teaching online

and their performance on an online platform.

RELATED STUDIES

Foreign Studies

Henaku (2020), conducted a study describing the “Online Learning

Experience of College Students and Their Perception of Online Learning in

Ghana”. The ten college students from four different colleges/schools were

interviewed via phone to reveal their online learning experience in the following

themes: the nature of online learning, connectivity problem, household

productivity and overall perception of online learning. First is the nature of online

15
learning-the online learning platforms used by the students are WhatsApp,

Telegram, Zoom, Google Meet and Google Classroom. These are well-presented

and organized. When the students had encountered difficulties during online

class, they need to download the lectures in either a PowerPoint, Word or PFD

format that includes the audio or video to explain well the lectures and the

students listen to it, if they had any questions, they either text or send an audio to

the WhatsApp or other platform used. Second is the connectivity problem where

the students got negative views during their online learning because, they

encountered poor internet connection that students will not attempt to follow the

lectures and had a lot of questions to be asked after the discussion. Third is

household productivity-the students experience everyday disruptions during their

online class because they have a responsibility such as to cook for their family or

taking care of their younger siblings that sometimes the students are not active in

participation during online class to answer the questions asked by their teachers.

The fourth is overall perception of online learning. Online learning is good; it is

not time-wasting for the students to learn at home and to travel go to school.

However, online learning can identify the learning behavior of students in the

following themes: the nature of online learning, connectivity problem, household

productivity and overall perception of online learning if the students had positive

views of online learning or negative views of online learning experienced.

The study of You (2015) is entitled "Identifying Significant Indicators using

Learning Management System (LMS) Data to Predict Course Achievement in

Online Learning”. The method is to measure self-regulated learning and examine

16
the use of a management learning system across online course achievements of

students. The data was gathered from five hundred thirty (530) college students

who encountered difficulties in self-regulated learning in an online course. The

study revealed that majority of the respondents had encountered late submission

of assignments, activities, quizzes, and exams during the synchronous or

asynchronous schedule. The study found out that most of the respondents had a

frequent log in to their respective subjects. In addition, the study further

confirmed that it is uncertain to take a subject without comprehensive reading to

complete an online course. However, the students would not like the teaching

approach in online learning rather than physical learning because, the behavior

of students can identify to the response of students engaged in online learning.

Yukselturk (2010) analyzed the factors of students’ frequent participation

indicative of students behavior during online classes. Online learning

participation is a process of communicating, thinking and feeling that occurs

through the interaction between students and instructors in the different modes of

communicating in online learning. Online learning participation is not only about

interacting but also to express participation in online learning. Students who

experience both the quality and quantity of interaction with the instructors and

peers are much more crucial to the success of online learning and satisfaction.

The study confirmed that majority of females are active in participating in the

discussion than males in online learning and students who are good at

comprehensive reading are also active to send messages to the instructors.

Furthermore, the most popular students are always the ones who are active in

17
participating in online learning. This study sought that such synchronous or

asynchronous scheduled provide new opportunities for students to participate in

online courses and the interaction between students and the instructors, among

other factors of behavioral learning. In the results of this study, they found out

that the several factors of online learning participation are influenced by

technology, interface characteristics, learning environment, household chores,

structural tasks, and information overload that student had their mind to be

absent in participation that influenced their learning behavior.

Sekartaji et al. (2022) sought that online learning is a way for students to

continue learning and master multiple subjects at the same time, which has

resulted to students becoming frustrated and bored. Approximately eighty two

percent (82%) of students are dissatisfied with their online learning experience.

Furthermore, it has been reported that approximately forty-one percent (41%) of

college students are less active. It demonstrates that online learning has more

contradictory variables and expectations. In addition, behavioral learning also

has disadvantages in terms of determining whether students are actually

following the course. However, the teacher cannot see what is happening during

an online class, since students may be doing something else such as, wandering

around, eating, talking to their relatives and that inappropriate behaviors will be

carried by students day-by-day in online learning, particularly in during the online

class.

Students incorporate multitasking in online learning (Wood & Zivcakova,

2015). Multitasking increases the ability of students to think and move in a

18
different action and place. When multitasking occurs in online learning (e.g.,

when a student is chatting with his friend during online class), those students had

a frequent trouble to focus during online class and less of the students not

incorporating multitasking had a capability to focus in online class discussion.

Many studies had identified the negative relationship between various

multitasking behaviors of students and academic performance (Bellur, Nowak, &

Hull, 2015; Burak, 2012; Junco, 2012; Junco & Cotton, 2012; Krpinski, Kirschner,

Ozer, Mellott, & Ochwo, 2013; Kirschner & Karpinski, 2010). Furthermore,

multitasking during online class discussion (e.g., listening to the class discussion,

take down notes, finishing assignment, reading) also negatively affects the

performance accross the variety of outcome including comprehension (Bowman,

Levine, Waite, & Gendron, 2010). The multitasking in online courses will be

greater affect the learning behavior of students rather than physical learning

(Moreno et al., 2012). The multitasking it seems that the students are capable

and had a time management for doing alternatives behavior such as household

chores, working students, and doing an assignments during online class but, they

are not listening and following the discussion that it caused misinterpretation of

the discussed information.

Local Studies

The study of Giray et al. (2022) entitled "Exploring the Online Learning

Experience of Filipino College Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic” aimed

to understand the online learning experiences of Filipino college students

19
enrolled in the year of 2020 to 2021. The Polytechnic University of the

Philippines, College of Education, gathered seventy-one (71) Filipino students

from state and local Universities around Metro Manila, to answer the survey

questionnaire. The results identified one negative view towards online learning,

two positive views towards online learning, three difficulties encountered in online

learning and four motivations to continue studying. In addition to this study,

majority of the respondents have positive experiences with online learning

because they will no longer commute and learning online is convenient at all,

although most of the respondents had a negative experience in online learning

such as internet connection, mental health, financial stability, time and space

management. However, online learning has got a large number of students

motivated to continue studying and not be left behind.

Inventado et al. (2011) investigated online learning and non-learning

activities. Online learning is the fastest and easy way to browse, share, and learn

a lot of information using internet. As time passed by, the use of a system

online shows a variety of difficulties for the students that will affect their learning

behavior. Otherwise, non-learning activities take much time to browse on the

internet, such as social networking, websites, gaming, to relax themselves,

especially students who experience stress and boredom. Therefore, students are

initially motivated to learn while non-learning activities have the possibility to

disrupt the learning of students. This study aimed to extend the investigations of

affective transition to the activities performed by the students to identify or predict

behavior that could not be helpful to their learning. In this study, they conducted

20
an examination to observe the online learning behavior that occurs among the

students. They gathered twenty-four (24) from the first year students, 10 male

and 14 female from the Bachelor of Science in Information Systems at De La

Salle University, Manila Philippines. Most of the participants have no knowledge

of the programming language but, they all know the different technologies on the

internet. The results of the study showed that the students visited 25 web pages

within two minutes per session, a total of 1,562 data views were defined. Second,

the data showed that students temporarily shifted to non-learning activities while

learning such as viewing videos, chatting, etc. at the average of 47.84%.

However, online learning and non-learning activities are different to respond the

student behaviors and the collective data of behavioral learning may also serve

as distractions that disrupt the learning of students in online education.

The study of Salehi et al. (2013) entitled “Analyzing Students Online

Learning Behavior in Blended Course using Moodle” determined the student

behavior, if the student opened their lectures, assignments during vacant time

This step detected the students’ learning style. According to (Govaents et al.

2011), they developed a tool called student activity meter, which visualized the

time spent by student to study in online learning that could be traced whether the

students are trying hard to study, rarely study and not studying at all.

Furthermore, they found that the use of student activity meter can help the

teachers to become aware if their students spent much time to study the lesson

in advance, after discussion and even when the student had quizzes or

examination.

21
 Wen and Rose (2014) sought to look at the Behavioral Segmentation of

Students in Relation to their Grades. They used MOOC clickstream data to

determine the individual student’s behavioral segmentation during online class.

The results of the experiments show that the students who passed and failed the

learning activities have distinctive exhibit behaviors, the behaviors of students

can predict whether they are bored, dissatisfied in online learning and other

problems of students to the response in online learning. The study provides

evidence that individual students with behavioral levels of course performance

can reflect on their different learning activities.

Barrot et al. (2021) looked into the usefulness of numerous online

teaching styles among engineering students because the study revealed that

majority of the students were dissatisfied with online learning, particularly in

terms of communication and the modes of learning activities. In addition, the

students rely in traditional classroom in online learning that had a possibility for

doing a different learning behavior. The study recommends among others that,

when online instruction and flipped classrooms were combined, it develops

students’ attention, academic performance, and course evaluation all improved to

disappear the negative views of behavioral learning. Utilize cloud-based video

conferencing program to turn traditional flipped classrooms into entirely online

flipped classrooms. Both types of learning environments were equally successful.

They also offered on how to implement videoconferencing assisted to online

flipped classes.

22
Synthesis of the Reviewed Studies

and the Present Study

The previous literature and studies review were found to be significant and

related to the present study. Each of them has centered on any of the following

themes that constitute the main focus of the study.

The studies from foreign and local are similar to each other, they both

described the different factors of behavior of the students in their online learning

experience. They gathered college students to investigate their experience in

online learning to find out if the modes of online learning are good or not for

students. In the results, they found out the alternatives behavior of students

towards online learning. This includes the positive and negative behaviors of

students that would distract their online learning.

The local studies of Barot et al. (2021) recommended to change the

traditional classroom style into combination of online instruction and flipped

classroom to be more effective. The teaching approach of the students that had a

negative views in online learning experienced. This study can greatly contribute

to the present study and to guide the researchers on how to erase the lifestyle

behavior of students in online learning that all student can join to become more

active.

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

23
 The behavior of students in online learning can provide alternative

response whether the approach in online learning is effective and efficient that

can be greater involvement in the process of online learning. Although, many

studies proved that the online learning applications are not useful for the students

to continue their study online, this study can give a volume of awareness for the

teachers, school administration, and among other schools that students are

experiencing this crisis in their online learning behavior. To adapt the new style of

online learning can provide opportunity for the students to bring it their

competence that all student will participate in online learning to meet the goal for

the first year BPA students in Pangasinan State University, Bayambang Campus.

All the data gathered will be analyzed, interpreted and verified to serve as the

basis for the study. The study will be conducted to identify the Bachelor of Public

Administration Students' Online Learning Behavior.

24
 THE RESEARCH PARADIGM

Profile of the BPA Freshmen

Online Learning Behavior
Students in terms of:

a. age,

b. sex,

c. civil status,

d. monthly family income, and

Factors that influence the
e. preferred learning modality online learning behavior

25
Figure 1. The research paradigm shows the profile of BPA students, the
online learning behavior and the matters that affect the online learning
behavior.

Chapter 3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Introduction

This chapter presents the procedure on how the study will be performed. It

contains the research design, respondents of the study, data gathering

instruments, data gathering procedure, the procedure to be used in data

gathering and statistical treatment on the data will be collected.

Research Design

In this study, a descriptive research is being used. According to

McCombes (2019), descriptive research aims to accurately and systematically

describe a population, situation or phenomenon. It can answer what, where,

when and how questions, but not why questions.

This will allow the researchers to get an in-depth understanding of the

online learning behavior problem faced by the Bachelor of Public Administration

Students.

26
Subjects of the Study

The respondents of this study will involve one hundred ninety- one (191)

students in Bachelor of Public Administration (BPA) in Pangasinan State

University Bayambang Campus from 1st year class. Since they are only first

timers in the online class and others have already experienced it, we hope how

they can adopt it in their studies.

Table 1

Distribution of Respondents

Section Number of Students Total Respondents

BPA 1-1 55 55

BPA 1-2 57 57

BPA 1-3 43 43

BPA 1-4 36 36

Total Respondents 191 191

Source: Registrar’s Office

Data Gathering Instrument

The primary tools that will be used in gathering data will be a

questionnaire that will be sent through their email or Facebook messenger due to

Covid -19 health protocols. The researchers will use a portion of the

27
questionnaire for building the demographic profile of the respondents. This

includes the respondent’s age, sex, civil status, their monthly income, and

preferred online learning modality.

The rest of the questionnaire will be dedicated to gathering data about

online learning behavior of the respondents. The researchers will create a list of

the common online learning behavior that the respondents will choose from in the

questionnaire.

The respondents will put a check mark beside the items that corresponds

with their online learning practices.

Data Gathering Procedure

Prior to data gathering, the researcher will prepare a questionnaire given

to the respondents of the study through a created link that will be sent via

Messenger application to answer the following questions that gather the

information about their behavior and practices in online learning. Voluntary

participation will be highly emphasized.

Statistical Treatment Data

For problem number 1, to determine the profile of the respondents,

frequency and percentage will be utilized. The following is the formula:

f
P= × 100
N

Where;

28
 P= percentage

f= frequency of observation

N= total frequency

For problem number 2, to determine the online behavior of students in

terms of class participation, average weighted mean will be utilized.

f 1 x 1+ f 2 x 2+ f 3 xn
AWM=
f 1+ f 2+ f 3+fn

Where;

f= frequency

x= scores

n= number of respondents

Moreover, the following scale will be used in interpreting the online

behavior of the students.

Scale Mean Value Description Rating

5 4.20-5.00 Always
4 3.40-4.19 Often
3 2.60-3.39 Sometimes
2 1.80-2.59 Seldom
1 1.00-1.79 Never

For Sub. Problem 3, to determine the factors that affect the online learning

behavior of the Bachelor of Public Administration Students (BPA)in their online

class, Average Weighted mean will be used.

29
Where;

F4 = Number of respondents chose psychological

F3 = Number of respondents chose social

F2 = Number of respondents chose economical

F1 = Number of respondents chose technical

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APPENDIX A

LETTER OF REQUEST TO CONDUCT THE STUDY

Pangasinan State University

College of Arts, Science and Technology
Bayambang Campus
Bayambang, Pangasinan

Date

Sir/Madam:

We, the undersigned third year students of Bachelor of Public Administration

students of Pangasinan State University, Bayambang Pangasinan are
currently conducting a study entitled “BACHELOR OF PUBLIC
ADMINISTRATION STUDENTS’ ONLINE LEARNING BEHAVIOR”. This is a
partial fulfilment of the requirements for our degree, Bachelor of Public
Administration.

In this connection, we had the honor to request from your good office the
permission to allow us to conduct our research study. Your favorable approval
regarding this matter will be highly appreciated.

Thank you very much and God bless!

Very truly yours,

(SGD.) MARK CYRUS P. DELA CRUZ

(SGD.) JAMES EDWARD S. MUÑOZ

33
(SGD.) ANNABELLE L. ALIBIN
(SGD.) BLADDIEMER M. JUNIO
Researchers

NOTED:

(SGD.) MADLYN D. TINGCO, DPA

Adviser

APPENDIX B

LETTER TO THE RESPONDENTS

Pangasinan State University

College of Arts, Science and Technology
Bayambang Campus
Bayambang, Pangasinan

Date

Dear Respondents,

We, Mack Cyrus P. Dela Cruz, James Edward S. Muñoz

Annabelle L. Alibin and Bladdiemer M. Junio, are Third Year students of
Pangasinan State University under Bachelor of Public Administration. We are
requesting for your cooperation to answer our questionnaires for our research
entitled “BACHELOR OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION STUDENTS’ ONLINE
LEARNING BEHAVIOR”. Your full cooperation and patient in the filling up of
the questionnaire will surely spell the success of our study.

Rest assured all responses will be treated with outmost. Confidentiality.

Thank you for Cooperation.

Very truly yours,

(SGD.) MARK CYRUS P. DELA CRUZ

(SGD.) JAMES EDWARD S. MUÑOZ

34
 (SGD.) ANNABELLE L. ALIBIN
(SGD.) BLADDIEMER M. JUNIO
Researchers

NOTED:

(SGD.) MADLYN D. TINGCO, DPA

Adviser

APPENDIX C
NAME: _______________________(optional)
Direction: Put a check mark (/) on the box provided with correct information
about yourself. Please don’t leave any item unanswered
Part I. Profile of the Students
AGE:
55 above
46-54
37-45
27-36
18-26
17 below
SEX: Male Female

CIVIL STATUS: Single Married

Widowed Legally Separated

MONTHLY INCOME:
70,001 – Above
50,001 – 70,000
31,001 – 50,000
10,001 – 30,000
10,000 – Below

35
PREFERRED LEARNING MODALITY:
Online Class
Face-to-face Class

Part II. Direction: Put a check (/) on the proper column that best describes
your online learning behavior and practices. Please be guided by the
category below.
Range Verbal Description
5 Always
4 Often
3 Sometimes
2 Seldom
1 Never
5 4 3 2 1
I. Class participation
1. I click the emoticons in MS teams when agreeing
or participating to the class discussion.
2. I take down notes during class
3. I take screenshots during online class
4. I volunteer to recite during class discussion
5. I unmute myself to respond when the instructor
asking if he/she is audible in the class.
6. I open the next slides during the presentation of
the lesson.
7. I ask question and/or make clarification to the
instructor/professor after the discussion.
8. I ask my classmates to join the meeting when the
online class begins.
9. I participate in the group photo after online class
II. Schedule of reviewing and studying
1. I study during vacant time.
2. I devote a day to review and study
3. I get up early in the morning to study and review
4. I study and review at night before I sleep
5. I study our lesson even there is no scheduled
recitation and examination.
6. I study previous examinations, quizzes and
activities before class discussion, recitation, and/or
examination.

36
 7. I prepare reviewer highlighting the key concepts
and ideas in every subject.
8. I visit my messenger app to look for reviewers and
study guide to our class group chat.
9. I make time to browse websites that can help me
study and comprehend our lessons better.
III. Multitasking
1. I join in online class while finishing assignments.
2. I join in online class while doing household chores.
3. I join in online class while walking and/or travelling
4. I join online class while on duty to work
5. I join in online class while using another gadget
6. I join in online class even when in a conducive
place for learning
7. I join online class while having online
conversations to other people
8. I review and study lessons while having online
class discussion
9. I eat snacks and/or meals while having our online
class
IV. Submission of requirements
1. I submit my assignments on or before the deadline
2. I ask my classmate if they already submitted their
assignments before I submit my work.
3. I give my assignments virtually to my classmate
before I submit it to our instructor for clarifications
4. I make other assignments/activities after submitting
the previous assignments
5. I message my instructor/professor before I submit
my assignment
6. I evaluate my assignment after submitting it to my
instructor/professor
7. I confirm my instructor/professor in messenger
after submitting my assignments and/or activities
8. I ask my instructor/professor for extension of
deadline for submitting my assignments and/or
activities
9. As proof of submission, I take a screenshot of my
submitted assignments and activities.

Part III. Direction: Check the item in the following factors that influence
your online learning practices (Select all that apply)

Psychological factor

Emotional breakdown Personality conflict

37
 Stress management
Social factor
Peer pressure or influence
Unclear expectations at school
Economic factor
Healthcare financing problem
Engagement in business
Technical factor
Internet signal strength
Instructors’ teaching approach
38
Religious affiliation
Family problem
Poor availability of social support
Part time jobs
Rising prices or inflation
Device’s performance
Virtual classroom atmosphere