Welcome back to face-to-face: A novel Indonesian issue of students' perceptions towards learning transition

Robert Harry Soesanto and Kurnia Putri Sepdikasari Dirgantoro
Pelita Harapan University, Indonesia

The Indonesian government will reverse the mandatory option for schools to conduct limited face-to-face learning starting from July 2021, after struggling with a pandemic emergency for about one-half of the year. This policy has the potential to trigger a variety of perceptions, including from students. Therefore, this cross-sectional study addresses three points, which are students' perceptions about previous emergency learning, limited face-to-face transition, and expectations from teachers towards the transition. A total of 850 Indonesian students ranging from elementary to tertiary education levels were involved as participants. An online survey was constructed in two forms, namely a 5-point Likert scale and open-ended questions. The results showed pro and contra during emergency learning implementation. Overall, the students welcomed the transition, which was accompanied by the hope that teachers appropriately prepare pedagogical strategies. Furthermore, it offers possibilities for new explorations from all education stakeholders that will enhance a good learning atmosphere.
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Authors: Robert Harry Soesanto is a lecturer in the Faculty of Education, Universitas Pelita Harapan (UPH). He earned his bachelor degree from UPH and masters degree from Open University, Jakarta, both with a mathematics education major. He currently works at the Department of Mathematics Education. He is also entrusted to be Head of Laboratory Field Experience and also Assistant Editor for JOHME: Journal of Holistic Mathematics Education. His interest focuses on exploring educational issues, mathematics learning issues, and edu-tech implementation. ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3664-3633 Email: robert.soesanto@uph.edu Kurnia Putri Sepdikasari Dirgantoro is a lecturer at Faculty of Education, Universitas Pelita Harapan (UPH). She earned her masters degree from Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia (UPI) Bandung. She currently works at the Department of Mathematics Education. She is also entrusted to be Department Chair of Mathematics Education and also Chief Editor for JOHME: Journal of Holistic Mathematics Education. Her research studies focus on exploring mathematics learning issues in higher education. ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4631-8378 Email: kurnia.dirgantoro@uph.edu Please cite as: Soesanto, R. H. & Dirgantoro, K. P. S. (2021). Welcome back to face-to-face: A novel Indonesian issue of students' perceptions towards learning transition. Issues in Educational Research, 31(4), 1249-1269. http://www.iier.org.au/iier31/soesanto.pdf