Assessing the Level of Concentration and Full Presence of Perfectionist Students in Online Education During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background: COVID-19 changed the global view of education in less than a few weeks and changed how students are taught worldwide. Online education, while having many advantages, also brings limitations and problems for some students. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the “level of concentration” and “full presence in the class” of perfectionist students in online education among the exceptionally talented students of the higher secondary school in Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 100 randomly selected exceptionally talented students of a higher secondary school in Karaj, Iran. The research tools included perfectionism and concentration skill questionnaires that were provided to students online. Results: The findings showed no significant difference in the class’s level of concentration and full presence between students with different degrees of perfectionism (p=0.514 and p=0.247, respectively). However, due to the technical problems of online classrooms, 64% of students with high perfectionism were fully present in the classroom in less than 30 min. This rate was 47% for students with low perfectionism. Conclusion: It seems that due to the difference between face-to-face and virtual learning environments, holding online classes along with determining and setting the topics of lessons and training hours differently from face-to-face classes and shorter and more concise in creating an interactive atmosphere may be more useful.