Phenomenological study on lived experience of students and professors about virtual education during Covid-19 pandemic: Case study, University of Isfahan

Education field experts believe that effects and consequences of the Coronavirus pandemic on education in general and on higher education in particular are not only less than the other social institutions, but are much more comprehensive. In this study, an attempt is being made to represent lived experiences and perceptions of students and teachers in the virtual education system. Therefore, the main purpose of this research is to assess the same among professors and students of the University of Isfahan during the Covid-19 pandemic in order to identify the most important challenges of this type of education in universities and by relying on the findings of the study, effective solutions and approaches are presented for improving virtual education in universities. In the course of study, “phenomenology” has been used as a qualitative method whereas the research population includes all students and professors in the University of Isfahan in the academic year of 2020-2021. Total participants in the qualitative part of research were 32 people consisting of 14 professors and 18 students. Based on the purposive sampling, a mixture was selected and interviewed. The data was evaluated using Colaizzi’s seven step method (1978).  Findings showed that the damages incurred by virtual education damage are: “educational damage”, “damages related to university culture”, damages related to social-economic infrastructures” and “damage from reduced sense of presence”.