Dynamics of Russian students’ time budgets in the conditions of classroom-based, remote and “hybrid” forms of learning

The transfer of education in universities to distance and “hybrid” (which combines remote and classroom forms) models was carried out as part of the introduction of anti-COVID restrictions (the 2020-2021 academic year). The conditions of necessary selfisolation influenced all the aspects of students’ life: from study sessions and work during extracurricular hours to ways of communication and spending free time. In this regard, an urgent problem is to determine changes in students’ time budgets in the conditions of selfisolation in comparison with the “pre-COVID” period. For this purpose, a study was conducted, the object of which was 205 students of three universities (Southern Federal University, Don State Technical University (Rostov-on-Don), and V.I. Vernadsky Crimean Federal University (Simferopol) over the period from November 2019 to March 2021. The method of self-photographing with the help of chronocards was chosen as the main research method. The accuracy of measurements was 15 minutes; the term for filling one chronocard was one week. An essay about the most memorable day and a written analysis of the subjective assessment of students’ satisfaction with their time management were also used. The main conclusions of the study are as follows. First, the time allotted for studies at universities in the “pre-COVID” and “COVID” periods did not change significantly, since all three surveyed universities (within the studied areas of training) were ready to transfer to the distance teaching and learning mode. The difference in the time of university classes was preserved, due to the difference in the Master’s and Bachelor’s degree programs. Second, during the pandemic period, there was a contradictory tendency for further individualization and, to a certain extent, “encapsulation”, isolation of individual time and, at the same time, expansion, increase, “verification” of time in the virtual space of the Internet. Third, the border between study, work, self-education, leisure and current everyday practices was destriyed during the pandemic due to the simultaneous implementation of various types of activities and increased use of distance learning, remote work and communication. Fourth, during the period of “anti-COVID” restrictions, the time that students spent on self-education increased, although mainly in the remote mode. The tendency for students to combine paid work with university learning continued. Fifth, everyday current household practices transformed into the hygiene of the home space and tended to take more time, due to a longer stay at home during partial isolation. The authors declare no conflicts of interests.

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