Attitudes of SDCA physical therapy students towards distance learning amidst the COVID-19 pandemic

The schools in the Philippines immediately shut down and started to shift to distance learning to prevent COVID-19 from quickly spreading. Distance learning had not experienced in Philippine education and most higher education institutions decided to move the school calendar due to the pandemic. This study aimed to: (a) determine the attitudes of physical therapy students in St. Dominic College of Asia towards distance learning during the COVID-19 outbreak; (b) find out the proficiency of the St. Dominic College of Asia academicians in the virtual learning environment; and (c) investigate if the school of St. Dominic College of Asia provides support to the needs of the students in virtual learning and other services. The study was conducted at St. Dominic College of Asia – Physical Therapy Department at Bacoor, Cavite. A total of 23 students participated. The Distance Learning Attitude Scale is used to measure the attitudes of students towards distance learning of physical therapy undergraduate students. The respondents show a positive attitude towards the proficiency of the academicians, course content, and the learning platform (μ = 2.28). However, some of the respondents’ moderately satisfied that they are getting a high quality of service. The attitudes of the students were highest from the third year level students, followed by the second, first, and fourth year levels. The distance learning scores of first and fourth year students are significantly higher than those of second and third year students. The therapy students of SDCA have a positive attitude towards distance learning. However, there are some categories that show the respondents are moderately satisfied with the school services such as the ICT department and student counseling services lack sufficient support for the distance education activities of the students. The distance learning attitude scale adaptation reliability has a Cronbach’s alpha 0.9.