The reaction of the university ecosystem to the pandemics in a Mid-East country: the case of IRAQ – A compared analysis of students’ and teachers’ perceptions

This paper presents an exploratory study on the reaction of the Iraqi university ecosystem to the Covid-19 pandemic, a learning ecosystem with no consolidated tradition in distance learning operating in a country where connectivity is granted mainly by a mobile phone infrastructure. The study analyses data collected from questionnaires filled in by 572 teachers and 2746 students belonging to more than 35 different universities and colleges located all over Iraq. The ecosystem was able to switch to distance learning in two weeks and to generate a reasonable level of satisfaction in the teachers and, even more, in the students, despite the problems that have been encountered. The influence of contextual and individual factors on the opinions and future intentions of both teachers and students has been investigated together with the causal network that puts in relation to such factors. The distance learning experience conducted during the first five months of lockdown induced a relevant change in the opinion about the nature of an educational experience, as well a desire to continue to experience distance and blended learning processes, in slightly more than 50% of the respondents. Future challenges are also highlighted.