Learning Impacts in Law Courses from the Case of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic on Law Students at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Valaya Alongkorn Rajabhat University under the Royal Patronage

Abstract

Education is one of the public services that have been impacted by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Law courses are responsible for providing suchpublic services; both teachers and students are inevitably affected. This qualitativestudy relied on documentary research and in-depth interviews that included 67 law students (100%) and 5 full-time professors (100%). The results were as follows. First, as for the learning impacts in law courses organized during the coronavirus pandemic on the law students, it was found that when they were exposed to online learning and assessment, different internet networks and online learning programs had the greatest impact on their learning. Also, the modified assessment that relied on open-ended exams made the students unable to understand the content and explain their knowledge, which resulted in their inability to pass some courses. Second, as for the learning impacts according to the five learning standards of the Higher Education Qualifications (TQF), the results were as follows. First, in terms of moral and ethical learning, it was found that morality and ethics were learning about personal behaviors that came from conscious-ness. However, if there were close interactions from the teachers’ behaviors, which would affect the students’ feelings, there might be imitation behaviors among the students. Second, in terms of knowledge learning, it was found that providing guidelines in the process that led to more advanced research methods would mean that the students should be taught closely and allowed to react promptly. If done online, there would be communication delays and boredom from such learning. Third, as for cognitive skill learning, it was found that the ability to use and interpret laws, compare or find appropriate criteria or alternatives, and adapt them to explain facts or solve problems was most affected according to the teachers’ assessment. Fourth, in terms of interpersonal skill and responsibility learning, it was found that as for their interpersonal skills and responsibility for one another in actual classrooms, the students were quick in completing given assignments. Fifth, as for numerical, communication, and information technology skills learning, it was found that the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the students’ lack of such skills. This was because online learning hindered the continuous development of those skills, which resulted in the students’ inability to manage their learning process.

From the findings, it is suggested that the government must be ready to cope with future pandemics in order to push public education services forward. Education problems should also be learned structurally. Moreover, teachers should help the students study on their own. Finally, when teaching certain topics, teachers should use evaluation and assessment technics that reduce the stress of both the students and the teachers themselves such as open-ended exams.