Students' Lived Experiences of Virtual Education Culture in Higher Education

The purpose of the current research was to investigate the lived experiences of students from the culture of virtual education in higher education. This qualitative research was carried out using the phenomenological method. The method of collecting information was using semi-structured interviews. For this purpose, using criteria-based and chain method, data was collected by interviewing 17 students who were familiar with the phenomenon in question and were analyzed through content analysis. Lincoln and Guba’s evaluation criteria were used to ensure the credibility of the research. The analysis of the interviews indicated 1 global theme, 3 organizing themes at the first level, 11 organizing themes at the second level, and 27 basic themes. The results of the research indicated that the influential items in the culture of virtual education in higher education include: the loss of student identity, the loss of student associations, the loss of student scientific circles, the loss of professors' identity, lack of effective communication and networking. between professors, the loss of collaborative scientific projects, an angled view of virtual education, unfamiliarity with virtual education, the loss of the physical structure of the university, dry and one-sided communication, the increase in superficial learning, the increase in the amount of scientific fraud, the promotion of academic freedom, the loss Scientific dictatorship, the disappearance of academic exploitation, the disappearance of the covert power of some professors, the increase of cooperative learning, the opening of technical language, the improvement of student satisfaction, the lack of familiarity with technology, the perception of virtual education as a trivial matter, the sameness of learning in face-to-face education and virtual, the fruitlessness of the war between virtual and face-to-face education, delegating authority to students in choosing the type of education, lack of structures for both virtual and face-to-face education, planning based on conditions, emphasizing the principle of learning.