Keywords

1 Introduction

Upon the declaration of COVID 19 as a world pandemic, the entire world undertook extreme safety measures to fight it and to minimize the risk of its spread [5]. Physical distancing, quarantine, school, and universities closure were among the safety precautions adopted by many countries. Though having a significant positive impact on preventing the virus from spreading fatally among people, this closure had a negative impact on several life aspects, on top of which is education. To sustain the educational process in schools and universities, most countries quickly adopted alternative means of instruction for their students, so they migrated to online education to secure an ongoing learning process for them.

1.1 Online Education Before the Pandemic

Online education has often been an optional method of learning; in other words, the demand for online education has always been rooted in the aim “to provide quality education to all students, regardless of location and time” [3]. Online learning has been targeted by learners who seek flexible learning environments, such as those who are hospitalized, seek high-quality education that is not available where they are located, have work commitments that prevent them from traveling for education, all of which have led to the growth in the amount of distance learning courses and programs that are offered [3].

1.2 A Subsection Sample

Having said this, it is of great relevance to throw light on online education during the pandemic and how its role has significantly changed from an optional learning method to a mandatory one. Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, online education became the only means of education to students and learners of all age groups who suddenly became forced to migrate to this new system of education. However, it became normal to find resistance to this kind of education from students/learners of all backgrounds and all age groups. This resistance was manifested in their lack of motivation, disengagement, detachment, and reluctance.

1.3 Online Education During the Pandemic

Despite facilitating the educational and learning process, online learning left students and learners with significant problems that affected their academic as well as their social skills to the extent that governments and universities started to worry about the resilience of education during the pandemic. Students started to face problems related to their social skills, such as rare outings outside of the home environment, lack of socializing through physical contact with their peers and classmates. They also developed some forms of loss in interest for attending online classes, indifference toward tasks, homework, and other related responsibilities.

2 Focus of the Study

The idea of this study stems from the above-mentioned discussion; the study seeks to explore the opportunities of eliminating the negative impact of the online education on students’ academic and social skills, hence contributing to the resilience of education in emergency situations such as the pandemic. The current study argues that one way of enhancing those skills is relaunching extra-curricular activities and encouraging students to take part in them to increase their engagement and motivation, hence, overcome any drop that happens to their academic and social skills.

2.1 Academic and Social Skills

On the one hand, the Academic skills targeted in this ECA and in the current study is English language skills, such as reading and understanding, paraphrasing, summarizing, and using vocabulary related to general and specific topics. English is seen as a universal language when communicating and interacting [1]. English competency is a basic requirement in the students’ academic development. It is with no doubt that English language skills equally as others have been threatened by the online education since they usually require special attention to be developed and maintained. The social skills on the other hand include Teamwork behavior, Self-development behavior, and interpersonal skills.

2.2 Research Gap

Research in online education has always focused on specific areas, such as material development, teaching methods, affordability of courses, and others. Online learners chose this mode of communication on their own, hence, problems with academic and social skills were not part of the potential problems that could be encountered. However, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, online education became the only means of education to students and learners of all age groups. Little research has been done to explore how empowering students can impact their performance and enhance their learning abilities. This study argues that when students/learners develop a sense of autonomy in learning, they feel more empowered and motivated, which in turn, guarantees a successful learning experience. The research investigates the means through which this learner autonomy can be promoted and takes the case of ECA as one of those means.

2.3 Description of the ECA

The ECA used in the current study is part of those offered by the Language Unit at the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport, Sharjah Branch. The unit offers four main clubs that work on enhancing students’ language and social skills, namely, Speaking club, Writing Club, Book Club, and Movie Club where students voluntarily join any of those clubs. The speaking club offers students insights on presentation skills, speech delivery, conversation skills, and debating skills. The movie club encourages students’ critical thinking skills as they watch movies related to their fields of study and engage in a variety of discussions criticizing key themes in the movies, such as leadership skills, communication skills, decision-making skills, and above all language skills. The book club also encourages those who love reading to take part in reviewing books related to their fields or to their interests. Finally, the writing club works on magazine writing as a comprehensive task that integrates reading skills, research skills, summarizing and paraphrasing, interviewing. It also targets leadership skills, behavioral and teamwork skills.

The topics addressed in the magazine were chosen with the help of the students, and they varied from general topics to more specialized ones. Students were divided into groups; each group chose certain topics and worked on them as a team. They were given clear guidelines about the sources to consult and the techniques to use to add credibility and authenticity to their work. Some groups were responsible for interviewing key figures at their university, while others were responsible for interviewing one another to shed light on the talents they had. Among the topics addressed in the magazine are the biography of H. H. Sheikh Dr. Sultan Al Kasimi Ruler of Sharjah, Women empowerment, Sustainability in the maritime industry, interviews with key figures and talented students, description of their college life, sports and activities, and others. The outcome was the first issue of Ibn Majid magazine, distributed in print and electronically.

2.4 Aim of the Study

This study aims at exploring the students’ perception of the impact of participating in the above-mentioned Extra-Curricular Activity (ECA) in the post-COVID-19 period on enhancing their academic and social skills, which were drastically affected due to the isolation and social distancing of the online learning environment.

2.5 Research Questions

The study poses the following research questions:

  1. 1.

    How do students perceive their social and academic skills in the online educational system?

  2. 2.

    How do students perceive the development of their social and academic skills upon participating in the ECA?

  3. 3.

    How much has the ECA contributed to improving their skills?

3 Materials and Methods

The data used in the current study is collected from the questionnaires’ responses of a group of university students who took part in the afore-mentioned ECA. All students are enrolled at the College of Maritime Transport and Technology in Khorfakkan, Sharjah. Their ages range from 18 to 21 years old; they are males and females, and they all belong to Arabic speaking countries where Arabic is their first language and English is their second Language.

The current research uses a case study design. It is considered a predominant method of qualitative research [7], the use of a case study approach enables researchers to capture all the intricacies of a particular case, the effects of a phenomenon, or event in the lives of an individual or group in a specific context, and it enables the exploration of similarities and differences between cases [2]. However, owing to the argument put by some scholars that case studies can still integrate both types of analysis, the interpretations of the findings relied on quantitative analysis as well. [8], for example, does not recognize the boundaries between quantitative and qualitative case study methods; he maintains that “regardless of whether one favors qualitative or quantitative research, there is a strong and essential common ground between the two” [8]. He highlights the similarities between the two research traditions and specifies the common tools which can be functional and instrumental in the design and methods of case study.

The current study adopts an eclectic approach combining different research techniques and strategies from [4,5,6, 8], that best serve and support the aim of the current study. For the Case Study Design and Data Collection, [8] Case Study Research is followed. He specifies five main components to a Case Study Design; a study’s questions; its propositions, if any; its unit(s) of analysis; the logic linking the data to the propositions; and the criteria for interpreting the findings [8]. Out of the six data gathering tools, namely, documentation, archival records, interviews, direct observations, participant observation, and physical artifacts, the current study uses participant observation which is consistent with investigating the students’ perceptions of their own skills. As for the data analysis, [4] approach is more convenient as it offers flexibility to the process. She argues that data analysis is simply “a matter of giving meaning to first impressions as well as to final compilations” (p. 71). She lists Two methods of data analysis, namely, Categorical Aggregation and Direct Interpretation, the latter is the one used in the current study. For Data Validation, [6] approach is adopted, where the researcher relied on long-term observation yearning for optimum improvements in students’ academic and social skills.

A case study on a group of twenty-four students has been carried out. Students attended several meetings to receive instructions about magazine writing and other related skills before they started their actual work. They received ongoing supervision from the language Unit team to make sure they take the optimum benefit from all the phases of the magazine writing process. Students were divided into groups with one team leader in each group who was responsible for compiling his/her group’s work.

Afterward, students were required to fill out two questionnaires about their perception of their academic and social skills before, during, and after online education and upon taking part in the ECA. This was followed by a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the students’ responses to have a clear view of the impact of the ECA on their skills.

Instruments. Two questionnaires are used in the current study; one aims at investigating the students’ perception of the impact of the ECA on enhancing their social skills, while the other aims at investigating their perception of the impact of the ECA on their academic skills. These questionnaires aim at helping the researcher trace the development and improvement—if any—of those skills after taking part in the ECA. They do not aim to compare online education to physical education which, the study argues, has been negatively affected by COVID-19 online classes. The number of students who responded to the social skills questionnaire is 22 while the number of those who responded to the academic skills questionnaire is 14.

Social Skills Questionnaire. The first questionnaire examines the students’ perception and evaluation of their social skills before, during, and after taking part in the ECA. It investigates the following social aspects:

  1. 1.

    Teamwork behavior

    • Communicating with their peers to work on a specific task

    • Managing conflicts between group/class members

    • Maintaining a healthy teamwork atmosphere

    • Getting to know new colleagues and making new friends

  2. 2.

    Self-evaluation behavior

    • Having a sense of accomplishment

    • Feeling successful

    • Feeling appreciated by college students, instructors, relatives, and parents

    • Feeling encouraged to take part in the next issue of the magazine

    • Feeling motivated to take part in other ECAs launched by college

  3. 3.

    Description of the relationship’s quality before, during, and after taking part in the ECA.

Academic Skills Questionnaire. The second questionnaire examines the students’ perception and evaluation of their academic skills before, during, and after taking part in the ECA. It investigates the following aspects:

  1. 1.

    Reading and understanding

  2. 2.

    Summarizing

  3. 3.

    Writing

  4. 4.

    Expressing own points of view clearly and accurately

  5. 5.

    Gaining knowledge about new topics

Identifying new vocabulary and expressions about general as well as specialized topics.

4 Results and Discussion

Results of the two questionnaires show that students who joined this ECA experienced a productive learning environment that positively impacted their academic and social skills. Moreover, the outcome of this project, Ibn Majid Magazine, played a significant role in motivating them to take part in future ECAs. Examining students’ responses carefully, it becomes clear that there is an increase in their tendency to take part in ECAs after experiencing online education. This indicates their awareness of the negative impact of online education on their performance and reflects their need for activities that would bring them back to their normal life. It is worth mentioning that responses less than or equal to 5% are not shown in digits on the pie charts as per Google Forms settings.

As far as teamwork behavior in social skills is concerned, and on a scale of Positively Affected, negatively affected/Had no effect, 80% to 95% of students’ responses to the following areas came as “Positively Affected”. The highest percentage of responses was “Positively Affected,” followed by “had no effect.” Negatively affected usually constituted less than 5% of the total percentage of responses. This is evident in the following extracts taken only as a sample for this finding from the social skills questionnaire responses, as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3.

Fig. 1
A pie chart based on 22 responses. The labels and their values are as follows. Positively affected, 86.4%. Negatively affected, 0. Had no effect, 13.6%.

Communicating with their peers to work on a specific task

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Fig. 2
A pie chart based on 22 responses. The labels and their values are as follows. Positively affected, 81.8%. Negatively affected, 4.6%. Had no effect, 13.6%.

Managing conflicts between group/class members

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Fig. 3
A pie chart based on 22 responses. The highest sector is positively affected with a value of 90.9%. The other 2 almost equal sectors are negatively affected, and had no effect.

Maintaining a healthy teamwork atmosphere

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As far as Self-evaluation behavior in social skills is concerned, and on a scale of “Positively Affected, negatively affected/Had no effect,” 80% to 95% of students’ responses to the following areas came as “positively affected”. The highest percentage of responses was “positively affected,” followed by “had no effect.” Negatively affected usually constituted less than 5% of the total percentage of responses. These findings are further illustrated in Fig. 4.

Fig. 4
A pie chart based on 22 responses. The labels and their values are as follows. Positively affected, 86.4%. Negatively affected, 4.5%. Had no effect, 9.1%.

Having a sense of self-accomplishment

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When asked to describe how the ECA affected their social and academic skills, responses revealed that most students showed high self-accomplishment feelings and said they have benefited on distinct levels. They attributed this success to the techniques and strategies used during the process of magazine writing, besides the encouragement and positive feedback they got from their peers and supervisors. Having a closer look at the lexical choices they made in this respect, we find that they mostly have positive connotations and implications. This is evident in the Figs. 5 and 6, which were collected from the social and the academic skills questionnaires.

Fig. 5
A pie chart based on 22 responses to a question, would you participate in the second issue of the magazine? 90.9% of the students responded yes and 9.1% responded no.

Would you take part in the second issue of the magazine?

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Fig. 6
A pie chart based on 14 responses to a statement, I am willing to participate in any other extracurricular activity. 64.3% of the students responded yes and 35.7% responded maybe.

Willing to take part in other extra-curricular activities

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“Develop language—increase knowledge—make friends”, “Positively evolved”, “Improved my academic skills”, “Gained new information and new friends”, “loved the teamwork and organization by the students and teachers”, “I have grown in the spirit of social and scientific participation as well”, “Actually for me, I have benefited many things, this experience change and improve my skills my writing how to manage ideas and group workings really I love this experience”, “extra-curricular activities have greater academic success, greater character development, especially in the areas of time-management and leadership skills, more positive social development and greater interest in community involvement.”

Upon having this quick walkthrough on the students’ responses in both questionnaires, it is logic to argue that students’ skills were clearly negatively affected by spending 3 successive academic semesters communicating only behind the screens and missing any chance to interact normally as they did before COVID-19. However, their responses later show that they can perceive a significant improvement in their social behavior, self-evaluation, and academic behavior. Moreover, 64.3% of the students confirmed their willingness to take part in future ECAs in general, while 90.9% of the students showed interest in participating in the second issue of Ibn Majid Magazine in particular. It is worth mentioning that results show strong achievement of the General Education Program PLOs which work on increasing students’ knowledge about a variety of topics, enhance their communication skills with one another, develop self-autonomy, and show significant self-development in a wide array of skills. This makes ECAs an essential tool for securing competent, skillful graduates who are ready to conquer their career lives on a strong basis of all required skills.

5 Conclusions and Recommendations

The study recommends more implementation of product-based ECAs as one of the significant solutions to the educational problems caused by COVID-19 online learning system. The study also suggests doing more research on the effect of those extracurricular activities on the student’s general learning behavior and attitude. Investigating the correlation between those activities and students’ progress would provide insight into this area of study. More attention should also be given to student-centered programs that promote active participation with challenging and intellectually stimulating content that meets the needs of individual learners.

The study concludes that the students experienced an improvement in their academic performance on various levels. Language skills—research skills-paraphrasing, reading, and understanding, summarizing, and expanding their knowledge. Participation in extracurricular activities provides students with greater opportunities to interact with people outside their current social circle, thus contributing to increased friendship and social confidence development. This study also concluded that those students who were active participants have developed a greater feeling of responsibility and commitment.