Students' perspectives of digital transformation of higher education in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

Since the COVID-19 pandemic prompted numerous global changes, educational institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina were forced to adapt their educational approaches, with schools and universities implementing alternative teaching and learning practices. Thus, this study aimed to investigate students' perspectives on the digital transformation of higher education in Bosnia and Herzegovina, including their preferences for hybrid, online, or face-to-face teaching models, their internet habits and readiness for e-learning, their attitudes and satisfaction with online learning, and their computer anxiety. The research sample consisted of 330 students studying in a variety of fields and academic years at both public and private universities. The data was gathered via an online questionnaire. A multinomial logistic regression analysis revealed a significant effect of students' field of study, year of study, and university status on their preferences for hybrid, online, and face-to-face classes. However, the MANOVA test revealed that the aforementioned factors have an insignificant effect on students' internet habits and readiness for e-learning, attitudes and satisfaction with online learning, and computer anxiety, all of which have an insignificant impact on student's academic achievement as determined by standard multiple regression analyses. Additionally, multivariate analysis revealed that students' preferences for hybrid, online, and face-to-face classes have a significant influence on their internet habits and readiness for e-learning, attitudes, and satisfaction with online learning, and computer anxiety. The findings of this study may aid in a better understanding of tertiary education's digital transformation and the improvement of educational policy, curricula, and instructional and learning strategies.