Shifting identities: an examination of student perceptions and experiences in face-to-face and online learning in Nepal

The transition from traditional, in-person classrooms to technology-based models like online learning is a significant challenge. This change is not only brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, but it also presents difficulties for low-income and developing countries that have adopted online education for students who are spread out over a wide area. Students from low-income and developing countries, where the teaching and learning process is limited to a classroom environment, are struggling to adjust to online learning. This study aims to shed light on the multifaceted dimensions of the students’ educational journey, their adaptation to alternative learning environments, and the intricate interplay between sociocultural factors and individual identity trajectories within the Nepalese context. Based on in-depth interviews with 15 graduate students who were also school teachers, the study found that student’s identities underwent some instability as tension arose between their self-perception in face-to-face and online learning. The students experienced changes in who they were in the face-to-face classroom and who they are in online learning, as well as changes in how society viewed them as online learners.