Chapter 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This chapter presents the literature related to the topic of Online

Learning Environments and Mental Fortitude of College of Education students

in STI West Negros University. It contains discussion and studies conducted

covering many issues related to the topic.

Conceptual Literature

Foreign

During the COVID-19 pandemic, 194 countries and regions temporarily

closed their educational institutions, affecting over 1.5 billion students

worldwide (The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural

Organization [UNESCO], 2020). Fortunately, mobile devices that can connect to

the Internet have allowed students to continue learning in digital

environments. Transcending the spatial limitations of conventional classrooms,

digital learning allows for students to follow the learning content prescribed by

educational institutions and teachers using their preferred learning methods

Ertzberger, 2013). Educational institutions worldwide have attempted to apply

educational technology for providing synchronous or asynchronous online

learning. These types of distance learning have become the optimal solution for

reducing the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on student learning and also

provides flexibility to teachers.

However, the use of such teaching methods may give rise to various

problems, such as data security issues in teaching streaming platforms

(Ministry of Education [MOE], 2020a) and problems related to decreased

exercise levels and prolonged sitting among students that causes

procrastination (Xiang et al., 2020). Researchers have also warned that the

pandemic would exacerbate mental stress that could lead their mental

fortitude down (Flett & Zangeneh, 2020).

Local

Inadequate learning resources

Another difficulty that repetitively appears in the responses of college

students is the inadequacy of learning resources. Most students use only

really accomplish my requirements well” -Student 19). Others have a challenge

in terms of the storage capacity of their available gadgets (“Not enough space in

phone memory due to applications like Zoom, Moodle, Google Meet, and Adobe

Reader -Student 07). These difficulties affect the majority of class that are far

away from their school to those who have financial problems experiencing

throughout the situation. In this scenario, students cannot engage to the

school’s online learning environment and that results to disrupt their focus

and could cause them stress and anxiety towards their mental fortitude.

Time Management and Conflict with home responsibilities

Time is the most valuable commodity. Once consumed, it can never be

replaced again. On the other hand, it is renewed each day, as discussed and

explained by many researchers in the field of education, time management is a

great factor to one’s life. If it’s managed well, it yields well, if not, excellent

performance (Candelario, 2005). For any students who are in the face of

meeting course requirements, managing time, would be of big help, It provides

specifications on loads to work on overtime. (Vic santiago, Wenchel eunice D.

Nicomedes) As we manage our time with our studies during the pandemic, we

have responsibilities inside our homes that are interrupting our time plan in

terms of facing emergencies that are necessary to do inside our home. Since

students are mostly doing online classes at home, students voiced difficulty
with balancing and home responsibilities and remote learning. It keeps their

time divided (“I also have all the responsibilities here at home. It does not mean

that we are at home we have all the time” -Student 02). Home responsibilities

affect their focus (“We cannot entirely have our full focus studying since we still

have responsibilities at home” -Student 03).

Online Learning

Online learning is defined as learning that use of information and

communication technologies (ICTs). Thus, the social distance which is the most

important part during the pandemic can be maintained without hesitating the

learning progress. The pieces of equipment and facility needed to conduct the

learning process include laptops and devices of both teacher and student,

internet system, and technique to manipulate those digital devices (Smart

Learning Environments December 2021). This has adapted by the students

and the teachers whereas they follow an organized way of doing classes as

Asynchronous and Synchronous classes which has become effective so far. But

since, students were not able to adapt this situation with a cause of lack in

resources. This research also wants to imply that there is always a way to

engage classes and that is by doing the hard-copied materials or modules.

These will keep the students to be attach with their schoolwork’s whether there

will be an electricity interruption inside their house. Keeping the student’s

wellness of their mental fortitude.

Research Literature

Local

The novel coronavirus 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic and the abrupt

transition of the educational landscape from traditional to online classes have

exposed students to increased risk for mental health problems that can impact

their educational engagement and learning outcomes. Wu et al. (2021)

suggested that in many parts of the world, higher than normal prevalence of

depression, anxiety, psychological distress and insomnia had been noted

among students during the pandemic. Specifically, in the Philippines, studies

have reported high levels of Covid-19-related anxiety in the student population

(Baloran, 2020; Cleofas & Rocha, 2021). These mental health issues brought

about by the pandemic, coupled with unfamiliarity with online learning

environments, can present challenges to student engagement (Chiu, 2021). An

important protective factor against mental health challenges among students

identified by research is mental fortitude. Studies have suggested that mental

fortitude can decrease stress (Moore & Wilhelm, 2019), diminish substance-
abuse-related problems (Colomer-Pérez et al., 2019), enhance sleep (Di

Benedetto et al., 2020) and improve over-all quality of life (Ayala et al., 2018)

among students from various backgrounds. This association between mental

fortitude and decreased psychological distress among students has also been

demonstrated during the time of Covid-19 pandemic (Brouwer et al., 2021).

Mental Fortitude practices can also improve educational outcomes and over-all

school productivity (Cook-Cottone & Guyker, 2018). Zahniser et al. (2017)

suggested the association of self-care with better training progress among

students. Mindfulness selfcare practices and training has been linked to

enhanced learning experiences and professional skills (Gockel & Deng, 2016),

and improved self-fulfilment and motivation among students (Ghanizadeh &

Navokhi, 2019). Self-care has also been suggested to improve self-awareness

and social skills of students during practice (van Vliet et al., 2018).

Cousins and DeLuca (2016) demonstrated the importance of instilling

mental fortitude practices among students to improve their academic

performance and build social inclusion, especially for those with health needs.

The importance of providing students with capacities to care for their own

physical and mental wellbeing has been more emphasized during the Covid-19

pandemic to ensure that they are engaged in and learning from their online

classes while being in the midst of a public health emergency (Chiu, 2021).
However, due to the drastic societal changes brought about the COVID-

19 pandemic, the usual life patterns of students have been disrupted. Aside

from their classes that moved from classroom to home setting, the physical,

social and recreational aspects of their lives had been limited by quarantine as

well (Power et al., 2020). Students have been observed to be more sedentary

during this period (Stockwell et al., 2021). These can decrease students’ ability

to practice mental fortitude and gain its health and educational benefits (Chiu,

2021; Rotas & Cahapay, 2020). Thus, an empirical investigation is needed to

explore the barriers in practising self-care among students during this

unprecedented time of the pandemic and digital learning.

Since March 2020, the Philippines has retained its quarantine protocols

in varying degrees across the country due to multisectoral challenges in

handling the pandemic (Hapal, 2021). In line with this, the Commission on

Higher Education had pronounced that online learning will continue to be an

integral part of the educational landscape of the Philippines (Magsambol,

2021). Thus, examining how students manage their own well-being through

mental fortitude and how it influences their educational outcomes during the

era of Covid-19 and online learning environment remains very relevant,

especially for the Filipino student population that is under-represented in this

mental fortitude research.

METHODOLOGY

Research Design. This study utilized a quantitative descriptive-comparative

and correlational research design. The design statistically measures a set of

variables to answer theory-guided research problems and hypothesis. In the

context of this study, this design will be utilized to statistically describe,

compare and correlate the variables of online learning environment and the

mental fortitude of students. The descriptive-comparative research was used to

describe the degree of online learning environment and the extent of student's

mental fortitude of College of Education students of STI West Negros

University. Moreover, the descriptive-correlational research was used to

measure the relationship between online learning environment and mental

fortitude of College of Education students of STI West Negros University, with

the use of standardized tests to extract statistical data appropriately.

Respondents. The respondents of this study will involve 100 out of 503 college

of education students of STI West Negros University for the school year 2021-

2022. Specifically, the college of education students will be proportionally

determined using stratified random sampling. After securing the list of college
of education students enrolled for the academic year 2020-2021, the sample

size was computed using the Raosoft calculator. The fishbowl technique was

utilized to establish randomization in the selection process. Table 1 presents

the respondent's profile.

Table 1 Demographic profile of the respondents

Variable f %

Age

Adolescence 15 13.04

Millennials 10 8.7

Sex

Male 10 8.7

Female 10 8.7

Economic Status

5k-15,000/ month 15 13.04

15k-30,000 /month 12 10.43

30k-100,000/month 11 9.57

Employed 6 5.22

Resources

Cellphone/Internet Data 13 11.3

Laptop/Wi-fi 13 11.3

Total 115 100%

questionnaires to measure the degree challenges on online learning

environment and the level of mental fortitude of college of education students

of STI West Negros University because of its quantitative nature. The

researcher made online learning effectiveness survey will be presented and

needs to be validated by administration before the researchers will conduct the

survey. Thus, the research instrument will be employed to measure the 1)

teaching and learning 2) physical resources 3) relationship 4) maintenance of

cleanliness and peace and order. The assessment will be rated using the

following scale: 1-moderately satisfactory, 2-satisfactory, 3-very satisfactory, 4-

excellent.

Data collection procedure. The permission for the use of the instruments and

the superintendent and admittatur’s approvals in the conduct of the study will

be asked and secured. In adherence to the pandemic safety protocols, the

researcher will conduct the survey thru online chat via messenger, and will

send link for the respondents to answer the questionnaire, as communication

forms. The respondents will be briefed on the nature, purpose, scope, and job

description in the conduct of the study. Researchers will also relay the

orientation and information to the respondents before the distribution of

the collection of data, all inputs will be analyzed using an appropriate

statistical tool.

Data analysis procedure. The descriptive-comparative and correlational

analyses will be employed in the analyzing the data. The descriptive analysis

will determine the degree of online learning environment, the challenges

encountered by the accessors, particularly Mean, Standard Deviation,

Percentage, Rank and Frequency count. The comparative analysis will measure

the difference when assessors are grouped. The correlational analysis will

analyze the correlation between the degree online learning environment and the

demographics and mental fortitude of assessors. Furthermore, the use of

appropriate inferential tools will be determined after the normality test.

References:
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Joaquin, J. J. B. (2020). The Philippine Higher Education Sector in the Time of COVID-
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Rotas, E., & Cahapay, M. (2022). Difficulties in Remote Learning: Voices of Philippine
University Students in the Wake of COVID-19 Crisis. Retrieved 16 January 2022, from
[Link]
Cleofas, J. V. (2021). Self-care practices and online student engagement
during Covid-19 in the Philippines: A mixed methods study. Issues in Educational
Research,
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Bual M. (2021) (View of Correlating the School Climate and Teacher Leadership of
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