Abstract:
COVID-19 had a disastrous impact on the education sector resulting in a boom of online learning
systems. This shift has severely impacted the underprivileged students with special needs due to
the sudden implementation of prolonged distance learning. Thus, it creates an immense need to
analyze distance learning media’s effectiveness during the COVID-19 pandemic for students with
special needs. The E-learning readiness and satisfaction of special needs students are scarcely
investigated areas in education and e-learning literature. Established on the community of inquiry
(COI) model, this study aims to determine the factors that underpin students’ satisfaction with
their e-learning experience through the mediated mechanism of students online learning
readiness. Surveying 178 special needs students from various Indonesian universities revealed
that teaching presence, cognitive and social presence, and content quality, directly and indirectly,
influence e-learning satisfaction. This extended and more comprehensive model would help
educators better understand e-learning’s use as an effective pedagogical platform, especially in the
context of special needs students. Key policy implications and directions for future research are
suggested.
