Abstract

This study aims to assess the validity and reliability of research instruments to investigate the level of Malaysian students’ participation in E-learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, examine their perceptions towards virtual learning, and propose strategies to increase students’ participation in online classes. The content validity of the research instruments was established by two e-learning experts, while the face validity was examined by seven school students. The adapted questionnaires and interview questions were modified based on the feedback obtained from the two-stage validity process. As for the reliability test, a simple random sampling method was employed, where a Google form was shared with school students with the help of their teachers at a particular school in Tuaran, Sabah, Malaysia. Out of the 43 students, who responded to the questionnaire, 29 were secondary school students while 14 belonged to primary school students; most of them were Year-6 students. Results demonstrated that Cronbach's alpha of the adapted questionnaires is 0.81, which indicates that the instrument is highly reliable and ready for data collection for the real study. This study highlights the need to develop a research scale that can cover the various aspects of e-learning participation among students, including the online and offline modes. Further research is recommended to examine the level of participation in online classes and perceptions towards e-learning among students in other parts of Malaysia as well as other regions.