Active methodologies and virtual platforms in higher education: a comparative qualitative study of student perceptions in Peru and Chile

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic drastically transformed higher education worldwide, forcing an accelerated migration toward remote teaching and the massive adoption of virtual learning platforms such as Learning Management Systems (LMS), including Moodle, Canvas, Google Meet, and Zoom. This transition—initially conceived as “emergency remote teaching”—allowed pedagogical continuity; however, it also revealed significant shortcomings in technological infrastructure, teacher training, and institutional design, particularly in countries with greater socioeconomic inequalities. Several studies have documented how these tensions became evident in Ibero-American university education, where the digital divide and limited experience in online teaching conditioned the quality of learning experiences (El-Thalji, 2025; Murillo et al., 2019; Parra et al., 2021).

Recent literature identifies the flipped classroom, project-based learning, gamification, and online collaborative activities as strategies particularly suitable for integration into virtual environments, insofar as they leverage the potential of digital resources and foster meaningful interaction, both synchronous and asynchronous (Espinosa, 2022; Calderón et al., 2022; El-Thalji, 2025). However, research on active methodologies in Ibero-American higher education has been characterized by a predominance of quantitative approaches and quasi-experimental designs, mainly oriented toward measuring the effectiveness of specific interventions. This has left comparatively unexplored the meanings students themselves attribute to the integration of these methodologies in virtual platforms and the ways in which they experience the tensions and opportunities that emerge in different national contexts (Araya & Sotomayor, 2024; Williams, 2024).

Likewise, there is a scarcity of qualitative comparative studies that simultaneously analyze the experiences of students from different countries in the region. Chile has positioned itself as one of the countries with the highest scientific production on active methodologies in Ibero-America, with documented experiences in health programs and other disciplines reporting transformations in learning strategies and student engagement in virtual environments (Araya & Sotomayor, 2024). Peru, for its part, has promoted the use of platforms such as Moodle in public universities, with students reporting positive evaluations but also frequent use of LMS as content repositories rather than as interactive and constructive learning spaces (Calderón et al., 2022; Sosa et al., 2021). These differences in trajectory and technological conditions suggest that students’ experiences with active methodologies on virtual platforms are not homogeneous across the region.

Given this panorama, the present study aims to provide comparative qualitative evidence on the perceptions of university students in Chile and Peru regarding active methodologies implemented in virtual platforms. An interpretive approach based on Reflexive Thematic Analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006; Ahmed et al., 2025) was adopted, allowing an in-depth exploration of how students articulate their experiences, what they value in these practices, and what tensions they identify within their institutional contexts (Braun & Clarke, 2022; Byrne, 2022).

Method

The study follows an interpretive qualitative approach aimed at understanding the meanings that students attribute to active methodologies implemented in virtual platforms. The research was designed as an exploratory comparative study, with the purpose of identifying similarities and contrasts between the perceptions of university students in Peru and Chile.

Results

The reflexive thematic analysis allowed the identification of four main themes within the students’ narratives: (1) uses and functionalities of virtual platforms, (2) perceived advantages of active virtual learning, (3) challenges and tensions in the formative experience, and (4) student proposals to improve technology-mediated teaching. A comparison was also made between the perceptions of Chilean and Peruvian students.

Discussion

The results obtained confirm that virtual platforms, when integrated with active learning methodologies, can become conducive environments for promoting autonomy, engagement, and student participation in higher education. The positive appreciation of flexibility, permanent access to materials, and the ability to rewatch recorded classes aligns with findings that highlight the potential of virtual environments to support self-regulation and adaptation of learning pace (Bustamante et al., 2022; Espinosa, 2022). At the same time, students’ emphasis on the flipped classroom, gamification, and collaborative work is consistent with evidence linking these methodologies to improved learning outcomes and higher motivation (Prince, 2004; Murillo et al., 2019; Parra et al., 2021).

However, the narratives also highlight structural tensions that shape the effectiveness of these strategies. Inequality in access to the internet and digital devices disproportionately affects students from rural or low-resource contexts, limiting their ability to participate in synchronous activities and fully benefit from the resources available on the platforms, as reported in other studies on the digital divide and higher education in the region (UNESCO, 2020). Additionally, the lack of teacher training in instructional design for virtual environments generates learning experiences centered on content transmission, with limited use of the interactive functionalities of LMS.

From a methodological standpoint, the use of Reflexive Thematic Analysis made it possible to capture the complexity of students’ experiences and reveal contextual differences between Chile and Peru that would be difficult to observe through exclusively quantitative designs. The reflexive nature of the approach also facilitated the problematization of the researchers’ own positions and the conceptual frameworks used, in line with recent recommendations on good practices in thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2022; Ahmed et al., 2025; Christou, 2022).

Overall, the findings suggest that debates on the quality of higher education in virtual environments cannot be reduced to the availability of technology or the mere adoption of active methodologies. It is essential to consider how these methodologies are appropriated by instructors and students within contexts marked by unequal access, diverse institutional cultures, and varying histories of ICT use.

Conclusion

This study showed that university students in Peru and Chile perceive the integration of active methodologies in virtual platforms positively. Flexibility, the ability to review content, and the implementation of activities such as flipped classroom, collaborative projects, and gamified experiences were associated with greater engagement and more meaningful learning.

Likewise, persistent challenges were identified related to connectivity, digital literacy, and insufficient teacher training in the pedagogical use of platforms, with greater impact in vulnerable contexts. These tensions demonstrate that, in order to fully leverage the potential of active methodologies in virtual environments, it is essential to simultaneously address technological, pedagogical, and institutional dimensions.

Based on these student perceptions, the following recommendations are proposed:

Ongoing teacher training in the design of active learning experiences in virtual platforms, including formative assessment strategies and timely feedback.

Institutional policies for technological equity, aimed at improving connectivity and access to devices for students from rural and low-resource contexts.

Standardization and improvement of virtual course design, promoting navigable environments, coherence across sections, and systematic use of interactive resources.

Student participation in the design and evaluation of virtual courses, incorporating their experiences and suggestions into continuous improvement processes.

Future research could expand the sample to other educational levels and explore the experiences of specific groups such as students with disabilities or students belonging to Indigenous communities, as well as incorporate the teacher perspective and the analysis of data generated within virtual platforms. This would support more comprehensive understandings and the development of educational policies responsive to the diversity of higher education contexts in Latin America.

Declaration of generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process

During the preparation of this work the authors used ChatGPT in order to improve English writing and check spelling mistakes within English grammar. After using this tool, the authors reviewed and edited the content as needed and took full responsibility for the content of the publication.

Ethical approval and consent to participate

The project was approved by Resolution 429–2025 CIEI-UCSM, issued on November 24, 2025, by the Universidad Católica de Santa María. Participants were informed about the purpose of the study, and those who agreed to participate signed an informed consent form, granting approval for the interview to be conducted and for their comments to be made public. However, the confidentiality of each interviewee’s data was always protected, and their anonymity was always maintained.