Attitude towards online education in professors of Andres Bello Catholic University: Challenges in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The objective of this study was to know the attitude of the professors of the Andrés Bello Catholic University (UCAB) towards online education in a critical context generated by the COVID-19 pandemic that has accelerated the incorporation of technology at all educational levels. A total of 212 teachers expressed their attitude using a 17-question Likert-type instrument that explores the affective, cognitive and behavioral component of attitude. The descriptive analysis of the data allows us to affirm that UCAB teachers have a favorable attitude towards online education: a positive affective assessment is revealed, cognitively they estimate online education as an effective method for learning and teachers are behaviorally inclined to prepare and incorporate ICT in their teaching tasks. Teachers did not differ in their attitude when considering sex, while a slightly more favorable attitude was revealed in those teachers with experience of online classes compared to teachers who had not taught online classes before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords: Attitude, Online education, COVID-19