The impact of COVID-19 on student motivation, community of inquiry and learning performance

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on the students studying in higher education institutions pre and during Movement Control Order (MCO). MCO was introduced in March 2020, and the learning process must switch from face-to-face to online learning in schools and universities. This study particularly focuses on university students by analyzing the students' motivation, the community of inquiry and learning performance. In total, three factors are examined in the construct of the community of inquiry, namely social presence, cognitive presence and teaching presence. Design/methodology/approach This paper provides quantitative analysis and paired sample t -tests on the students' learning motivation, the community of inquiry and learning performance. This paper presents the analysis of the online learning preference of 282 university students and examines whether there is significant difference in preference before and during MCO. Findings The findings indicated that the students lost motivation and learning performance using online learning methods during the MCO period. There is a lack of infrastructure to support the learning and social support from the lecturers and peers. Research limitations/implications This research helps to explore improvements that are needed to manage such a pandemic to support teaching staff and students. Practical implications The COVID-19 is a pandemic that has affected the learning process of the students, and it should not be neglected even when it is over. Policymakers shall consider providing more training and better infrastructures to cater to smooth Internet connection and platform for online learning. Students are not able to focus on learning using online learning methods and, they lack motivation during the pandemic. The teaching faculty also need to be well-trained in delivering online courses and to be more tech-savvy. Social implications With the detailed analysis of the students' learning motivation, the community of inquiry and learning performance, it helps to promote a better education environment. Originality/value This is the first study to examine the learning motivation and performance model as well as the community of inquiry during the pandemic. It is evident that university students initially have a high level of motivation and community of inquiry before the pandemic but yield a significant drop during the MCO. The paper presented how COVID-19 seriously impacted on the learning experience.