Boredom and Coping Strategies in Online Classes among College Students: A Survey from the Philippines

Materials/methods – The study involved surveying 166 students who were enrolled to various online courses across multiple universities and college programs in Metro Manila, Philippines, following the pandemic lockdown. We adopted a non-experimental, cross-sectional approach and utilized a questionnaire adapted from various survey instruments. The collected data were then analyzed using descriptive statistics.

Results – The majority of the participant students claimed that online classes were more boring than in-person classes, citing the instructor’s personality, the quality of education, and their own personal attitude as contributory factors. The college students experienced boredom during online classes, with class-related boredom being the most significant. They stated that their minds would wander, and they would feel tired and sleepy during online classes. Their preferred approach to deal with boredom was cognitive, where they reminded themselves of the importance of the class. However, the least preferred approach was behavioral, choosing not to ask their instructors if they could do something different. As per their expectations, they wanted online education to be interesting and enjoyable.

Conclusion – The study reveals a high prevalence of boredom among students during online higher education classes, indicating a need for improvements in online course design and delivery. The findings also provide valuable insight into the unique challenges faced by students and their experiences in the Philippine context, and could be used to guide policy and program development to address academic boredom and improve the overall online learning experience.

Keywords: boredom, academic boredom, coping strategies, online classes, class-related boredom, Filipino students

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