EXPLORATORY EVALUATION OF SOCIO-EDUCATIONAL FACTORS AND THEIR IM-PACT ON THE TEACHING-LEARNING PROCESS UNDER COVID-19 CIRCUMSTAN-CES. A COMPARATIVE STUDY BETWEEN ECUADORIAN AND MEXICAN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

ABSTRACT

As an imperative and strategic response to the health emergency caused by COVID-19, the vast majority of universities implemented various alternatives for the virtualization of academic processes. It is based on a comparative methodological approach of an exploratory nature between students of the Education Area of the Indo-American Technological University (Ecuador) and the Autonomous University of the State of Hidalgo (Mexico), between the months of May and June of 2021. With the intention to analyze the socio-educational factors and their influence on the teaching and learning processes, based on knowing the conditions of use of the technology, the didactic organization for the support of the teaching and learning process and the personal factors that affected their learning during the lockdown. Among the most relevant results in both contexts, situations related to access and limited speed of the internet, the non-availability of suitable technological resources, the increase in the time dedicated to academic activities, the interference caused by the conditions of the home and family life, changes in sleep schedule, health-related effects. These findings show how the abrupt transition from the face-to-face to the virtual modality has altered the academic life of the students, criteria that must be considered for decision-making in the context of the institutions involved in the study, since the effects of the virus still persist and viable alternatives aligned with the immediate social sphere must be foreseen. © 2022, University of Cienfuegos, Carlos Rafael Rodriguez. All rights reserved.