essay on covid 19 impact on students

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Covid-19’s Impact on Students’ Academic and Mental Well-Being

The pandemic has revealed—and exacerbated—inequities that hold many students back. Here’s how teachers can help.

The pandemic has shone a spotlight on inequality in America: School closures and social isolation have affected all students, but particularly those living in poverty. Adding to the damage to their learning, a mental health crisis is emerging as many students have lost access to services that were offered by schools.

No matter what form school takes when the new year begins—whether students and teachers are back in the school building together or still at home—teachers will face a pressing issue: How can they help students recover and stay on track throughout the year even as their lives are likely to continue to be disrupted by the pandemic?

New research provides insights about the scope of the problem—as well as potential solutions.

The Achievement Gap Is Likely to Widen

A new study suggests that the coronavirus will undo months of academic gains, leaving many students behind. The study authors project that students will start the new school year with an average of 66 percent of the learning gains in reading and 44 percent of the learning gains in math, relative to the gains for a typical school year. But the situation is worse on the reading front, as the researchers also predict that the top third of students will make gains, possibly because they’re likely to continue reading with their families while schools are closed, thus widening the achievement gap.

To make matters worse, “few school systems provide plans to support students who need accommodations or other special populations,” the researchers point out in the study, potentially impacting students with special needs and English language learners.

Of course, the idea that over the summer students forget some of what they learned in school isn’t new. But there’s a big difference between summer learning loss and pandemic-related learning loss: During the summer, formal schooling stops, and learning loss happens at roughly the same rate for all students, the researchers point out. But instruction has been uneven during the pandemic, as some students have been able to participate fully in online learning while others have faced obstacles—such as lack of internet access—that have hindered their progress.

In the study, researchers analyzed a national sample of 5 million students in grades 3–8 who took the MAP Growth test, a tool schools use to assess students’ reading and math growth throughout the school year. The researchers compared typical growth in a standard-length school year to projections based on students being out of school from mid-March on. To make those projections, they looked at research on the summer slide, weather- and disaster-related closures (such as New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina), and absenteeism.

The researchers predict that, on average, students will experience substantial drops in reading and math, losing roughly three months’ worth of gains in reading and five months’ worth of gains in math. For Megan Kuhfeld, the lead author of the study, the biggest takeaway isn’t that learning loss will happen—that’s a given by this point—but that students will come back to school having declined at vastly different rates.

“We might be facing unprecedented levels of variability come fall,” Kuhfeld told me. “Especially in school districts that serve families with lots of different needs and resources. Instead of having students reading at a grade level above or below in their classroom, teachers might have kids who slipped back a lot versus kids who have moved forward.” 

Disproportionate Impact on Students Living in Poverty and Students of Color

Horace Mann once referred to schools as the “great equalizers,” yet the pandemic threatens to expose the underlying inequities of remote learning. According to a 2015 Pew Research Center analysis , 17 percent of teenagers have difficulty completing homework assignments because they do not have reliable access to a computer or internet connection. For Black students, the number spikes to 25 percent.

“There are many reasons to believe the Covid-19 impacts might be larger for children in poverty and children of color,” Kuhfeld wrote in the study. Their families suffer higher rates of infection, and the economic burden disproportionately falls on Black and Hispanic parents, who are less likely to be able to work from home during the pandemic.

Although children are less likely to become infected with Covid-19, the adult mortality rates, coupled with the devastating economic consequences of the pandemic, will likely have an indelible impact on their well-being.

Impacts on Students’ Mental Health

That impact on well-being may be magnified by another effect of school closures: Schools are “the de facto mental health system for many children and adolescents,” providing mental health services to 57 percent of adolescents who need care, according to the authors of a recent study published in JAMA Pediatrics . School closures may be especially disruptive for children from lower-income families, who are disproportionately likely to receive mental health services exclusively from schools.

“The Covid-19 pandemic may worsen existing mental health problems and lead to more cases among children and adolescents because of the unique combination of the public health crisis, social isolation, and economic recession,” write the authors of that study.

A major concern the researchers point to: Since most mental health disorders begin in childhood, it is essential that any mental health issues be identified early and treated. Left untreated, they can lead to serious health and emotional problems. In the short term, video conferencing may be an effective way to deliver mental health services to children.

Mental health and academic achievement are linked, research shows. Chronic stress changes the chemical and physical structure of the brain, impairing cognitive skills like attention, concentration, memory, and creativity. “You see deficits in your ability to regulate emotions in adaptive ways as a result of stress,” said Cara Wellman, a professor of neuroscience and psychology at Indiana University in a 2014 interview . In her research, Wellman discovered that chronic stress causes the connections between brain cells to shrink in mice, leading to cognitive deficiencies in the prefrontal cortex. 

While trauma-informed practices were widely used before the pandemic, they’re likely to be even more integral as students experience economic hardships and grieve the loss of family and friends. Teachers can look to schools like Fall-Hamilton Elementary in Nashville, Tennessee, as a model for trauma-informed practices . 

3 Ways Teachers Can Prepare

When schools reopen, many students may be behind, compared to a typical school year, so teachers will need to be very methodical about checking in on their students—not just academically but also emotionally. Some may feel prepared to tackle the new school year head-on, but others will still be recovering from the pandemic and may still be reeling from trauma, grief, and anxiety. 

Here are a few strategies teachers can prioritize when the new school year begins:

• Focus on relationships first. Fear and anxiety about the pandemic—coupled with uncertainty about the future—can be disruptive to a student’s ability to come to school ready to learn. Teachers can act as a powerful buffer against the adverse effects of trauma by helping to establish a safe and supportive environment for learning. From morning meetings to regular check-ins with students, strategies that center around relationship-building will be needed in the fall.
• Strengthen diagnostic testing. Educators should prepare for a greater range of variability in student learning than they would expect in a typical school year. Low-stakes assessments such as exit tickets and quizzes can help teachers gauge how much extra support students will need, how much time should be spent reviewing last year’s material, and what new topics can be covered.
• Differentiate instruction—particularly for vulnerable students. For the vast majority of schools, the abrupt transition to online learning left little time to plan a strategy that could adequately meet every student’s needs—in a recent survey by the Education Trust, only 24 percent of parents said that their child’s school was providing materials and other resources to support students with disabilities, and a quarter of non-English-speaking students were unable to obtain materials in their own language. Teachers can work to ensure that the students on the margins get the support they need by taking stock of students’ knowledge and skills, and differentiating instruction by giving them choices, connecting the curriculum to their interests, and providing them multiple opportunities to demonstrate their learning.

How to Write About Coronavirus in a College Essay

Students can share how they navigated life during the coronavirus pandemic in a full-length essay or an optional supplement.

Writing About COVID-19 in College Essays

Getty Images

Experts say students should be honest and not limit themselves to merely their experiences with the pandemic.

The global impact of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, means colleges and prospective students alike are in for an admissions cycle like no other. Both face unprecedented challenges and questions as they grapple with their respective futures amid the ongoing fallout of the pandemic.

Colleges must examine applicants without the aid of standardized test scores for many – a factor that prompted many schools to go test-optional for now . Even grades, a significant component of a college application, may be hard to interpret with some high schools adopting pass-fail classes last spring due to the pandemic. Major college admissions factors are suddenly skewed.

"I can't help but think other (admissions) factors are going to matter more," says Ethan Sawyer, founder of the College Essay Guy, a website that offers free and paid essay-writing resources.

College essays and letters of recommendation , Sawyer says, are likely to carry more weight than ever in this admissions cycle. And many essays will likely focus on how the pandemic shaped students' lives throughout an often tumultuous 2020.

But before writing a college essay focused on the coronavirus, students should explore whether it's the best topic for them.

Writing About COVID-19 for a College Application

Much of daily life has been colored by the coronavirus. Virtual learning is the norm at many colleges and high schools, many extracurriculars have vanished and social lives have stalled for students complying with measures to stop the spread of COVID-19.

"For some young people, the pandemic took away what they envisioned as their senior year," says Robert Alexander, dean of admissions, financial aid and enrollment management at the University of Rochester in New York. "Maybe that's a spot on a varsity athletic team or the lead role in the fall play. And it's OK for them to mourn what should have been and what they feel like they lost, but more important is how are they making the most of the opportunities they do have?"

That question, Alexander says, is what colleges want answered if students choose to address COVID-19 in their college essay.

But the question of whether a student should write about the coronavirus is tricky. The answer depends largely on the student.

"In general, I don't think students should write about COVID-19 in their main personal statement for their application," Robin Miller, master college admissions counselor at IvyWise, a college counseling company, wrote in an email.

"Certainly, there may be exceptions to this based on a student's individual experience, but since the personal essay is the main place in the application where the student can really allow their voice to be heard and share insight into who they are as an individual, there are likely many other topics they can choose to write about that are more distinctive and unique than COVID-19," Miller says.

Opinions among admissions experts vary on whether to write about the likely popular topic of the pandemic.

"If your essay communicates something positive, unique, and compelling about you in an interesting and eloquent way, go for it," Carolyn Pippen, principal college admissions counselor at IvyWise, wrote in an email. She adds that students shouldn't be dissuaded from writing about a topic merely because it's common, noting that "topics are bound to repeat, no matter how hard we try to avoid it."

Above all, she urges honesty.

"If your experience within the context of the pandemic has been truly unique, then write about that experience, and the standing out will take care of itself," Pippen says. "If your experience has been generally the same as most other students in your context, then trying to find a unique angle can easily cross the line into exploiting a tragedy, or at least appearing as though you have."

But focusing entirely on the pandemic can limit a student to a single story and narrow who they are in an application, Sawyer says. "There are so many wonderful possibilities for what you can say about yourself outside of your experience within the pandemic."

He notes that passions, strengths, career interests and personal identity are among the multitude of essay topic options available to applicants and encourages them to probe their values to help determine the topic that matters most to them – and write about it.

That doesn't mean the pandemic experience has to be ignored if applicants feel the need to write about it.

Writing About Coronavirus in Main and Supplemental Essays

Students can choose to write a full-length college essay on the coronavirus or summarize their experience in a shorter form.

To help students explain how the pandemic affected them, The Common App has added an optional section to address this topic. Applicants have 250 words to describe their pandemic experience and the personal and academic impact of COVID-19.

"That's not a trick question, and there's no right or wrong answer," Alexander says. Colleges want to know, he adds, how students navigated the pandemic, how they prioritized their time, what responsibilities they took on and what they learned along the way.

If students can distill all of the above information into 250 words, there's likely no need to write about it in a full-length college essay, experts say. And applicants whose lives were not heavily altered by the pandemic may even choose to skip the optional COVID-19 question.

"This space is best used to discuss hardship and/or significant challenges that the student and/or the student's family experienced as a result of COVID-19 and how they have responded to those difficulties," Miller notes. Using the section to acknowledge a lack of impact, she adds, "could be perceived as trite and lacking insight, despite the good intentions of the applicant."

To guard against this lack of awareness, Sawyer encourages students to tap someone they trust to review their writing , whether it's the 250-word Common App response or the full-length essay.

Experts tend to agree that the short-form approach to this as an essay topic works better, but there are exceptions. And if a student does have a coronavirus story that he or she feels must be told, Alexander encourages the writer to be authentic in the essay.

"My advice for an essay about COVID-19 is the same as my advice about an essay for any topic – and that is, don't write what you think we want to read or hear," Alexander says. "Write what really changed you and that story that now is yours and yours alone to tell."

Sawyer urges students to ask themselves, "What's the sentence that only I can write?" He also encourages students to remember that the pandemic is only a chapter of their lives and not the whole book.

Miller, who cautions against writing a full-length essay on the coronavirus, says that if students choose to do so they should have a conversation with their high school counselor about whether that's the right move. And if students choose to proceed with COVID-19 as a topic, she says they need to be clear, detailed and insightful about what they learned and how they adapted along the way.

"Approaching the essay in this manner will provide important balance while demonstrating personal growth and vulnerability," Miller says.

Pippen encourages students to remember that they are in an unprecedented time for college admissions.

"It is important to keep in mind with all of these (admission) factors that no colleges have ever had to consider them this way in the selection process, if at all," Pippen says. "They have had very little time to calibrate their evaluations of different application components within their offices, let alone across institutions. This means that colleges will all be handling the admissions process a little bit differently, and their approaches may even evolve over the course of the admissions cycle."

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The impact of COVID-19 on student achievement and what it may mean for educators

Subscribe to the brown center on education policy newsletter, jim soland , jim soland assistant professor, school of education and human development - university of virginia, affiliated research fellow - nwea @jsoland megan kuhfeld , megan kuhfeld senior research scientist - nwea @megankuhfeld beth tarasawa , bt beth tarasawa executive vice president of research - nwea @bethtarasawa angela johnson , aj angela johnson research scientist - nwea erik ruzek , and er erik ruzek research assistant professor, curry school of education - university of virginia jing liu jing liu assistant professor of education policy - university of maryland-college park @drjingliu.

May 27, 2020

This Chalkboard post from May 2020 draws on historical data and past research to forecast the possible impact of COVID-19 school closures on student achievement. With actual data from the 2020-21 school year now available, please see this December 2020 Chalkboard post for an updated analysis of this trend.

Virtually all K-12 students in the United States are currently missing face-to-face instruction due to COVID-19. Many parents and educators thus share a common worry: When the pandemic subsides, kids will return to school with lower achievement. There are also concerns that the gap between high- and low-achieving students will become larger. Given the need to address these concerns, we decided to use prior test scores from millions of students and leverage research on summer learning patterns to make informed projections of what learning loss due to the pandemic might look like. Ultimately, we wanted to know: What sort of learning losses could we expect from the shortened 2019-20 school year?

Answering this question is complicated by the unique circumstances of COVID-19. Current school closures have added to the time that most students already spend at home during the summer months without explicit face-to-face instruction from teachers. Meanwhile, teachers are scrambling to adapt content for an online platform and parents are juggling work responsibilities (if not joblessness) with caring for and educating their own children. Students themselves are faced with isolation, anxiety about a deadly virus, and uncertainty about the future. In so many ways, the current situation is unprecedented for most people alive today.

Yet there are parallels between the current situation and other reasons students miss school that can give us insight into how COVID-19 may affect achievement. This includes research on the effects of out-of-school time on learning due to absenteeism , weather-related school closures (e.g., Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans), and summer vacation . Existing evidence can provide a rough sense of how time out of school due to COVID-19 will affect achievement.

We relied heavily on past precedent when trying to understand how COVID-19 might impact achievement in the short and medium term. We used a national sample of over 5 million students in grades 3-8 who took MAP Growth assessments in 2017-2018. These assessments enable such estimates because MAP Growth is administered multiple times per year, which means test scores are available in fall, winter, and spring such that changes in achievement during the year can be understood and anticipated. We compared typical growth for students who completed a standard-length school year to projections under multiple scenarios. These scenarios were directly informed by out-of-school-time research.

The results are deeply concerning.

The two figures below show projected math and reading learning patterns from the beginning of the 2019-20 school year (before COVID-19 school closures) through the start of the 2020-21 school year. The solid lines represent average trajectories in a typical year with typical growth (estimated based on a prior year’s data) followed by normal patterns of learning loss over the summer (generally, student achievement/learning tends to decline during the summer, though this varies greatly by student). Next, we assume an extended summer loss would occur during the period since schools closed. We refer to this scenario as the “COVID Slide” (represented by the dotted lines). These projections give a sense of how much learning students could lose, though we hope they will be overestimations of loss, given the online instruction and home schooling occurring.

These preliminary COVID Slide estimates suggest students could begin fall 2020 with roughly 70% of the learning gains in reading from the prior year relative to a typical school year. In mathematics, students may show even smaller learning gains from the previous year, returning with less than 50% of the gains. In lower grades, students may be nearly a full year behind in math compared to what we would observe in normal conditions.

Though not shown in the figures, we produced similar estimates of learning loss based on research showing the effect of being absent on achievement. That is, we simply assumed students’ learning during COVID-19 school closures would be akin to what occurs when students miss school, a large assumption given the online learning and homeschooling now occurring. Results for absenteeism-based projections were often more dire.

We also examined how much more variable achievement might be in the fall—that is, how wide the range in achievement might be between very high and very low-performing students. This range has implications for whether teachers can provide similar content to all students in their classrooms, or if they might need to further differentiate instruction based on a broader range of needs.

The above figures show our estimate of that variability by subject for 4 th and 6 th grade. The shaded areas display the spread in potential outcomes between students who were in the 25 th percentile of summer learning loss (who showed steep declines) and those in the 75 th percentile (who showed flat lines or even small gains during the summer). In mathematics, we see a fair amount of variability in learning rates, though the majority of students show losses over the extended closure and summer period. However, in reading, there is an even wider spread of potential outcomes, with students who are in the 75 th percentile and above showing sizable learning gains during the summer. Further, the figure below shows that extended time out of school may lead to more variability in achievement when students return in the fall relative to a typical year. A wider range of learning needs like the ones suggested by the figure could create greater challenges for teachers.

The New York Times warns that today’s students could be the “COVID generation.” As we think through our road to recovery, we hope education leaders consider our projections among many data points when preparing to support students returning in the fall. Specifically, our results indicate that:

• Students may be substantially behind, especially in mathematics . Thus, teachers of different grade levels may wish to coordinate in order to determine where to start instruction. Educators will also need to find ways to assess students early, either formally or informally, to understand exactly where students are academically.
• Students are likely to enter school with more variability in their academic skills than under normal circumstances. Therefore, educators may need to consider ways to further differentiate instruction or provide opportunities for individualized learning.
• Students who lose the most during the summer tend to gain the most when back in school, but this may not hold for COVID-19 . Regardless, the ground that students have to make up during the 2020-21 academic year will probably be greater due to COVID-19. Therefore, educators may want to work with students to determine growth rates needed to catch up and set learning goals for the year that are ambitious but obtainable.

Finally, the effects of COVID-19 our study cannot examine may be the ones most worthy of addressing. Prior research on students displaced by Hurricane Katrina indicated that they had difficulty concentrating and often manifested symptoms of depression in the months following the hurricane. Understanding these impacts and how best to support students’ social and emotional needs after the huge disruption of COVID-19 will be essential. Many students may face greater food insecurity, loss of family income, loss of family members to the coronavirus, and fear of catching the virus themselves.

While the scale of the COVID-19 school closures is novel, the inequalities in our school systems are unfortunately anything but new. Our models cannot account for the reality that the crisis is having an unequal impact on our most underserved communities. Nonetheless, we hope these analyses, which synthesize what we know from existing bodies of research, will inform tomorrow’s decision-making.

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• Published: 22 September 2023

How does the COVID-19 pandemic influence students’ academic activities? An explorative study in a public university in Bangladesh

• Bijoya Saha 1 ,
• Shah Md Atiqul Haq   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-9121-4028 1 &
• Khandaker Jafor Ahmed 2  

Humanities and Social Sciences Communications volume  10 , Article number:  602 ( 2023 ) Cite this article

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The global impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has spared no sector, causing significant socioeconomic, demographic, and particularly noteworthy educational repercussions. Among the areas significantly affected, the education systems worldwide have experienced profound changes, especially in countries like Bangladesh. In this context, numerous educational institutions in Bangladesh decided to temporarily suspend classes in situations where a higher risk of infection was perceived. Nevertheless, the tertiary education sector, including public universities, encountered substantial challenges when establishing and maintaining effective online education systems. This research uses a qualitative approach to explore the ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic has influenced the academic pursuits of students enrolled in public universities in Bangladesh. The study involved the participation of 30 students from a public university, who were interviewed in-depth using semi-structured interviews. Data analysis was conducted using thematic analysis. The findings of this study reveal unforeseen disruptions in students’ learning processes (e.g., the closure of libraries, seminars, and dormitories, and the postponement of academic and administrative activities), highlighting the complications associated with online education, particularly the limitations it presents for practical and laboratory-based learning. Additionally, a decline in both energy levels and study hours has been observed, along with an array of physical, mental, and financial challenges that directly correlate with educational activities. These outcomes emphasize the need for a hybrid academic approach within tertiary educational institutions in Bangladesh and other developing nations facing similar sociocultural and socioeconomic contexts.

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Introduction and background

The current global issue, the COVID-19 pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus, is impacting both developed and developing nations (World Health Organization [WHO], 2020 ). Many countries have implemented worldwide lockdowns, enforced social isolation measures, bolstered healthcare services, and temporarily closed educational institutions in order to curb the spread of the virus. According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO, 2020a ), the closure of schools, colleges, universities, and other educational establishments due to COVID-19 has impacted over 60% of students worldwide. The pandemic is inflicting significant damage upon the global education sector. University students, in particular, are grappling with notable disruptions to their academic and social lives. The uncertainties surrounding their future goals and careers, coupled with the limitations on social interaction with friends and family (Cao et al., 2020 ), have left them contending with altered living conditions and increased workload demands compared to the time before traditional classroom teaching was suspended. Despite these challenges, the university setting and its associated activities have become the sole familiar constant amidst their otherwise transformed lives (Neuwirth et al., 2021 ). The pandemic’s interference with academic routines has substantially interrupted students’ educational journeys (Charles et al., 2020 ). The shutdown of physical classrooms and the halt of academic operations due to university closures (Jacob et al., 2020 ) have disrupted students’ study routines and performance. Prolonged periods of solitary studying at home have been linked to heightened stress levels (e.g., depression), feelings of cultural isolation (e.g., loneliness), and cognitive disorders (e.g., difficulty in retaining recent and past information) (Meo et al., 2020 ). Many educational institutions have responded to COVID-19 by transitioning from traditional face-to-face instruction to online alternatives to minimize educational disruptions. However, research indicates that students often feel uncomfortable and dissatisfied with online learning methods (Al-Tammemi et al., 2020 ). Beyond the challenges posed by online education, such as limited access to electronic devices, restricted internet connectivity, and high internet costs, students are also faced with adapting to new online assessment techniques and technologies, engaging with instructors, and navigating the complexities of the shift to online delivery (Owusu-Fordjour et al., 2020 ).

Bangladesh, a South Asian developing nation, has also been significantly impacted by COVID-19. To prevent the virus’s spread, the country opted to close its educational institutions, leading to students staying home to maintain social distancing (Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control and Research [IEDCR], 2020 ). The higher education sector in Bangladesh encountered challenges during this period. The closure of educational institutions disrupted students’ learning activities (UNESCO, 2020b ; Al-Tammemi et al., 2020 ). Modern technology tools and software have become the means through which most university students engage in study-related tasks at home during their free time. The shift to online education is seen as a fundamental transformation in higher education in Bangladesh, departing from the traditional academic approach. However, for many teachers and administrators at Bangladeshi institutions, online education is a new frontier. Face-to-face teaching and learning have been the predominant mode at Bangladeshi universities for a long time, making it challenging to embrace the shift to an advanced online environment.

Bangladesh hosts more than 5,000 higher education institutions, encompassing both government and private universities, vocational training centers, and affiliated colleges, with an enrollment of 4 million students (Ahmed, 2020 ). In response to the health crisis, the government introduced emergency online education methods to enable students to continue learning despite temporary school closures. Challenges such as overcrowding, unequal access to technology compared to pre-COVID-19 times, and the difficulties in swift adaptation led to delays, teaching interruptions, and the adoption of extended distance learning. These issues were further exacerbated by the ongoing overcrowding, which posed a risk for the resurgence or spread of COVID-19 if in-person teaching were to resume. Undoubtedly, COVID-19 has left a profound impact on university education in Bangladesh. Despite numerous studies on COVID-19’s impact on a range of topics, the effects on higher academic activities in Bangladesh have received limited research attention. Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST), a public institution and one of Bangladesh’s universities, stands as an example. Given the COVID-19 regulations, this study aims to investigate the effects of online learning on the academic endeavors of university students in Bangladesh. The study also seeks to assess students’ satisfaction with online education, their adaptability to this new format, and their participation in extracurricular activities during the COVID-19 period, in addition to their academic pursuits.

Literature review

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a notable impact on the landscape of online teaching and learning (Aldowah et al., 2019 ; Basilaia and Kvavadze, 2020 ; Khan and Abdou, 2021 ). Notably, Rameez et al. ( 2020 ) emphasize that a critical hurdle faced in Sri Lanka revolves around the lack of virtual teaching and learning proficiency among both educators and students, impeding a smooth educational process. University shutdowns and dormitory quarantines due to COVID-19 have significantly disrupted students’ learning abilities (Burgess and Sievertsen, 2020 ; Kedraka and Kaltsidis, 2020 ). Difficulties have arisen, encompassing challenges related to online lectures, exams, evaluations, reviews, and tutoring. While Kedraka and Kaltsidis ( 2020 ) laud online learning as modern, relevant, suitable, and advantageous, they also underline its drawbacks. Notably, it has led to a substantial loss of student social interaction, interrupting group learning, in-person interactions, and connections with peers and educators (Kedraka and Kaltsidis, 2020 ; Rameez et al., 2020 ).

In the context of higher education institutions in Bangladesh, Khan and Abdou ( 2021 ) propose adopting the flipped classroom method to sustain teaching and learning during the COVID-19 epidemic, an approach echoed in Alam’s ( 2021 ) comparison of pre-and post-pandemic students. Alam’s findings reveal better academic performance among post-pandemic students. Conversely, Biswas et al. ( 2020 ) report a positive attitude toward mobile learning among most students in Bangladesh, finding it effective in bridging knowledge gaps created by the pandemic. Emon et al. ( 2020 ) highlight discontinuities in learning opportunities in Bangladesh, emphasizing the need for technical solutions to maintain effective education systems during the pandemic. Ahmed’s ( 2020 ) study on tertiary students unveils a lack of technology and connectivity, leading to delays in coursework, exams, results, and class promotions. These disruptions have exacerbated student anxiety, frustration, and disappointment. Burgess and Sievertsen ( 2020 ) note students’ concerns about falling behind academically, missing job opportunities, facing post-graduation employment challenges, and enduring emotional pressure.

Rajhans et al. ( 2020 ) observe that the pandemic has driven significant advancements in academies worldwide, particularly in adopting online learning. A similar impact is seen in India’s optometry academic activities, where quick adoption of online learning supports both students and practising optometrists (Stanistreet et al., 2020 ). Consequently, educational events like commencement ceremonies, seminars, and sports have been postponed or canceled (Liguori and Winkler, 2020 ; Sahu, 2020 ; Shrestha et al., 2022 ), necessitating remote work for academic support staff (Abidah et al., 2020 ).

In higher education, teachers play a pivotal role in implementing online learning. The sudden shift to online education due to the pandemic has left some instructors grappling with limited IT skills and a challenge in maintaining the same level of engagement as in face-to-face settings (Meo et al., 2020 ; Wu et al., 2020 ). Furthermore, the transition has led to concerns about effective scheduling, course organization, platform selection, and measuring online education’s impact (Wu et al., 2020 ; Toquero, 2020 ). Zawacki-Richter ( 2021 ) predicts digital advancements in German higher education, driven by the crisis, faculty dedication, and higher expectations.

COVID-19’s influence on education extends to students’ mental well-being. Some students’ inadequate home networks have hindered access to online materials, exacerbating their distress (Akour et al., 2020 ). Mental health challenges stem from various sources, including parental pressures, financial strains, and family losses (Bäuerle et al., 2020 ). Long-term quarantine intensifies psychological and learning challenges, impacting students’ overall performance and study time (Farris et al., 2021 ; Meo et al., 2020 ). Blake et al. ( 2021 ) advocate for colleges to address students’ isolation needs and prepare for long-term effects on student welfare.

With its large population, Bangladesh grapples with challenges in effective technology adoption, especially with online education becoming an alternative system during the pandemic. The overcrowding issue has been exacerbated by the need for distance learning, causing skill transfer difficulties and delays. Given these circumstances, this study delves into how COVID-19 affects online education and Bangladeshi university students’ academic endeavors, offering insights from the students’ perspective. Unlike prior studies focusing on challenges, this research also uncovers opportunities triggered by the pandemic. Such a nuanced view of the impacts of COVID-19 on education will help formulate effective policies and programs to elevate online learning quality in Bangladesh’s higher education.

Methodology

Research design.

This study employs a descriptive research approach, which aims to portray a situation, an individual, or an event and illustrate phenomena’ connections and natural occurrences (Blumberg et al., 2005 ). A qualitative approach was adopted to analyze specific circumstances thoroughly. Grounded theory, developed by Glaser and Strauss in 1967, served as the overarching framework for this research (Denscombe, 2007 ). Grounded theory follows an inductive research approach that refrains from starting with preconceived assumptions and instead generates new questions as insights emerge. This methodology rests upon participants’ perspectives, experiences, and realities (Bytheway, 2018 ).

For this study, in-depth interviews were employed to assess how the recent pandemic impacted students’ academic engagement and the factors related to COVID-19 that influenced their academic activities. This examination sought to understand the pandemic’s implications on students, the facets of these consequences, and which students might be more susceptible to these effects concerning academic performance and engagement. Conducted over the phone, the in-depth interviews featured a relatively small of participants, leading to the choice of a descriptive study design. This design, however, is unable to establish causal relationships, which could be explored and compared using quantitative methodologies. Moreover, the potential influence of the interviewer’s presence during phone interviews was considered.

Study locations, population, and sample

This study delves into the academic challenges encountered by students during the COVID-19 lockdown. Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST), a public university in Bangladesh’s Sylhet district, was purposefully selected for the study due to its high student enrollment. The participants consist of students from diverse disciplines of SUST. Employing purposive sampling, a non-probability sample technique, the research collected qualitative data through volunteers recruited via social media advertisements within a university group on Facebook. Participants were informed of the study’s objectives, and the data collection spanned from September 20 to October 3, 2021, supplemented by additional interviews from December 24 to December 27, 2021, to ensure data saturation. Information from 30 university students was gathered, covering a range of faculties. Table 1 provides an overview of participant’s age, gender, and educational level: 56.7% of participants identified as female, and 43.3% as male. In terms of educational distribution, 87% were enrolled in Bachelor’s degree programs, while 13% were pursuing Master’s degrees. The participants’ ages from 18 to 25 years, with a mean of 21.37 and a standard deviation of 1.99.

Data collection and data analysis

The research team, comprising a graduate student (B.S.) with qualitative research training, a sociology professor (S.M.A.H., PhD) with extensive qualitative and quantitative experience, and a sociology postdoctoral fellow (K.J.A., PhD), handled data collection and analysis. In-depth interviews, facilitated by a semi-structured interview instrument, were employed to gather for this qualitative study. This approach allowed participants to provide substantial insights by responding to open-ended questions on the research topic. The interviews explored the impact of COVID-19 on students’ academic activities, their online learning experiences, and the effects of the pandemic on educational pursuits. Ethical guidelines concerning confidentiality, informed consent, the use of data only for the present study, and non-disclosure were followed throughout the data collection, and the participation was voluntary, and they could withdraw their participation at any time during the research process. Participants were informed about the research through a participation information sheet prior to their involvement, and their consent was obtained in written form through email correspondence. Interviews were carried out in Bengali by the first author (B.S.) phone calls and were recorded. Subsequently, the recorded interviews were promptly transcribed into English using a word processing program.

The collected data underwent thorough analysis involving coding in Microsoft Excel, interpretation, and validation through discussions among the research team. Themes and subthemes emerged during the coding process, guiding the categorization and organization of data. Saturation was achieved after the 30th interview, indicating data sufficiency. The research team, without prior relationship with participants, ensured the reliability and credibility of the analysis through verbatim transcripts, individual and group analysis, and written notes.

The research identified eight themes (see Fig. 1 ) that characterized two main factors: the negative impact on student academic activities (see Fig. 2 ) and the positive impact on academic activities (see Fig. 3 ). The negative impact encompassed themes such as learning disruption, loss of social interaction, physical and mental health issues, financial struggles, and parental involvement. The positive impact included themes such as digital learning, adaptability, and engagement in online/offline activities. In-depth analyses were conducted for each theme, accompanied by citations indicating the participant’s identification number and gender.

Note: see Figs. 2 and 3 for subthemes of academic activities.

Negative impacts on student’s academic activities.

Positive impact on student’s academic activities.

Negative impact on student’s academic activities

Disruption in learning.

In the early months of 2020, the global spread of COVID-19 prompted the government of Bangladesh to close all educational institutions due to suspicious incidents. Participants unanimously expressed their initial surprise and frustration at the abrupt closure but soon recognized its necessity in the face of the pandemic. Libraries, seminars, and dormitories were immediately shut down. This posed a challenge for students residing on campus, who had quickly departed and lacked access to necessary resources. Academic and administrative activities across these institutions came to a halt. Alongside the strain of crowded classrooms, students voiced discontent, uncertainty, and anxiety about their studies, assessments, and outcomes.

Several participants shared their experiences:

“I used to follow the teachers’ instructions, attend lectures, and complete projects. But now that classes are suspended, my studying has come to a halt. I worry this pause might be prolonged.” (M 7 , M 14 , F 17 )

These students identified various obstacles to effective learning. They found the absence of a structured routine for attending classes and lectures at home demotivating. Although they kept busy with other activities, they noted a decline in their enthusiasm for education. They struggled to retain and apply the knowledge gained from classes, attributing it to the sudden disruption. Limited access to educational materials and books, often left behind in campus dormitories, also hindered their learning progress. Reading from the library, they mentioned, was a costly alternative. As a result, the inability to access essential resources posed a challenge. Furthermore, students found it difficult to concentrate on their studies due to unsuitable home environments, impacting their academic performance.

A participant shared:

“I need a quiet study environment, which I can’t find at home. I used to study at departmental seminars or the library. Even though I’ve been home, I still struggle to concentrate.” (M 1 )

Another student added:

“The university closed shortly after I enrolled. As a result, I missed out on getting to know my peers, professors, and seniors. I couldn’t enjoy the university’s cultural activities and events.” (F 30 )

Several participants said,

“The vast majority of their courses are laboratory-based. Taking these classes online during COVID-19 made them difficult to understand, and even the teachers struggled to understand them.” (M 4, M 19, F 29, F 30 )

Loss of social interaction

Students strongly desired to return to their educational environment and reconnect with peers and professors. Collaborative problem-solving and discussions with batchmates were a common practice, and the absence of in-person interactions disrupted this dynamic. They found comfort in studying together on campus, rather than in isolation at home. The prolonged separation from friends and classmates resulted in a breakdown of peer learning processes. While attempts were made to stay connected through digital means, participants found these interactions lacking in the vibrancy of face-to-face communication. Recalling earlier interactions for study or leisure became challenging, eroding the motivation to learn.

One participant noted:

“Group study is no longer possible due to the pandemic, and my interest in studying has waned. This could pose communication challenges even after the pandemic subsides.” (M 19 )

Others explained:

“I can’t interact with my friends or have the same enjoyment as before due to extended periods at home. This saddens me. It’s made studying with them much harder. I anticipate a communication gap post-pandemic, as we might forget how to engage openly.” (F 12 )

Another student expressed:

“I was admitted to the university, but it closed just a month later. This meant that I didn’t have the chance to get to know my fellow students, teachers, or seniors. I also missed out on the university’s cultural activities, concerts, and festivals.” (F 29 )

Physical health challenges

The participants pointed out that COVID-19 had wide-ranging effects on their daily routines. They noted shifts in sleep patterns, eating habits, and physical activity levels, leading to daytime fatigue, disrupted sleep, reduced appetite, and sedentary behavior, resulting in weight gain. These physical symptoms contributed to a sense of exhaustion, weakness, and overall discomfort. Many participants linked these physical challenges to their waning interest in studying at home, creating a disconnect from their academic pursuits.

One participant shared:

“I have gained weight due to excessive eating and spending all day at home. My body feels heavy, my mind feels foggy, and I experience a mix of happiness and lethargy. Is this is an environment conducive to studying?” (M 4 )

Another student explained:

“I have polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), which requires a balanced lifestyle. I exercised and ate well on campus, keeping my physical condition in check. But with the shift to remote learning, my routine changed, worsening my physical health. This has affected my concentration on studies, adding to my frustration.” (F 9 )

Mental health challenges

Stress emerged as a prevailing mental health concern among participants. They exhibited heightened anxiety, not only due to the pandemic itself but also concerning their educational commitments. In addition to fears of contracting COVID-19, participants expressed concern about maintaining organization, motivation, and adapting to new learning methods. Worries extended to upcoming courses, exams, result publication, and starting a new academic year. The post-epidemic landscape was also concerned with the potential pressure to expedite course completion. These uncertainties overshadowed the primary goals of their educational journey.

A number of participants found themselves increasingly frustrated when contemplating their future professional aspirations. Their anxiety and anger stemmed from the inability to finish their final year of university as planned. The pandemic further amplified their concerns about securing employment and setting a stable foundation for themselves. They argued that an extended academic year could impede their career opportunities and create challenges in securing a post-graduation job. Moreover, there was a prevailing fear that their relatively advanced age might hinder their employability in Bangladesh.

Several participants elaborated:

“Most government and private sector jobs in Bangladesh have age restrictions. Exam topics often diverge from the academic curriculum. The prolonged academic year due to COVID-19 makes me uncertain about my job prospects. Global economic instability adds to my worries. This anxiety affects my ability to focus, leaving me disinterested in everything, including studying .” (M 16 , M 4 , F 10 )

For female participants, the pressure to marry before completing their education emerged as an additional concern, leading to emotional distress and academic setbacks. Some female participants added:

“Given the uncertainty surrounding when the pandemic would conclude and when we would have the opportunity to complete our studies, our families urged us to consider marriage before finishing our education. This predicament weighed heavily on us, causing a sense of melancholy, and subsequently, academic performance suffered as we grappled with the idea of getting married before our graduation.” (F 17 , F 20 , F 21 , F 10 )

Financial crisis and parental involvement

COVID-19’s economic impact was deeply felt among participants, who relied on part-time jobs or tuition to support themselves. The abrupt halt in academic and work activities severely impacted their financial stability. With local and global economies suffering, family incomes dwindled, making it harder for students to afford internet connectivity and online resources.

“My ability to attend online classes suffered due to my family’s limited finances. I feared my grades would suffer and I might fail courses.” (F 28 )

Additionally, the prolonged closure of institutions resulted in difficult conditions for many students. Financial hardships and familial challenges, such as job loss, reduced income, and parental pressure, further exacerbated students’ emotional distress. Having lost a parent before the pandemic, some students found it even harder to make ends meet.

One participant explained:

“I supported my family and myself with tuition before COVID-19. Losing my father earlier made me the sole provider. But with COVID-19, I had to forfeit my tuition and supporting my family became a struggle.” (M 27 )

Positive impact on student academic activities

Adoption of digital learning processes.

Amidst the challenges posed by the pandemic, integrating technology into education stands out as a significant advantage. The global situation intensified the strong connection between technology and education. The closure of institutions led to a swift transformation of on-campus courses into online formats, turning e-learning into a vital method of instruction. This shift extended beyond content delivery to encompass pedagogy and assessment methods changes. The participants adapted to Zoom, Google Meet, and Google Classroom platforms for attending online lectures. They found pre-recorded classes accessible through online media, simplifying note-taking. Asking questions online became convenient, and submitting online assignments posed no significant hurdles. Many students also embraced the opportunity to engage with the free online courses from platforms such as Coursera, edX, and Future Learn, further enhancing their skill sets.

“Recorded lectures are a boon; I can revisit them whenever I want. I don’t need to focus on note-taking during class since I can easily access the lectures later.” (F 3 )

Another participant noted:

“I enrolled in several free online courses during COVID-19, using platforms such as Coursera, edX, and Future Learn. These tasks boosted my productivity and introduced me to the world of freelancing.” (F 6 )

Cultivation of adaptability

The pandemic propelled digital technologies to the forefront of education. The transition to digital learning required both educators and students to enhance their technological literacy. This shift also paved the way for pedagogy and curriculum design innovation, fostering changes in learning methods and assessment techniques. As a result, a large group of students could simultaneously engage in learning. Forced to embrace technology due to the pandemic, participants improved their digital literacy.

Participants commended the Bangladeshi government’s shift from traditional face-to-face learning to online education as a necessity. They recognized the efficacy of online learning in the local context and found inspiration in mastering new technologies. Many educators sought to improve the effectiveness of online courses, making the most of available resources. Participants gained familiarity with technology tools and demonstrated their adaptability and commitment to mastering new skills.

A male participant said:

“An unexpected opportunity arose amidst the pandemic. Virtual learning was the need of the hour. Adapting to this sophisticated technology was initially challenging, but I eventually became comfortable with the new mode.” (M 29 )

Integration of online and offline activities

The pandemic prompted students to diversify their activities. They devoted time to hobbies such as farming, painting, gardening, and crafts. Engaging in extracurricular activities such as cooking, volunteering, attending religious events, and using social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram became a norm. Some events created uplifting content for social media, using platforms as a potential source of income. Others embarked on online entrepreneurship ventures, reflecting their entrepreneurial spirit. Volunteering became appealing, bridging the gap between virtual and physical engagement.

Two participants shared:

“I wasn’t part of any groups during my student years. However, I joined several volunteer groups during COVID-19. These efforts included both offline initiatives such as distribution of food and masks, online initiatives.” (F 15 , M 18 )

Another participant shared:

“I had time for myself after extensive studying. I explored various creative pursuits, cooked using YouTube recipes, and found joy in them. I am considering a career in cooking.” (F 11 )

Another participant expressed:

“Amidst this time apart, many companies and organizations offer unpaid internships. I have participated in such an internship, attended seminars, conferences, workshops, and events. This period has enriched both my soft and hard skills, and I have participated in various physical and online events.” (M 22 )

The primary objective of this study was to assess the impact of COVID-19 on the academic activities of university students. The study aimed to understand students’ satisfaction with online education during the pandemic, their responses to this learning mode, and their engagement in non-academic activities. The pandemic has significantly disrupted not only regular teaching and learning at our university but also the lives of our students. Amid this outbreak, several students found solace in spending quality time with their families and tackling long-postponed household chores. It is crucial to acknowledge that a diverse range of circumstances, personalities, and coping mechanisms exist within human communities like ours. Despite these variations, the resilience exhibited by the individuals in this study stands out remarkably.

In recent research, educational institutions, particularly public universities, adopted digital online learning and assessment platforms to respond to the pandemic (Blake et al., 2021 ; Wu et al., 2020 ). Consequently, participants in our study discussed their experiences with digital platforms during COVID-19, highlighting both positive and negative impact on academic activities (see Figs. 1 – 3 ).

Our findings demonstrate that online learning offers benefits by enhancing educational flexibility through the accessibility and user-friendliness of digital platforms. These findings align with those of Kedraka and Kaltsidis ( 2020 ), who identified convenience and accessibility as primary advantages of remote learning. Moreover, Burgess and Sievertsen ( 2020 ) emphasized the potential of distance learning and technology-enabled indirect instruction, while Basilaia and Kvavadze ( 2020 ) underscored technology’s role in driving educational adaptation during a pandemic.

According to our study, the pandemic led to students’ significant loss of social connections. Collaborative group study plays a pivotal role in conceptual understanding and academic progress. However, due to the outbreak, students’ routine group study sessions in libraries or on campus, face-to-face interactions, and conversations with peers and educators suffered setbacks. These disruptions might potentially impact their motivation for sustained high-level learning. Participants voiced concerns about online learning, including the absence of human interaction, challenges in maintaining audience engagement, and, most notably, the inability to acquire practical skills. These limitations have been observed previously, indicating that these teaching and learning methods are hindered by constraints in conducting laboratory work, providing hands-on experience, and delivering comprehensive feedback to students, leading to reduced attention spans (Zawacki-Richter, 2021 ).

Likewise, Naciri et al. ( 2020 ) highlighted educators’ difficulties in sustaining student engagement, multitasking during virtual sessions, subpar audio and video quality, and connectivity issues. In our study, students reported that the quality of their internet connection directly influenced their online learning experience. They also expressed frustration at the extended screen time and feelings of fatigue. To address these concerns, experts recommended utilizing tools such as live chat, pop quizzes, virtual whiteboards, polls, and reflections to structure shorter, more interactive sessions.

Consistent with prior research, our recent poll findings suggested that participants were more surprised than disappointed by the swift decision to close educational institutions nationwide. Moreover, the study revealed that the prolonged closure of universities and confinement to homes led to substantial disruptions in students’ learning, aligning with findings from various studies that highlight disturbances in daily routines and studies (Meo et al., 2020 ), limited access to educational resources due to closed libraries, difficulties in learning at home, disruptions in the household environment, and challenges in retaining studied material (Bäuerle et al., 2020 ). All participants expressed some degree of apprehension. Staying at home exacerbated both physical and mental health issues. Study habits suffered, and interest in learning waned. Physical health concerns excessive daytime sleepiness, disrupted nocturnal sleep patterns, decreased appetite, sedentary behavior, weight gain or obesity, as well as feelings of fatigue, dizziness, and listlessness. Toquero ( 2020 ) noted similar issues, outlining the impact of COVID-19 on children’s mental health and educational performance. Delays in examinations, results, and promotions to the next academic level intensified student stress, echoing findings by Sahu ( 2020 ).

As an unintended outcome of the pandemic, online alternatives to traditional higher education have gained prominence, particularly in Bangladesh. However, these methods are not without their limitations. The study identified persistent challenges in Bangladesh’s online education system, including a lack of electronic devices such as laptops, smartphones, computers, and essential tools for online courses. Additionally, limited or absent internet access, expensive mobile data packages or broadband connections, disruptions during online classes due to slow or unstable internet speeds, and frequent power outages in both urban and rural areas hamper the efficacy of online learning. These findings echo prior research (Aldowah et al., 2019 ; Liguori and Winkler, 2020 ).

Amidst the challenges, the study also unveiled positive outcomes in academic pursuits. Students reported spending more time engaging with television, movies, YouTube videos, computer and mobile device gaming, and social networking platforms like Facebook and Instagram compared to pre-pandemic times. Some students even took a break from their studies due to university closures. They capitalized on online platforms such as Coursera, edX, and FutureLearn during their downtime at home, while others embraced hobbies like cooking and drawing. Furthermore, students actively participated in voluntary extracurricular activities, such as freelancing, unpaid internships, remote jobs, virtual conferences, seminars, webinars, workshops, and various competitions. These findings parallel those of Ali ( 2020 ), underscoring students’ varied engagement during the pandemic. In response, students proposed suggestions for enhancing educational operations, including reducing homework loads, minimizing screen time, and improving lecture delivery. Scholars like Ferrel and Ryan ( 2020 ) have recommended reducing cognitive load, enhancing engagement, implementing identity-based access, introducing case-based learning, and employing comprehensive assessments.

In conclusion, this study sheds light on the multifaceted impacts of COVID-19 on university students’ educational experiences. The pandemic prompted an accelerated shift towards digital learning, demonstrating advantages and limitations. Despite the challenges, students exhibited resilience and adaptability. As we navigate these uncharted waters, embracing the positive aspects of technology-enabled education while addressing its challenges will be pivotal for ensuring continued learning excellence.

Bangladesh boasts diverse educational institutions, ranging from colleges and universities to schools and beyond. The widespread repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic have jolted the global academic community. This study delves into how COVID-19 has influenced students’ academic performance, encompassing emotional well-being, physical health, financial circumstances, and social relationships. However, certain aspects of the curriculum, particularly science and technology-focused areas involving online lab assessments and practical courses, present challenges. Despite its adverse effects on academic activities, COVID-19 has ushered in positive outcomes for several students, revealing successful interactions with virtual education and contentment with online learning methods.

This study paves the way for further research to refine the online learning environment in Bangladeshi public universities. The findings indicate that the current strategies employed for online university teaching may lack the motivational impetus required to elevate students’ comprehension levels and actively involve them in the learning process. Consequently, there is room for conducting additional studies to enhance the online learning experience, benefiting both educators and students alike. Higher education institutions need to exert concerted efforts to establish sustainable solutions for Bangladesh’s educational challenges in the post-COVID era. A hybrid learning approach, blending online and offline components, emerges as a potentially effective strategy to navigate future situations akin to COVID-19. A collaborative effort involving governments, organizations, and educators is imperative to bridge educational gaps within this framework. Governments could play a pivotal role by providing ICT training to instructors and students, fostering a more technologically adept academic community.

This research furnishes policymakers with insights to devise strategies that mitigate the detrimental impacts of crises such as pandemics on the educational system. Notwithstanding its limitations, including a confined sample size and the sole focus on a single university within a specific country, the study contributes valuable data. This research serves as a foundation, particularly in a science and technology-focused institution where the transition to online formats is intricate due to the nature of practical courses and lab work. This information could prove invaluable to Bangladesh’s Ministry of Education as it formulates policies to counteract the adverse effects of crises on the educational realm.

Furthermore, this study serves as a springboard for subsequent investigations into the far-reaching implications of COVID-19 on academic engagement. Expanding the scope, larger-scale studies could be conducted in various locations to enrich the data pool. Additionally, considering the perspectives of professors and other stakeholders within higher education is an avenue for future exploration. Employing quantitative research methodologies with substantial sample sizes can ensure the broader applicability of the results. This study offers a multifaceted view of how COVID-19 has permeated students’ academic pursuits, opening doors for comprehensive research and proactive policy-making in education.

Data availability

The data collected from the participants in the study cannot be shared, since participants were explicitly informed during the qualitative data collection process that their information would remain confidential and not be disclosed. Participants provided consent solely for the collection of relevant data for the study.

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Saha, B., Atiqul Haq, S.M. & Ahmed, K.J. How does the COVID-19 pandemic influence students’ academic activities? An explorative study in a public university in Bangladesh. Humanit Soc Sci Commun 10 , 602 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-023-02094-y

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10 COVID-19’s Affect on Education, Specifically in High Schools

Melissa Kostecki

Introduction

Our country, The United States of America, has been heavily impacted by the global pandemic, COVID-19, in numerous ways. One major aspect of our country that has had to heavily adjust to these new safety protocols is our education system, specifically high schools. A typical day of high school no longer looks like a day from 8 am to 3 pm, with extracurricular activities following school to socialize. Now, high schools all around the United States have had to switch to virtual learning, to protect students’ and teachers’ health. This dramatic change in high schools has been challenging, but it has shown how strong our education system is. COVID-19 has challenged and modified the way high schools are now functioning by forcing online learning technology to advance rapidly, having to introduce and create new ways of learning, and adjusting the education system to the new norms of our society. This topic relates to STS because without the technology we have today, virtual learning would not be possible. Advancements in learning technology have allowed high schools around the world to function during this time.

Impact on Learning Technology in Secondary Education

To begin, a major part that high school systems have had to change is the learning technology being used to hold virtual classes. High schools and technology companies have had to figure out quickly what is needed to make virtual learning easy and available to all students. Holding virtual classes requires high schools to have various online learning resources to help students succeed and stay on track during this time. The main application used by most high school students is called Zoom . Zoom is an online communication application that is used to hold virtual classes. Teachers have many tools avail able on this application to help make virtual classes more interactive. Certain features that teachers enjoy include, “Many teachers take advantage of the Zoom feature that allows for recording conversations and saving chat transcripts so students can refer to them later” ( Lieberman 2). Zoom is an easy-to-use application that allows high school teachers to interact with students by sharing their screens with the class and viewing their students through web came ras. But, with most high schoo ls around the country using this tool, it has forced Zoom to advance its technology very rapidly so that it’s able to cater to the number of users that need it.

The rapid increase in Zoom users has challenged the application. Lieberman (2020) noted, “The surge of new users, including 90,000 schools and the rapid increase in users has also led to increased scrutiny of the security limitations” (1). Clearly, there has been a rapid increase in the number of high schools that are relying on this application, which has caused slight defects as Zoom continues to improve its system. But, without this technology, it would make learning online much more difficult and could cause some students to fall behind in school. Luckily, with learning technology advancements like Zoom, virtual learning is manageable and more interactive.

Creating New Technology to Make High School Learning Interactive

It is evident that high school students are concerned about their futures and they feel that what their school may be doing is not enough for them to stay on track. So, from this information, it’s evident that students’ futures may have to be put slightly on pause for them to get back on track. High schools around the United States should begin to implement online resources to help high school students stay on track with their goal of college. Resources can include how to study for standardized tests and faculty helping students with their college applications. As our education system continues to endeavor during this time, each day more and more new learning techniques continue to be implemented to help students. But, it’s evident that more needs to be done to make students feel prepared for the future during this time. As high schools continue to advance their online systems, more resources will likely be available to help students thinking about life after high school during this time.

Impact on High School Student’s Social Interaction & Mental Health

“This dramatic change in high schools has been challenging, but it has shown how strong our education system is.”

As our society begins to adjust to the new norms of our society of maintaining six feet apart from others, wearing a mask in public, and staying home if you’re sick, our interaction with each other has changed. A main part of the high school experience is interacting with classmates inside and outside of the classroom ( Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 1). High school students are missing out on memories like prom, graduation, and sporting events. All of this uncertainty for when high school will return to normal has created a lot of anxiety and stress for students ( Kreitz 1). But, being in a global pandemic gives students the only option of dealing with this situation and creating solutions. High schools around the country have begun making solutions like, making their extracurricular clubs meet virtually. One high school in Texas has shifted their club fair to be virtual, so students still have the opportunity to stay in contact with peers and make new friends. A teacher Vivian Hernandez (2020) describes the importance of social interaction during this time, “When educators sponsor a student club, they’re building community, they bring students together, student clubs do not have to stop because of COVID-19, they may be more important now than ever” (1). Interaction with others will help make high school students feel less lonely during this time. High schools around the country are creating new ways to hold regular student sessions like this, which shows how high schools can come together to support one another. 

Luckily, thanks to the technology we have, high school students can easily learn from home. Without computers, e-textbooks, and online applications, it would be impossible to continue to go through the school year. And although students are missing the structure of the normal school day, this will only make high school institutions stronger for the future.  Dr. Michael Krüger, Coordinator of the International Education Management noted in an interview that despite the complexity of the new teaching and learning arrangements, he is surprised how focused everyone is and how much has been achieved. Krüger believes the lessons learned from these experiences will have a lasting impact on their teaching and help strengthen the educational system ( Wawa , 1). As an education system, all members of high schools have worked to strengthen their learning techniques and to adapt to the new norms of our society during this time. 

Connection to STS Theory

The topic of how education has changed in high schools across the country due to COVID-19 relates to the STS theory of social constructivism. Social constructivism describes that science & technology are importantly social, that they are always active, and that they do not provide a direct route from nature to ideas. The main aspects of this theory is seen throughout this chapter. The technology that has been created to make virtual learning easier and more engaging was shaped by teachers, students, and parents’ biases based on what they believed to be the best way of learning virtually. Also, science and technology are very active during this time and are constantly changing since as we begin to test new ways of learning, our high schools are learning what methods are efficient and what is not, changing them accordingly. Lastly, the technology being used is not an actual description of nature and is not displaying the normal techniques that would be used to teach high school students.

To conclude, COVID-19 has impacted the high schools around our country significantly. But, through the technology available to students, the education system has been able to reach new limits and introduce new ways of learning using virtual-technology that have never been used before. Now, new ways of learning will be implemented into school days when things go back to normal. Although there are rising concerns about students not performing as well or being prepared, high schools around the country have been able to adapt to a one of a kind situation and have been able to continue to teach through the learning technology that is available to our society. Students’ social interaction and mental health has also shifted during this time, but communities are coming together to support one another and create new ways to interact so that each student feels happy. COVID-19 has challenged and modified the way high schools are now functioning, by forcing learning technology to advance rapidly, having to introduce and create new ways of learning, and adjusting the education system to the new norms of our society. Through this global pandemic, we’ve seen how strong our education system in high schools really is.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Operating schools during COVID-19: CDC’s Considerations. ” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020, https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/schools.html .

Chick, Robert C., et al. “Using Technology to Maintain the Education of Residents during the COVID-19 Pandemic.”  Journal of Surgical Education , vol. 77, no. 4, 2020, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1931720420300842.

Fox, Michelle. “Go to college or skip it? High school students face a new reality due to coronavirus.” CNBC, 24 Apr. 2020, https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/24/high-school-students-face-a-new-reality-due-to-coronavirus.html.

Hernandez, Vivian. “Creating Online Clubs for Students During Remote Learning.” Edutopia,  28 Sep. 2020, https://www.edutopia.org/article/creating-online-clubs-students-during-remote-learning .

Kreitz, Mary. “The Impact of COVID-19 on high school students.” Child & Adolescent Behavioral Health, 2020,   https://www.childandadolescent.org/the-impact-of-covid-19-on-high-school-students/.

Lieberman, Mark. “Zoom Use Skyrockets During Coronavirus Pandemic, Prompting Wave of Problems for Schoo ls .” E ducationWeek , 3 Apr. 2020, https://www.edweek.org/technology/zoom-use-skyrockets-during-coronavirus-pandemic-prompting-wave-of-problems-for-schools/2020/04  Accessed 4 Dec. 2020.

Wawa, Brenda. “COVID-19 and Higher Education: Interview with Dr. Michael Krüger .” Academic Impact, 2020,   https://academicimpact.un.org/content/covid-19-and-higher-education-interview-dr-michael-kr%C3%BCger .

“Woman in Pink Shirt Sitting by the Table While Smiling” by Julia M Cameron is in the Public Domain

“Photo of Child Sitting by the Table While Looking at the Imac” by Julia M Cameron is in the P ublic Domain

COVID-19: Success Within Devastation Copyright © 2020 by Melissa Kostecki is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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How Did the Covid-19 Pandemic Affect You, Your Family and Your Community?

This week is the fourth anniversary of the pandemic. What are your most lasting memories? How did it reshape your life — and the world?

By Jeremy Engle

It has been four years since the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 a global pandemic on March 11, 2020. The New York Times writes of the anniversary:

Four years ago today, society began to shut down. Shortly after noon Eastern on March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared Covid — or “the coronavirus,” then the more popular term — to be a global pandemic. Stocks plummeted in the afternoon. In the span of a single hour that night, President Donald Trump delivered an Oval Office address about Covid, Tom Hanks posted on Instagram that he had the virus and the N.B.A. announced it had canceled the rest of its season. It was a Wednesday, and thousands of schools would shut by the end of the week. Workplaces closed, too. People washed their hands frequently and touched elbows instead of shaking hands (although the C.D.C. continued to discourage widespread mask wearing for several more weeks). The worst pandemic in a century had begun.

For some people, the earliest days of the pandemic may feel like a lifetime ago; for others, it may feel like just yesterday. But for all of us Covid has indelibly changed our lives and the world. What do you remember about the earliest days of the pandemic? When did it first hit home for you? How did it affect you, your family and your community? What lessons did you learn about yourself and the world?

In “ Four Years On, Covid Has Reshaped Life for Many Americans ,” Julie Bosman writes that while the threat of severe illness and death has faded for many people, the pandemic’s effects still linger:

Jessie Thompson, a 36-year-old mother of two in Chicago, is reminded of the Covid-19 pandemic every day. Sometimes it happens when she picks up her children from day care and then lets them romp around at a neighborhood park on the way home. Other times, it’s when she gets out the shower at 7 a.m. after a weekday workout. “I always think: In my past life, I’d have to be on the train in 15 minutes,” said Ms. Thompson, a manager at United Airlines. A hybrid work schedule has replaced her daily commute to the company headquarters in downtown Chicago, giving Ms. Thompson more time with her children and a deeper connection to her neighbors. “The pandemic is such a negative memory,” she said. “But I have this bright spot of goodness from it.” For much of the United States, the pandemic is now firmly in the past, four years to the day that the Trump administration declared a national emergency as the virus spread uncontrollably. But for many Americans, the pandemic’s effects are still a prominent part of their daily lives. In interviews, some people said that the changes are subtle but unmistakable: Their world feels a little smaller, with less socializing and fewer crowds. Parents who began to home-school their children never stopped. Many people are continuing to mourn relatives and spouses who died of Covid or of complications from the coronavirus. The World Health Organization dropped its global health emergency designation in May 2023, but millions of people who survived the virus are suffering from long Covid, a mysterious and frequently debilitating condition that causes fatigue, muscle pain and cognitive decline . One common sentiment has emerged. The changes brought on by the pandemic now feel lasting, a shift that may have permanently reshaped American life.

As part of our coverage of the pandemic’s anniversary, The Times asked readers how Covid has changed their attitudes toward life. Here is what they said:

“I’m a much more grateful person. Life is precious, and I see the beauty in all the little miracles that happen all around me. I’m a humbled human being now. I have more empathy and compassion towards everyone.” — Gil Gallegos, 59, Las Vegas, N.M. “The pandemic has completely changed my approach to educating my child. My spouse and I had never seriously considered home-schooling until March 2020. Now, we wouldn’t have it any other way.” — Kim Harper, 47, Clinton, Md. “I had contamination O.C.D. before the pandemic began. The last four years have been a steady string of my worst fears coming true. I never feel safe anymore. I know very well now that my body can betray me at any time.” — Adelia Brown, 23, Madison, Wis. “I don’t take for granted the pleasure of being around people. Going to a show, a road trip, a restaurant, people watching at the opera. I love it.” — Philip Gunnels, 66, Sugar Land, Texas “My remaining years are limited. On the one hand, I feel cheated out of many experiences I was looking forward to; on the other hand, I do not want to live my remaining years with long Covid. It’s hard.” — Sandra Wulach, 77, Edison, N.J.

Students, read one or both of the articles and then tell us:

How did the Covid-19 pandemic affect you, your family and your community? How did it reshape your life and the world? What are your most lasting memories of this difficult period? What do you want to remember most? What do you want to forget?

How did you change during this time? What did you learn about yourself and about life? What do you wish you knew then that you know now?

Ms. Bosman writes that some of the people she interviewed revealed that four years after the global pandemic began, “Their world feels a little smaller, with less socializing and fewer crowds.” However, Gil Gallegos told The Times: “I’m a much more grateful person. Life is precious, and I see the beauty in all the little miracles that happen all around me. I’m a humbled human being now. I have more empathy and compassion towards everyone.” Which of the experiences shared in the two articles reminded you the most of your own during and after the pandemic and why? How did Covid change your overall outlook on life?

“The last normal day of school.” “The nursing home shut its doors.” “The bride wore Lululemon.” These are just a few quotes from “ When the Pandemic Hit Home ,” an article in which The Times asked readers to share their memories of the world shutting down. Read the article and then tell us about a time when the pandemic hit home for you.

In the last four years, scientists have unraveled some of the biggest mysteries about Covid. In another article , The Times explores many remaining questions about the coronavirus: Are superdodgers real? Is Covid seasonal? And what’s behind its strangest symptoms? Read the article and then tell us what questions you still have about the virus and its effects.

How do you think history books will tell the story of the pandemic? If you were to put together a time capsule of artifacts from this era to show people 100 years from now, what would you include and why? What will you tell your grandchildren about what it was like to live during this time?

Students 13 and older in the United States and Britain, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public and may appear in print.

Find more Student Opinion questions here. Teachers, check out this guide to learn how you can incorporate these prompts into your classroom.

Jeremy Engle joined The Learning Network as a staff editor in 2018 after spending more than 20 years as a classroom humanities and documentary-making teacher, professional developer and curriculum designer working with students and teachers across the country. More about Jeremy Engle

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• Published: 13 January 2023

Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on life and learning experiences of indigenous and non-Indigenous university and college students in Ontario, Canada: a qualitative study

• Farriss Blaskovits 1 ,
• Imaan Bayoumi 1 , 2 ,
• Colleen M. Davison 2 ,
• Autumn Watson 1 , 3 &
• Eva Purkey 1 , 2  

BMC Public Health volume  23 , Article number:  96 ( 2023 ) Cite this article

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The years people spend attending university or college are often filled with transition and life change. Younger students often move into their adult identity by working through challenges and encountering new social experiences. These transitions and stresses have been impacted significantly by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has led to dramatic change in the post-secondary experience, particularly in the pandemic’s early months when colleges and universities were closed to in person teaching. The goal of this study was to identify how COVID-19 has specifically impacted the postsecondary student population in Kingston, Ontario, Canada.

The Cost of COVID is a mixed methods study exploring the social and emotional impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, with a focus on families, youth, and urban Indigenous People. The present analysis was completed using a subset of qualitative data including Spryng.io micronarrative stories from students in college and university, as well as in-depth interviews from service providers providing services to students. A double-coded phenomenological approach was used to collect and analyze data to explore and identify themes expressed by postsecondary students and service providers who worked with postsecondary students.

Twenty-six micronarratives and seven in-depth interviews were identified that were specifically relevant to the post-secondary student experience. From this data, five prominent themes arose. Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the use of technology was important to the post secondary experience. The pandemic has substantial educational impact on students, in what they chose to learn, how it was taught, and experiences to which they were exposed. Health and wellbeing, physical, psychological and emotional, were impacted. Significant impacts were felt on family, community, and connectedness aspects. Finally, the pandemic had important financial impacts on students which affected their learning and their experience of the pandemic. Impacts did differ for Indigenous students, with many of the traditional cultural supports and benefits of spaces of higher education no longer being available.

Our study highlights important impacts of the pandemic on students of higher education that may have significant individual and societal implications going forward. Both postsecondary institutions and society at large need to attend to these impacts, in order to preserve the wellbeing of graduates, the Canadian labor market, and to ensure that the pandemic does not further exacerbate existing inequalities in post-secondary education in Canada.

Peer Review reports

University and college years are often full of formative experiences when young people explore interests, socialize, and begin to develop their adult identity. Students may begin to develop an understanding of what is important to them, who is important to them, and what they want to do with their lives through assessment of their own values as well as those of close relationships and social groups [ 1 ]. Identity and intimacy overlap when young adults both develop their sense of self and use social interactions to clarify personal values, gauge successes and expectations [ 1 , 2 ]. This development creates distance from previous family or social roles, and students start to navigate social interactions and extracurricular activities independently. Doing so develops critical thinking skills, teamwork, and can enable higher levels of academic and future professional performance [ 3 , 4 ].

Changes and stresses naturally occur during this life stage and time of transition. Establishing identity and career goals is one such change. In addition to scholastic and identity formation, there are also practical concerns of coordinating housing, cooking, finances, and work-life balance which most students must manage for the first time [ 5 ].

Unique challenges may be present for students from equity-seeking groups. Rheinschmidt and Mendoza-Denton found that students of higher education from lower earning households worry about unfamiliar cultural norms or stereotypes, possibly leading to anxiety-provoking expectations of discrimination which can impact school performance [ 6 ]. This discrimination can be subtle, such as the experience of feeling ‘othered’, enduring microaggressions, or experiencing a sense of hypervisibility when speaking out against colonialism and racism [ 7 ]. Alternatively, it may be explicit, such as in Currie et al. where Indigenous postsecondary students faced deliberate housing discrimination [ 8 ]. Literature involving postsecondary and graduate Indigenous students shows that academic success often hinges on a sense of community provided by Indigenous peer and faculty support [ 9 , 10 ]. Self-compassion and institutional supports can help students navigate stressors, especially for women, sexual minorities, and first-generation postgraduate students [ 11 ].

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Indigenous women in Canada were half as likely to hold a bachelors degree as non-Indigenous women (14% vs 32%), and Indigenous men were less than a third as likely to hold a bachelors degree as non-Indigenous men (8% vs 27%) [ 12 ]. Despite the gap, these numbers represent a significant increase in Indigenous achievement in higher education between 2006 and 2016.

The COVID-19 pandemic imposed many essential restrictions on individuals and institutions. Schools had to accommodate quickly to changing public health requirements. This meant that most classrooms became virtual, limits were imposed on group learning [ 13 ], and professional development opportunities declined – especially in degrees requiring practical hands-on training [ 14 , 15 ]. Frequent changes to work schedules, school schedules, access to resources, and program expectations contributed to added stress. The need for technology in this new environment was financially limiting for some more than others [ 16 ]. For example, many Indigenous students from remote communities encountered further challenges with irregular access to computers or limited ability to connect via high-speed internet [ 17 ]. The impact of remote learning differed among students, with students who had previously attained lower grades being disproportionately challenged [ 18 ].

Typical coping mechanisms for the pre-pandemic stressors such as physical activity, social interactions and student meetings, were limited at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic [ 19 , 20 ]. This coincided with decreased mentorship and institutional support which created an environment that challenged success [ 20 ].

The present analysis seeks to explore the experiences of post secondary students during the first 9 months of the pandemic in a medium sized Canadian city. This study is unique in that it includes experiences of both students and post-secondary service providers, and intentionally includes the voices of Indigenous students and their service providers. As mentioned above, there remain important disparities between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians in higher education, and ensuring that recent gains are not lost due to changes related to the COVID-19 pandemic remains important in any analysis of the impact of the pandemic on higher education in Canada.

The data for this analysis were drawn from a large mixed-methods study entitled the Cost of COVID, which explored the social and emotional impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox, and Addington public health region (KFL&A) of Southeastern Ontario, Canada as reported in previous manuscripts [ 21 , 22 , 23 ]. The overall study collected data from across the community, but with an intentional focus on families and youth, as well as on collecting information on the experiences of urban Indigenous People and people living in poverty, who face barriers to participating in research and whose voices are often missed in such projects. Data were collected from June 2020 until November 2020. KFL&A is an area with a population of 210,000 people that was relatively spared during the first year of the pandemic, with 758 cases of COVID-19 and a single death as of the end of the study period. The region had a strong public health response, with and excellent communication strategies, strong leadership, and high levels of compliance with public health guidelines [ 24 , 25 ]. There are three institutions of higher education in Kingston: Queen’s University, St Lawrence College, and the Royal Military College of Canada. During the study period, all these institutions conducted remote learning for the vast majority of their students.

Ethics approval for the study was obtained through Queen’s University Health Sciences and Affiliated Teaching Hospital’s Research Ethics Board. An Indigenous oversight committee was created in collaboration with the Indigenous Health Council (IHC) to ensure that any Indigenous data collected was in alignment with the First Nations principles of Ownership, Control, Access and Possession (OCAP®). Specifically, the oversight committee was involved in research question approval and helped guide interpretation of results as they pertained to Indigenous people [ 26 ].

Data sources

This analysis includes data from two sources:

Spryng.io Micronarratives: Spryng.io is an online data collection platform that allows for rapid collection of a large number of short stories or “micronarratives”. Inclusion criteria were adults over 18 years of age consenting to the study, and participants were recruited using a combination of convenience sampling (via email, social media, flyers and posters) and purposive sampling (at sites and events frequented by target populations, including Indigenous People). Participants were asked to tell a short story in response to one of three study prompts: (1) Please tell a story about the worst OR best impact of COVID-19 on you and/or your household; (2) Please tell a story about how the COVID pandemic has affected you physically, mentally, spiritually or emotionally; or (3) Fast forward a year from now. What memorable story would you tell a friend about how COVID-19 affected you and/or your household? This story could be dictated and automatically transcribed through online software, or typed directly by participants. Stories ranged from 150 to 800 words, with most falling between 250 and 500 words. Some demographic information was collected, however names and uniquely identifiable information were not.

In-depth Interviews: The in-depth interviews used for the Cost of COVID Study have been described elsewhere [ 21 , 22 , 23 ]. These were conducted with key informants recruited from organizations providing healthcare and social services in KFL&A, including service providers in child welfare services, school support, mental health services, and domestic violence services, among others. Intentional recruitment was performed of service providers from organizations providing services to Indigenous Peoples. Service providers were interviewed using a semi-structured interview guide to facilitate reporting on changes observed in their clients throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Interviews were completed via Zoom, between October 2020 and November 2020. This video conferencing platformwas used in order adhere to public health social distancing guidelines. Interviews were audio recorded through the Zoom platform, and transcribed in their entirety.

Participant selection

For the purposes of this analysis, the Spryng.io micronarratives relevant to the college and university experience were identified using a set of keyword searches in the full data set. Keywords included: course, degree, grad*, school, stud*, college, university, class*, Queen*, St. Lawrence, Lawrence*. Of 211 micronarratives collected, 26 were retained for analysis, including 4 from self-identified Indigenous students. In depth interviews relevant to the college and university experience were identified based on the job descriptions identified by participants (eg: student advisor). Of the 32 collected, 7 were retained for analysis, including 3 from Indigenous service providers. Our total sample for data analysis therefore involved 33 transcripts.

Data analysis

A phenomenological approach was used to understand themes expressed by postsecondary students and service providers who worked with postsecondary students [ 27 ]. Phenomenology is the study of people’s lived experience of a phenomenon, in this case the postsecondary student experience during the COVID-19 pandemic, and provides an up-close and first-person perspective on a complex topic or phenomenon [ 27 ]. Data transcripts were read in their entirety by two researchers (FB and EP), and inductive coding was performed using NVIVO software. Initial themes were progressively compressed through thematic groupings to move from over 30 themes to 15. Through co-analysis both researchers further narrowed themes until 5 main themes were identified.

As discussed, 211 micronarratives Spryng.io micronarratives were collected for the Cost of COVID Study. Of these, 26 were retained for this analysis using key word search, including 4 from self-identified Indigenous students. Thirty-two service providers interviews were conducted for the larger study, and 7 were retained as relevant to postsecondary students, including 3 from Indigenous service providers.

The prominent themes that arose from our phenomenological analysis were impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the use of technology, on education, on health and wellbeing, on family, and on finances.

Impact on the use of technology

Participants described the expanded use of technology, that is any use of hardware or software, as core for schooling during the COVID-19 pandemic. Technology has been a necessary aspect of university and college life for many years, but the pandemic has forced technology to become the focus of educational efforts. Participants noted that exams and classes now needed to be taken online rather than in-person. Students needed to locate and adjust to virtual research and volunteer opportunities as well. Postsecondary institutions were finding ways to limit disruptions to learning and individuals’ degrees as much as possible by switching formats, but the impact on the students in our study was substantial. Responses were mixed regarding how this reliance on technology affected students on an individual level. Some respondents found that this was a positive change in their lives. One individual with chronic health concerns found the lack of commute – now having the ability to work from home – easier on their health. And another participant found that it allowed for more time to spend with family:

“I’m considered at risk of being immune compromised because of my condition. […] I’m doing online learning there’s positives to it […] that I don’t have to leave and go through the whole process of travelling.” (Spryng.io, 5638).

“I will focus on the best impact which would of course be the extra time our family has been able to share while working and attending school from home. My significant other started a new job and I began a new semester in university, and having the extra time during these busy schedules to still see each other through it has been extremely nice and brought us even closer together.” (Spryng.io, 5626).

Others, however, found the new integration of specific technologies into their lives dehumanizing and detrimental. They became fatigued with screens and technology, and any support offered remotely either felt like more work, or there was not enough of a personal connection to truly help. Ironically, through increased virtual connection and entering people’s homes remotely, there was a related decrease in emotional connection and support – and at times an invasion of privacy. Students noted that it was convenient to work from home, but social isolation was challenging, even if family members were nearby. A service provider noted that they would typically be able to read body language and tell if someone needed to talk if they were in-person, or they could leave a door unlocked for office hours to allow students to come in of their own volition which was no longer possible:

“I find it hard to continue living life without the small things like going to the movies, bars and spending time with large groups of friends. I find that FaceTime calls and zoom meetings do not even begin to compare to the human interaction we once had.” (Spryng.io, 5946).

“Typically in an in-class capacity, you know, I can see students. I can see if they’re triggered by something. You get to see these emotional reactions and if someone needs to get up and leave because of a conversation, you know to follow-up with them. And we don’t have that benefit in a virtual context because they leave their cameras off. So you never have any idea.” (Service Provider, 10A).

“You know, it’s weird because there’s again a bit of oxymoron between, like a total lack of privacy and being lonely. And I think like that’s interesting for all of us that like we’re in each other’s houses. And a lot of them have nowhere to go and so I’ll be in their bedroom, right. Like they’re sitting in their bedroom on their computer and I can see their unmade bed.” (Service Provider, 6A).

The switch towards remote learning had both positive and negative outcomes. One service provider highlighted this well, recognizing the role that technology played for the rural student population at a local postsecondary institution. In some cases, having a virtual option broke down barriers, but on the other hand some students (particularly Indigenous respondents) had limited access to internet and technology such as laptops and found face-to-face learning more beneficial to the academic experience:

“Even when we go back, you know if things return to somewhat normal, it is nice to have that virtual option for students who maybe don’t have transportation and live in a rural area outside of our area, to be able to participate in after-hours events with other students and be able to participate in some of those conversations” (Service Provider, 10A).

“I think it’s affected Indigenous people, especially the ones that don’t have access to technology, that don’t have internet. Because like so many people in our community do not have access to internet. Like they would, like to get internet they would go sit like outside a Tim Hortons or a library or somewhere. And when those were all locked down, then it was harder for them to access” (Service Provider, 12A).

“And what students are looking for is this ability to connect through, you know, feasts and crafts and things that they can kind of put their hands on and take them away from their study. And in this virtual capacity, they don’t want one more screen time in a day of screen time.” (Service Provider, 10A).

Impact on education

In this study, the “education” theme encompassed student performance, delivery of academic materials and opportunities, access to professors and tutors, and the overall academic structure. The pandemic disrupted the education process in numerous ways including school year being cut short, lack of celebration of successes, and altered opportunities as programs shifted towards remote classes and learning. These disruptions were compounded with the other themes uncovered in our results creating challenges for students and institutions alike.

The pandemic forced individuals to relocate, with numerous respondents moving back to their family homes more than a month before they had intended to. Some had to move from out-of-country, and others moved home when they were intended to remain at school for summer courses. While these major changes were occurring, some students felt that their schools were not supporting them:

“The worst impact of the pandemic on me was having to leave my studies and long term my relationship in California to come back home to Canada.” (Spryng.io, 5947).

“My job and volunteer roles were all ended, and I was forced to try and complete a thesis and 3 courses at my parents’ home. […] I feel [name of University] has made VERY little effort to celebrate their graduates, especially compared to other universities and high schools.” (Spryng.io, 4051).

Staying home meant, for some respondents, that they now needed to balance home life with their school work. This, in some situations, meant they had more time for school work, whereas in other cases home responsibilities took over:

“Before the pandemic I would have had to work [outside of the home] three to four times a week and I believe it was impacting my grades to some degree.” (Spryng.io, 5631).

“Worried about the effects on my schooling if they [respondent’s children] don’t return to school full time themselves in the fall.” (Spryng.io, 4095).

There were also effects on students’ education directly. Students were not able to relate to material in the same way and isolating at home also limited access to tutoring and support services which further impacted success. Some also worried about the lack of exposure to professional development and volunteer opportunities. One service provider also highlighted the challenge of providing support virtually, which has led to changing degrees and academic concerns:

“We did see a little bit of a drop off of students who withdrew after the mid point in the first semester. So we had some movement of course either within different programs to switch to programs that might be more conducive to like a virtual learning environment versus some of the hands-on programs that they might have had previously. So switching to like general arts versus, you know, nursing or something that maybe more challenge in a virtual context. So there’s been that movement as well with students changing their studies. And with us not being able to outreach or connect with them on a regular basis, we’re anticipating that there will be, you know, concerns at the end of the semester of students who um didn’t complete their semester or somehow kind of got lost in the shuffle of life, and fallen behind.” (Service Provider, 10A).

Despite these worries, there was still hope and acknowledgement that this new virtual world opened opportunities to students that wouldn’t have been considered previously. There was a positivity in these responses, a hopeful surprise that new opportunities became available in a stressful time:

“Suddenly, no one was able to access electives and we had new opportunities to do online research and home electives in specialties of medicine that we didn’t have before. So, initially seemed like a big shock factor for applications, turned out to be a blessing in disguise through which we could do better career exploration.” (Spryng.io, 4133).

“She was able to find a couple of Professors to get hours with and in doing so landed a research assistant position. Getting paid and being given credit as co-author in a publication she would not have known about had she been in Italy.” (Spryng.io, 4122).

Impact on health and wellness

Many participants discussed the impact of the pandemic on their health and wellbeing. These responses involved negative and positive impacts on mental, physical, and emotional wellbeing, including health and safety. Participants discussed safety, or lack thereof, as any threat impacting holistic wellbeing, including within the household, due to a specific stressor, or a more generalized threat.

Mental health was a common sub-theme among respondents. Anxiety and depression due to social isolation was commonly mentioned to be an issue for postsecondary students:

“Like a really huge increase in the amount of anxiety that like people coming to me saying that they feel anxious and they’re having panic attacks or that they feel like really depressed because of the situation” (Service Provider, 12A).

“I am so lonely and sad and feel like I have no purpose. This has been one of the worst experiences of my life and I have never felt so alone and isolated […] I struggled with an eating disorder in high school, and being home all day with nothing to do but make food, and the gym being closed has made me gain weight” (Spryng.io, 4051).

Some respondents also identified changes in substance use:

“I think during COVID, you’re just by yourself and no one knows what you are doing… I remember helping one student who was living in a house where everyone was using. And they said, I just can’t live here. We had to try and find a different accommodation for that person.” (Service Provider, 12A).

Not all references to mental health during the pandemic, however, were negative. Some discussed trying to stay positive and looking for the best in their present situations:

“I intend to enjoy self-isolation by appreciating what I can do and at least attempting to learn some skills that so far have evaded me.” (Spryng.io, 5561).

Some respondents felt that the impacts of isolation and Public Health restrictions affected people disproportionately, such as certain Indigenous People experiencing fractured communities, and decreased support:

“We have felt constant pressure from our peers to on one hand bend the rules, make exceptions; and on the other hand, uphold the precautions of public health experts, “do the right thing“, even as we watch our community grow more distant and fragmented.” (Spryng.io, 6011).

While not unique to postsecondary students, the necessity of isolation also made emotional abuse and controlling behavior potentially more feasible and even more hidden that usual among this population as well. Decreased public supports due to daycare closures and decreased work hours meant that some students need to rely on, or more frequently interact with, abusive family members who could previously be kept at a distance. A service provider further recognized the threat to physical violence that has occurred during the pandemic as well:

“My husband’s covert narcissism was enabled by the social isolation required to survive the pandemic. It really made me feel even more trapped and enraged […]”. (Spryng.io, 5791).

“And the reality is that there are people who have things going on at home, such as domestic violence or family conflict with other people in their home” (Service Provider, 10A).

Physical health was also discussed, with a mixture of negative and positive associations. Some individuals found that a lack of routine and overall stress contributed to negative physical health, whereas others found that their new routines allowed for more time to improve their overall health. Physical health was impacted for some respondents due to how people around them chose to ignore Public Health recommendations. It was an emotional threat with the implications for physical health and understanding that certain individuals were not concerned with the safety of those around them:

“I was better able to spend a lot of time rebuilding both my physical and mental health”. (Spryng.io, 4157).

“Isolated as I live at home but still do not feel comfortable living in the ghetto with the other students who can’t take the pandemic seriously”. (Spryng.io, 5404).

Impact on family

Participants discussed family both as the nuclear or extended family in the Western sense, as well as those identified as chosen family by the respondent. This could include friends, teachers, community members, and others the respondents felt connected to. Individuals noted both positives and challenges regarding the impact of the pandemic on family and community interactions.

Some respondents found that working from home or moving home earlier than expected impacted work-life balance. And one service provider highlighted how this could disproportionately affect Indigenous learners:

“I’m a single mother with three kids ten and under, I am also a full-time distance Ed university student. As a result of school closures, I have had my children with me for my whole semester”. (Spryng.io, 4095).

“A little bit differently in the sense that some of our Indigenous students are also caretakers for siblings and things, you know, [for] their parents. Have taken the siblings from the home and they’ve moved in with them. So it’s a little bit different of a dynamic and so they’re also juggling those caregiving responsibilities as a student for a child that, you know, belongs to the family but is not necessarily their own.” (Service Provider, 10A).

It was clear how important relationships and family were to students, with changes in relationships and family dynamics. Some individuals needed to move home to complete their school year, and despite being close to family felt alone because of different schedules. Others found that they worried about the virus and the impact on different family members. And in other instances, the pandemic was able to mend families and connect them in new ways over distances:

“We played games on the weekend, walked together most evenings and enjoyed creating an oasis on our back yard for the summer. […] It was a time we will always remember getting through together”. (Spryng.io, 4118).

“My desire to heal and recover from the dysfunction in my family and marriage was stymied”. (Spryng.io, 5791).

Relationships with community were also referenced. Community was an important contributor to well-being. Indigenous service providers highlighted the loss of community in the post-secondary context:

“We had to stop offering certain services. Normally we have a lounge, which doesn’t sound like a big deal but it actually really is. It’s an Indigenous space. We have medicines. It is the only space on campus other than productions where the students can smudge when they need, no questions asked. It’s sad that we can’t offer that to them because I think a lot of them who are traditional people need that. And also we have often a number of students who are Indigenous but who don’t have culture. And so having access to that space is a doorway into understanding how the culture is or can be in their life.” (Service provider, 6A).

“Our community has been cracked open and there now exists a deep divide between those who live in the house and the rest of our members”. (Spryng.io, 6011).

Impact on financial and socioeconomic situation

The pandemic led to altered financial situations for multiple respondents. Many businesses and institutions were forced to close in accordance with local Public Health restrictions to prevent spread of illness. Consequently, students lost their jobs due to business closures, or lost work hours due to infectious symptoms or needing to care for their families due to school or activity closures. In direct response, some students also found themselves changing socio-economic or income brackets, with particular impact on mature students with families to support at home:

“I am now in a low income situation so it’s not like I can go online and get counselling that way because that cost[s] money that are not within my means” (Spryng.io, 5638).

“With 3 kids all in school and with only one source of income, everything is on [a] tight budget” (Spryng.io, 5823).

A service provider recognized the challenge to students and the lack of part-time employment opportunities. Losing access to part-time jobs impacted access to benefits cutting off Employee Assistance Programs and other supports. One student chose a lower paying job for experience rather than accept CERB (Canada Emergency Response Benefit), a government program for unemployed individuals during the pandemic:

“Because of COVID and a lot of people lost their part-time jobs even, you know, our students who typically would have been working over those summer months to gain that little bit of extra income, lost that opportunity as well.” (Service Provider, 10A).

“[When] CERB came out for students she would rather this job opportunity then that money because the experience is invaluable.” (Spryng.io, 3895).

At least one student needed to physically move and find a student to lease their apartment. Another individual had chronic health concerns, and in addition to the threat against health, there was the added threat of losing their home during the pandemic given an inability to work. There was also inadequate pest control in certain houses, and some concerns about the housing conditions contributing to worsening health outcomes as well:

“it’s affected my living situation I live in [low] income housing and it seems that any services that existed, basic maintenance was a, it’s less than up to par the one thing that I’ve noticed this year is there is more of everything: bugs, rats anything in the animal kingdom seems to be over populating in my area.” (Spryng.io, 5638).

One service provider highlighted the challenge of completing an online education while enduring poverty. Individuals come to school expecting to pay a great deal of money for tuition, but that typically the trade-off would be taking classes, good education, new community, and an ability to supplement income with work and tutoring. COVID-19 has, at times, completely cut off these positives:

“I think for like people living in poverty don’t necessarily have access to internet and like when everything was over the internet, they’re not going to get that.” (Service Provider, 12A).

“Poverty is, people who wouldn’t have been, who wouldn’t have thought themselves poor before are struggling more because of like added bills and rent and apartments that they don’t need to be renting. That’s a big one. People who moved here thinking that they were going to be in class, and they rented an apartment at astronomical [local] rates. And now they’re paying for this apartment and not working. And it wouldn’t have felt so bad if they if they could have been, like if they were here and in class, then you just kind of live with it. But now they could be living much more cheaply in their home community and not struggling with that. So that’s hard.” (Service Provider, 6A).

The COVID pandemic has impacted postgraduate students in substantial and varied ways, both positive and negative, including changes related to the use of technology, the topography of respondents’ education, general wellbeing including mental and physical health, interactions with family and friends, and finances. Many of these themes overlapped and impacted one another. While the landscape of postsecondary education has changed substantially since the early months of the pandemic, three areas warrant further discussion. These areas have potential impacts on long term well being, and can therefore influence policy and programming during the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The first is the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on identity formation and development among college and university students. University and college changed from being a time of connecting, development and learning from a likeminded community, to one in which students needed to rely on themselves alone to overcome a myriad of new obstacles, in the context of social isolation and decreased institutional supports [ 19 , 20 ]. Resilience can arise from community-belonging, typically in a shared physical and emotional space, an ability to support one another and bolster each other’s learning and growth [ 28 ]. Some students were able to increase the connections they made locally, often forced to do so in contexts where they would otherwise have travelled (for elective experiences, work study, etc) but could not due to the pandemic. Service providers and institutions tried to continue the tradition of community building and belonging, but virtual gatherings were a weak replacement, as many students had too much screen fatigue to access virtual supports, designed to help bolster wellness [ 3 , 29 ]. The lack of robust identity formation, in collaboration with others, may have long term implications for young adults’ well-being and functioning in society.

A second area, directly related to the first, is the impact of the changes to higher education on long term outcomes such as matriculation and employment, with all the consequent individual socioeconomic and community economic implications thereof. The increased stress and decreased mental health illustrated by our findings, as well as decisions to change programs of study due to the logistics of online learning are important not only because they affect student wellbeing and academic development, but also because they can directly impact student and institution success via decreased matriculation rates and changes in career and employment choices and opportunities which may carry on far into the future [ 30 ]. Long term impacts include changes in the labor market, with fewer people trained in certain key sectors. Pre-existing gaps in academic achievement between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students may be widened if specific attention is not paid to differential impacts of the pandemic. Additionally, student poverty or limited funds, typically common in up to a third of postsecondary students [ 31 ], seems to have become more of a concern during the pandemic with limited job availabilities and the need for expensive technology and good internet connections. Focusing on survival does not allow students the opportunity to perform academically, and this widening of socio-economic disparity may increase the gap in academic success and wellbeing between groups of students and have implications for long term, broader socioeconomic inequality. On the other hand, however, increased access to remote education improved accessibility for certain subgroups. Some of our participants indicated that accessibility was improved for those with chronic health conditions, as well as for students from rural or remote areas, provided that internet access was affordable and available. This illustrates the importance of having multiple options, and different ways for students to access education and extracurricular learning experiences. While fully virtual educational opportunities are one method, moving forward it may be possible to meaningfully organize hybrid learning opportunities to give learners increased choice in how they access education.

Finally, in addition to differential impacts on students experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage, the pandemic changes to higher education differentially impacted other traditionally marginalized student groups as well. Our own findings indicate that during the study period, sense of isolation related to the COVID-19 pandemic was pronounced in Indigenous individuals in the Kingston area. Evidence from post-secondary and high schools has found that positioning a caring and supportive individual in a role to help students can be beneficial [ 32 ] and having Indigenous-led peer-support can contribute to a sense of belonging [ 33 ]. Access to community members, Elders, tutors, and traditional ceremony and practices contribute to academic success of minority student populations [ 34 ]. The resources that have been created in local colleges and universities to support Indigenous students’ wellness, therefore, including drumming, song, introduction to traditional medicines, smudging, and access to student lounges and computers, are essential services, not luxuries. It is imperative to find meaningful ways to transition that support to alternative platforms because many have been and continue to be inaccessible or un-accessed during COVID-19 due to a lack of in-person activities. This will be important to ensure that pre-pandemic gains in the academic achievements of Indigenous students are not lost due to the decrease and changes in these services. Indigenous service providers creatively used virtual group meetings, beading circles, and mailing materials to students to help bolster this gap; nevertheless, students described a striking loss of connection. Students and providers lost access to informal means of help-seeking and opportunities to assess and support student wellbeing. A switch to a mixed or blended platform with small in-person and virtual supports may be needed and is consistent with mixed reports of harm and benefit in our study. These have been beneficial in other settings [ 35 , 36 ].

Limitations

This analysis presents several limitations. The cost of COVID-19 Study was designed to capture multiple experiences, not purely those associated with higher education, and our sampling would have been slightly different had our study been specifically targeted towards this topic. This would have resulted in a larger number of micronarratives, as well as a more diverse group of service providers in in-depth interviews. Additionally, our data is confined to the first stage of the pandemic, ending in January 2021, and given the ongoing restrictions posed on higher education for many months after this, some experiences that took longer to materialize may have been missed. Nevertheless, our data is sufficient to illustrate the important impacts of changes to higher education that occurred at the beginning of the pandemic, consistent with literature emerging from Ontario and elsewhere [ 37 ].

Our study highlighted the compression of students’ worlds, academic and non-academic, throughout the COVID pandemic, and the impact this had on technology, education, wellbeing, family, and finances. These findings can contribute to programming and policy directions as we emerge and evolve within the COVID-19 pandemic. Supporting students and young adults in identity formation and community connectedness can be an intentional goal of institutions of higher education. Ensuring that shifts in career paths stemming from online learning are rectified, when appropriate, to respond to student desires and to the Canadian job market, will be important. Attending to the differential socioeconomic implications of the pandemic on students from different income brackets through the provision of bursaries and support for higher education can limit the impact of the pandemic on social inequality. Finally, identifying the differential needs of certain groups of students is key to ensuring the ongoing success of all students, including specifically Indigenous students, as well as those from racialized backgrounds or lower socioeconomic brackets, in order to ensure that graduates from institutes of higher education reflect the diversity and strength of Canadian society.

Availability of data and materials

Deidentified study material is available upon request from authors. Given the sensitivity of the qualitative transcripts, they will not be made available.

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Acknowledgements

We would like the thank Eszter Papp and Minnie Fu who were instrumental in data collection, as well as the Indigenous Health Council and members of the Research Subcommittee who helped guide our work as it pertains to Urban Indigenous Peoples.

The Cost of COVID study was funded by a grant from PSI Foundation as well as a grant from Queen’s University SARS CoV-2/COVID-19 Rapid Response Research opportunity.

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Drs. Purkey and Bayoumi conceptualized the study and applied for funding. All authors participated in study design, development of research tools, data analysis and manuscript review. Dr. Blaskovits drafted this manuscript. Ms. Watson, in addition to her other roles, also participated in data collection and interviewing. The author(s) read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Eva Purkey .

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This study was reviewed and approved by Queen’s University Health Sciences and Affiliated Teaching Hospitals Research Ethics Board. (File number 6029458; project title FMED-6749-20).

All participants provided informed written or recorded consent to participate in this study. All methods were performed in accordance with the relevant guidelines and regulations.

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Blaskovits, F., Bayoumi, I., Davison, C.M. et al. Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on life and learning experiences of indigenous and non-Indigenous university and college students in Ontario, Canada: a qualitative study. BMC Public Health 23 , 96 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-023-15010-5

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Received : 17 August 2022

Accepted : 09 January 2023

Published : 13 January 2023

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-023-15010-5

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Covid 19 Essay in English

Essay on Covid -19: In a very short amount of time, coronavirus has spread globally. It has had an enormous impact on people's lives, economy, and societies all around the world, affecting every country. Governments have had to take severe measures to try and contain the pandemic. The virus has altered our way of life in many ways, including its effects on our health and our economy. Here are a few sample essays on ‘CoronaVirus’.

100 Words Essay on Covid 19

200 words essay on covid 19, 500 words essay on covid 19.

COVID-19 or Corona Virus is a novel coronavirus that was first identified in 2019. It is similar to other coronaviruses, such as SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV, but it is more contagious and has caused more severe respiratory illness in people who have been infected. The novel coronavirus became a global pandemic in a very short period of time. It has affected lives, economies and societies across the world, leaving no country untouched. The virus has caused governments to take drastic measures to try and contain it. From health implications to economic and social ramifications, COVID-19 impacted every part of our lives. It has been more than 2 years since the pandemic hit and the world is still recovering from its effects.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the world has been impacted in a number of ways. For one, the global economy has taken a hit as businesses have been forced to close their doors. This has led to widespread job losses and an increase in poverty levels around the world. Additionally, countries have had to impose strict travel restrictions in an attempt to contain the virus, which has resulted in a decrease in tourism and international trade. Furthermore, the pandemic has put immense pressure on healthcare systems globally, as hospitals have been overwhelmed with patients suffering from the virus. Lastly, the outbreak has led to a general feeling of anxiety and uncertainty, as people are fearful of contracting the disease.

My Experience of COVID-19

I still remember how abruptly colleges and schools shut down in March 2020. I was a college student at that time and I was under the impression that everything would go back to normal in a few weeks. I could not have been more wrong. The situation only got worse every week and the government had to impose a lockdown. There were so many restrictions in place. For example, we had to wear face masks whenever we left the house, and we could only go out for essential errands. Restaurants and shops were only allowed to operate at take-out capacity, and many businesses were shut down.

In the current scenario, coronavirus is dominating all aspects of our lives. The coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc upon people’s lives, altering the way we live and work in a very short amount of time. It has revolutionised how we think about health care, education, and even social interaction. This virus has had long-term implications on our society, including its impact on mental health, economic stability, and global politics. But we as individuals can help to mitigate these effects by taking personal responsibility to protect themselves and those around them from infection.

Effects of CoronaVirus on Education

The outbreak of coronavirus has had a significant impact on education systems around the world. In China, where the virus originated, all schools and universities were closed for several weeks in an effort to contain the spread of the disease. Many other countries have followed suit, either closing schools altogether or suspending classes for a period of time.

This has resulted in a major disruption to the education of millions of students. Some have been able to continue their studies online, but many have not had access to the internet or have not been able to afford the costs associated with it. This has led to a widening of the digital divide between those who can afford to continue their education online and those who cannot.

The closure of schools has also had a negative impact on the mental health of many students. With no face-to-face contact with friends and teachers, some students have felt isolated and anxious. This has been compounded by the worry and uncertainty surrounding the virus itself.

The situation with coronavirus has improved and schools have been reopened but students are still catching up with the gap of 2 years that the pandemic created. In the meantime, governments and educational institutions are working together to find ways to support students and ensure that they are able to continue their education despite these difficult circumstances.

Effects of CoronaVirus on Economy

The outbreak of the coronavirus has had a significant impact on the global economy. The virus, which originated in China, has spread to over two hundred countries, resulting in widespread panic and a decrease in global trade. As a result of the outbreak, many businesses have been forced to close their doors, leading to a rise in unemployment. In addition, the stock market has taken a severe hit.

Effects of CoronaVirus on Health

The effects that coronavirus has on one's health are still being studied and researched as the virus continues to spread throughout the world. However, some of the potential effects on health that have been observed thus far include respiratory problems, fever, and coughing. In severe cases, pneumonia, kidney failure, and death can occur. It is important for people who think they may have been exposed to the virus to seek medical attention immediately so that they can be treated properly and avoid any serious complications. There is no specific cure or treatment for coronavirus at this time, but there are ways to help ease symptoms and prevent the virus from spreading.

Explore Career Options (By Industry)

• Construction
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• Manufacturing
• Information Technology

Bio Medical Engineer

The field of biomedical engineering opens up a universe of expert chances. An Individual in the biomedical engineering career path work in the field of engineering as well as medicine, in order to find out solutions to common problems of the two fields. The biomedical engineering job opportunities are to collaborate with doctors and researchers to develop medical systems, equipment, or devices that can solve clinical problems. Here we will be discussing jobs after biomedical engineering, how to get a job in biomedical engineering, biomedical engineering scope, and salary. 

Data Administrator

Database professionals use software to store and organise data such as financial information, and customer shipping records. Individuals who opt for a career as data administrators ensure that data is available for users and secured from unauthorised sales. DB administrators may work in various types of industries. It may involve computer systems design, service firms, insurance companies, banks and hospitals.

Ethical Hacker

A career as ethical hacker involves various challenges and provides lucrative opportunities in the digital era where every giant business and startup owns its cyberspace on the world wide web. Individuals in the ethical hacker career path try to find the vulnerabilities in the cyber system to get its authority. If he or she succeeds in it then he or she gets its illegal authority. Individuals in the ethical hacker career path then steal information or delete the file that could affect the business, functioning, or services of the organization.

Data Analyst

The invention of the database has given fresh breath to the people involved in the data analytics career path. Analysis refers to splitting up a whole into its individual components for individual analysis. Data analysis is a method through which raw data are processed and transformed into information that would be beneficial for user strategic thinking.

Data are collected and examined to respond to questions, evaluate hypotheses or contradict theories. It is a tool for analyzing, transforming, modeling, and arranging data with useful knowledge, to assist in decision-making and methods, encompassing various strategies, and is used in different fields of business, research, and social science.

Geothermal Engineer

Individuals who opt for a career as geothermal engineers are the professionals involved in the processing of geothermal energy. The responsibilities of geothermal engineers may vary depending on the workplace location. Those who work in fields design facilities to process and distribute geothermal energy. They oversee the functioning of machinery used in the field.

Remote Sensing Technician

Individuals who opt for a career as a remote sensing technician possess unique personalities. Remote sensing analysts seem to be rational human beings, they are strong, independent, persistent, sincere, realistic and resourceful. Some of them are analytical as well, which means they are intelligent, introspective and inquisitive. 

Remote sensing scientists use remote sensing technology to support scientists in fields such as community planning, flight planning or the management of natural resources. Analysing data collected from aircraft, satellites or ground-based platforms using statistical analysis software, image analysis software or Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is a significant part of their work. Do you want to learn how to become remote sensing technician? There's no need to be concerned; we've devised a simple remote sensing technician career path for you. Scroll through the pages and read.

Geotechnical engineer

The role of geotechnical engineer starts with reviewing the projects needed to define the required material properties. The work responsibilities are followed by a site investigation of rock, soil, fault distribution and bedrock properties on and below an area of interest. The investigation is aimed to improve the ground engineering design and determine their engineering properties that include how they will interact with, on or in a proposed construction. 

The role of geotechnical engineer in mining includes designing and determining the type of foundations, earthworks, and or pavement subgrades required for the intended man-made structures to be made. Geotechnical engineering jobs are involved in earthen and concrete dam construction projects, working under a range of normal and extreme loading conditions. 

Cartographer

How fascinating it is to represent the whole world on just a piece of paper or a sphere. With the help of maps, we are able to represent the real world on a much smaller scale. Individuals who opt for a career as a cartographer are those who make maps. But, cartography is not just limited to maps, it is about a mixture of art , science , and technology. As a cartographer, not only you will create maps but use various geodetic surveys and remote sensing systems to measure, analyse, and create different maps for political, cultural or educational purposes.

Budget Analyst

Budget analysis, in a nutshell, entails thoroughly analyzing the details of a financial budget. The budget analysis aims to better understand and manage revenue. Budget analysts assist in the achievement of financial targets, the preservation of profitability, and the pursuit of long-term growth for a business. Budget analysts generally have a bachelor's degree in accounting, finance, economics, or a closely related field. Knowledge of Financial Management is of prime importance in this career.

Product Manager

A Product Manager is a professional responsible for product planning and marketing. He or she manages the product throughout the Product Life Cycle, gathering and prioritising the product. A product manager job description includes defining the product vision and working closely with team members of other departments to deliver winning products.  

Underwriter

An underwriter is a person who assesses and evaluates the risk of insurance in his or her field like mortgage, loan, health policy, investment, and so on and so forth. The underwriter career path does involve risks as analysing the risks means finding out if there is a way for the insurance underwriter jobs to recover the money from its clients. If the risk turns out to be too much for the company then in the future it is an underwriter who will be held accountable for it. Therefore, one must carry out his or her job with a lot of attention and diligence.

Finance Executive

Operations manager.

Individuals in the operations manager jobs are responsible for ensuring the efficiency of each department to acquire its optimal goal. They plan the use of resources and distribution of materials. The operations manager's job description includes managing budgets, negotiating contracts, and performing administrative tasks.

Bank Probationary Officer (PO)

Investment director.

An investment director is a person who helps corporations and individuals manage their finances. They can help them develop a strategy to achieve their goals, including paying off debts and investing in the future. In addition, he or she can help individuals make informed decisions.

Welding Engineer

Welding Engineer Job Description: A Welding Engineer work involves managing welding projects and supervising welding teams. He or she is responsible for reviewing welding procedures, processes and documentation. A career as Welding Engineer involves conducting failure analyses and causes on welding issues. 

Transportation Planner

A career as Transportation Planner requires technical application of science and technology in engineering, particularly the concepts, equipment and technologies involved in the production of products and services. In fields like land use, infrastructure review, ecological standards and street design, he or she considers issues of health, environment and performance. A Transportation Planner assigns resources for implementing and designing programmes. He or she is responsible for assessing needs, preparing plans and forecasts and compliance with regulations.

An expert in plumbing is aware of building regulations and safety standards and works to make sure these standards are upheld. Testing pipes for leakage using air pressure and other gauges, and also the ability to construct new pipe systems by cutting, fitting, measuring and threading pipes are some of the other more involved aspects of plumbing. Individuals in the plumber career path are self-employed or work for a small business employing less than ten people, though some might find working for larger entities or the government more desirable.

Construction Manager

Individuals who opt for a career as construction managers have a senior-level management role offered in construction firms. Responsibilities in the construction management career path are assigning tasks to workers, inspecting their work, and coordinating with other professionals including architects, subcontractors, and building services engineers.

Urban Planner

Urban Planning careers revolve around the idea of developing a plan to use the land optimally, without affecting the environment. Urban planning jobs are offered to those candidates who are skilled in making the right use of land to distribute the growing population, to create various communities. 

Urban planning careers come with the opportunity to make changes to the existing cities and towns. They identify various community needs and make short and long-term plans accordingly.

Highway Engineer

Highway Engineer Job Description:  A Highway Engineer is a civil engineer who specialises in planning and building thousands of miles of roads that support connectivity and allow transportation across the country. He or she ensures that traffic management schemes are effectively planned concerning economic sustainability and successful implementation.

Environmental Engineer

Individuals who opt for a career as an environmental engineer are construction professionals who utilise the skills and knowledge of biology, soil science, chemistry and the concept of engineering to design and develop projects that serve as solutions to various environmental problems. 

Naval Architect

A Naval Architect is a professional who designs, produces and repairs safe and sea-worthy surfaces or underwater structures. A Naval Architect stays involved in creating and designing ships, ferries, submarines and yachts with implementation of various principles such as gravity, ideal hull form, buoyancy and stability. 

Orthotist and Prosthetist

Orthotists and Prosthetists are professionals who provide aid to patients with disabilities. They fix them to artificial limbs (prosthetics) and help them to regain stability. There are times when people lose their limbs in an accident. In some other occasions, they are born without a limb or orthopaedic impairment. Orthotists and prosthetists play a crucial role in their lives with fixing them to assistive devices and provide mobility.

Veterinary Doctor

Pathologist.

A career in pathology in India is filled with several responsibilities as it is a medical branch and affects human lives. The demand for pathologists has been increasing over the past few years as people are getting more aware of different diseases. Not only that, but an increase in population and lifestyle changes have also contributed to the increase in a pathologist’s demand. The pathology careers provide an extremely huge number of opportunities and if you want to be a part of the medical field you can consider being a pathologist. If you want to know more about a career in pathology in India then continue reading this article.

Speech Therapist

Gynaecologist.

Gynaecology can be defined as the study of the female body. The job outlook for gynaecology is excellent since there is evergreen demand for one because of their responsibility of dealing with not only women’s health but also fertility and pregnancy issues. Although most women prefer to have a women obstetrician gynaecologist as their doctor, men also explore a career as a gynaecologist and there are ample amounts of male doctors in the field who are gynaecologists and aid women during delivery and childbirth. 

An oncologist is a specialised doctor responsible for providing medical care to patients diagnosed with cancer. He or she uses several therapies to control the cancer and its effect on the human body such as chemotherapy, immunotherapy, radiation therapy and biopsy. An oncologist designs a treatment plan based on a pathology report after diagnosing the type of cancer and where it is spreading inside the body.

Audiologist

The audiologist career involves audiology professionals who are responsible to treat hearing loss and proactively preventing the relevant damage. Individuals who opt for a career as an audiologist use various testing strategies with the aim to determine if someone has a normal sensitivity to sounds or not. After the identification of hearing loss, a hearing doctor is required to determine which sections of the hearing are affected, to what extent they are affected, and where the wound causing the hearing loss is found. As soon as the hearing loss is identified, the patients are provided with recommendations for interventions and rehabilitation such as hearing aids, cochlear implants, and appropriate medical referrals. While audiology is a branch of science that studies and researches hearing, balance, and related disorders.

Hospital Administrator

The hospital Administrator is in charge of organising and supervising the daily operations of medical services and facilities. This organising includes managing of organisation’s staff and its members in service, budgets, service reports, departmental reporting and taking reminders of patient care and services.

For an individual who opts for a career as an actor, the primary responsibility is to completely speak to the character he or she is playing and to persuade the crowd that the character is genuine by connecting with them and bringing them into the story. This applies to significant roles and littler parts, as all roles join to make an effective creation. Here in this article, we will discuss how to become an actor in India, actor exams, actor salary in India, and actor jobs. 

Individuals who opt for a career as acrobats create and direct original routines for themselves, in addition to developing interpretations of existing routines. The work of circus acrobats can be seen in a variety of performance settings, including circus, reality shows, sports events like the Olympics, movies and commercials. Individuals who opt for a career as acrobats must be prepared to face rejections and intermittent periods of work. The creativity of acrobats may extend to other aspects of the performance. For example, acrobats in the circus may work with gym trainers, celebrities or collaborate with other professionals to enhance such performance elements as costume and or maybe at the teaching end of the career.

Video Game Designer

Career as a video game designer is filled with excitement as well as responsibilities. A video game designer is someone who is involved in the process of creating a game from day one. He or she is responsible for fulfilling duties like designing the character of the game, the several levels involved, plot, art and similar other elements. Individuals who opt for a career as a video game designer may also write the codes for the game using different programming languages.

Depending on the video game designer job description and experience they may also have to lead a team and do the early testing of the game in order to suggest changes and find loopholes.

Radio Jockey

Radio Jockey is an exciting, promising career and a great challenge for music lovers. If you are really interested in a career as radio jockey, then it is very important for an RJ to have an automatic, fun, and friendly personality. If you want to get a job done in this field, a strong command of the language and a good voice are always good things. Apart from this, in order to be a good radio jockey, you will also listen to good radio jockeys so that you can understand their style and later make your own by practicing.

A career as radio jockey has a lot to offer to deserving candidates. If you want to know more about a career as radio jockey, and how to become a radio jockey then continue reading the article.

Choreographer

The word “choreography" actually comes from Greek words that mean “dance writing." Individuals who opt for a career as a choreographer create and direct original dances, in addition to developing interpretations of existing dances. A Choreographer dances and utilises his or her creativity in other aspects of dance performance. For example, he or she may work with the music director to select music or collaborate with other famous choreographers to enhance such performance elements as lighting, costume and set design.

Videographer

Multimedia specialist.

A multimedia specialist is a media professional who creates, audio, videos, graphic image files, computer animations for multimedia applications. He or she is responsible for planning, producing, and maintaining websites and applications. 

Social Media Manager

A career as social media manager involves implementing the company’s or brand’s marketing plan across all social media channels. Social media managers help in building or improving a brand’s or a company’s website traffic, build brand awareness, create and implement marketing and brand strategy. Social media managers are key to important social communication as well.

Copy Writer

In a career as a copywriter, one has to consult with the client and understand the brief well. A career as a copywriter has a lot to offer to deserving candidates. Several new mediums of advertising are opening therefore making it a lucrative career choice. Students can pursue various copywriter courses such as Journalism , Advertising , Marketing Management . Here, we have discussed how to become a freelance copywriter, copywriter career path, how to become a copywriter in India, and copywriting career outlook. 

Careers in journalism are filled with excitement as well as responsibilities. One cannot afford to miss out on the details. As it is the small details that provide insights into a story. Depending on those insights a journalist goes about writing a news article. A journalism career can be stressful at times but if you are someone who is passionate about it then it is the right choice for you. If you want to know more about the media field and journalist career then continue reading this article.

For publishing books, newspapers, magazines and digital material, editorial and commercial strategies are set by publishers. Individuals in publishing career paths make choices about the markets their businesses will reach and the type of content that their audience will be served. Individuals in book publisher careers collaborate with editorial staff, designers, authors, and freelance contributors who develop and manage the creation of content.

In a career as a vlogger, one generally works for himself or herself. However, once an individual has gained viewership there are several brands and companies that approach them for paid collaboration. It is one of those fields where an individual can earn well while following his or her passion. 

Ever since internet costs got reduced the viewership for these types of content has increased on a large scale. Therefore, a career as a vlogger has a lot to offer. If you want to know more about the Vlogger eligibility, roles and responsibilities then continue reading the article. 

Individuals in the editor career path is an unsung hero of the news industry who polishes the language of the news stories provided by stringers, reporters, copywriters and content writers and also news agencies. Individuals who opt for a career as an editor make it more persuasive, concise and clear for readers. In this article, we will discuss the details of the editor's career path such as how to become an editor in India, editor salary in India and editor skills and qualities.

Linguistic meaning is related to language or Linguistics which is the study of languages. A career as a linguistic meaning, a profession that is based on the scientific study of language, and it's a very broad field with many specialities. Famous linguists work in academia, researching and teaching different areas of language, such as phonetics (sounds), syntax (word order) and semantics (meaning). 

Other researchers focus on specialities like computational linguistics, which seeks to better match human and computer language capacities, or applied linguistics, which is concerned with improving language education. Still, others work as language experts for the government, advertising companies, dictionary publishers and various other private enterprises. Some might work from home as freelance linguists. Philologist, phonologist, and dialectician are some of Linguist synonym. Linguists can study French , German , Italian . 

Public Relation Executive

Travel journalist.

The career of a travel journalist is full of passion, excitement and responsibility. Journalism as a career could be challenging at times, but if you're someone who has been genuinely enthusiastic about all this, then it is the best decision for you. Travel journalism jobs are all about insightful, artfully written, informative narratives designed to cover the travel industry. Travel Journalist is someone who explores, gathers and presents information as a news article.

Quality Controller

A quality controller plays a crucial role in an organisation. He or she is responsible for performing quality checks on manufactured products. He or she identifies the defects in a product and rejects the product. 

A quality controller records detailed information about products with defects and sends it to the supervisor or plant manager to take necessary actions to improve the production process.

Production Manager

Merchandiser.

A QA Lead is in charge of the QA Team. The role of QA Lead comes with the responsibility of assessing services and products in order to determine that he or she meets the quality standards. He or she develops, implements and manages test plans. 

Metallurgical Engineer

A metallurgical engineer is a professional who studies and produces materials that bring power to our world. He or she extracts metals from ores and rocks and transforms them into alloys, high-purity metals and other materials used in developing infrastructure, transportation and healthcare equipment. 

Azure Administrator

An Azure Administrator is a professional responsible for implementing, monitoring, and maintaining Azure Solutions. He or she manages cloud infrastructure service instances and various cloud servers as well as sets up public and private cloud systems. 

AWS Solution Architect

An AWS Solution Architect is someone who specializes in developing and implementing cloud computing systems. He or she has a good understanding of the various aspects of cloud computing and can confidently deploy and manage their systems. He or she troubleshoots the issues and evaluates the risk from the third party. 

Computer Programmer

Careers in computer programming primarily refer to the systematic act of writing code and moreover include wider computer science areas. The word 'programmer' or 'coder' has entered into practice with the growing number of newly self-taught tech enthusiasts. Computer programming careers involve the use of designs created by software developers and engineers and transforming them into commands that can be implemented by computers. These commands result in regular usage of social media sites, word-processing applications and browsers.

ITSM Manager

Information security manager.

Individuals in the information security manager career path involves in overseeing and controlling all aspects of computer security. The IT security manager job description includes planning and carrying out security measures to protect the business data and information from corruption, theft, unauthorised access, and deliberate attack 

Business Intelligence Developer

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Women in Higher Education

A Retrospective Analysis of the Perceived Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Systemic Barriers to Success for University Student Parents Provisionally Accepted

• 1 University of Mississippi, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Student parents, both undergraduate and graduate, face the difficult task of balancing their studies and raising children, and they are a population often neglected or forgotten by higher education administration. The COVID-19 pandemic enhanced already present issues student parents face through the implementation of virtual schooling, increased daycare costs and closings, staying home with sick children, and a lack of local support system, among others.Further, many student parents are graduate students who are performing research that requires physical campus space and equipment to fulfill their educational requirements, and their research progress come to a halt when the country locked down. This study explored the struggles student parents faced prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, what issues the pandemic exacerbated, and what new problems have since arisen. Participants completed surveys assessing the consequences of being a student parent during the pandemic, coping resources available to them, the effect of being a student parent during the pandemic on their mental health, and demographic information.Prevalent themes include substantial declines in mental health, feelings of inadequacy in regards to both their parenting and academic abilities compared to their non-student parent peers, and a striking lack of resources or acknowledgement from their institution. The survey results are framed within the social-ecological model to better understand the systemic implications of student parent conditions. Finally, we formulate a set of recommendations to higher education administrations to inform them about the unique struggles student parents face and suggest strategies for mitigation.

Keywords: Student parents, COVID-19 pandemic, Mental Health, coping resources, higher education

Received: 10 Jul 2023; Accepted: 28 Mar 2024.

Copyright: © 2024 Franklin, Saval, Cafer and Reinemann. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Dr. Anne M. Cafer, University of Mississippi, Oxford, 38677, Mississippi, United States Dr. Dana N. Reinemann, University of Mississippi, Oxford, 38677, Mississippi, United States

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#WhyIChoseEducation: ‘My Teachers Had a Big Impact on Me, and I Wanted to be That Person for Other Students,’ Says Meghan Larson

Meghan Larson’s experience as a K-12 student was not an easy one. 

After missing two months of middle school when Hurricane Matthew struck eastern North Carolina in 2016, she missed three months of her freshman year when Hurricane Florence caused her high school’s ceiling to collapse and spent most of the next few years in remote learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Instead of dissuading her from a career in education, those challenges made Larson more determined to give students the opportunities she missed. 

“My teachers had a big impact on me, and I wanted to be that person for other students,” said Larson, a middle grades English language arts and social studies education major . “[Those experiences] were so bad, and they were so draining mentally for a teenager, but I also knew students across the entire country were also going the same thing as I was, and every time I thought about doing something else, I was just always pulled back into education because that’s what I loved.”

Although Larson took many of her classes online, she said she was inspired by the way her teachers still took the time to get to know her on a personal level, to ask her about her goals and provide support. She also received assistance from her college advisor, who told her about the NC State College of Education’s Transformational Scholarships Program , which provides scholarships totaling $40,000 over four years to promising students from eastern North Carolina who will return to the region to teach after graduating.

During her interview for the program, she talked about the challenges her town faced, but also about how she wanted to go back and make a difference.

“That’s an interview I remember to this day,” Larson said. “I remember every detail of it; it made me feel like an adult for the first time and made me feel like I was on the right path.”

As a Transformational Scholar, Larson has appreciated the support she has received from Transformational Scholarships Program Director Trisha Mackey , as well as the opportunities she has received to go on school visits across eastern North Carolina, network with NC State’s Educational Leadership Academy mentors and even meet with North Carolina legislators. 

“I’ve gotten a lot of chances to showcase where I’m from and my passions,” Larson said.

At the beginning of this academic year, Larson was elected president of the college’s Educational Council, which oversees all student organizations in the college. Their mission this year is to be the current leaders for future teachers. 

The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Why I Chose Education: 

When I was at my pre-K graduation — I was like four years old — they asked us what we wanted to be when we grew up when we walked across the stage in our little cap and gowns. In the microphone, I said, I wanted to be a “pincipal” because I was scared. I said principal wrong. I’ve known since I was four that I wanted to be a teacher, and then I wanted to be in administration. 

I’m probably going to teach sixth grade or ninth grade English when I graduate, and then after that get my master’s and be a principal and then maybe move into school administration or the  school board and stuff like that. 

I want to make a difference in schools, and I know that it starts with teaching. But if I can make an impact on all the students, then I’m going to do that. 

What I Enjoy Most About the College of Education:

I’m just glad that I’m, one, in the best college in the state; two, that I am challenged constantly to become better; and three, just that I have the community that I have and the people who are around me. I have staff who care about me; I have deans who listen and I have friends who are going through it with me but also celebrating each other’s achievements. 

What Others Should Know About the College of Education:

I can give you a list of all of our accomplishments and everything we’re good at, but to really convince you, you’re just going to have to stop, take a look around and imagine yourself in this space. 

Why I Enjoy Most About Being a Transformational Scholar:

I don’t think that I would have done so well my first year if I didn’t have 15 people who have my back who were also going through the same thing. I had 15 new friends the first day I stepped foot on campus. And so the fact that I have that community in those peers, it’s just cool. 

I’m just grateful for that experience and that I get to tour like eastern North Carolina, all the time. It’s nice to have those experiences, and I’ve gotten so many opportunities. I’m studying abroad because of Transformational Scholars in less than two months. I’m a little scared about that, but I’m going to Ireland. 

I guess I wouldn’t have the sense of community that I have without it. 

The Last Person Who Inspired Me:

[College of Education Director of Outreach and Strategic partnerships] Lindsey Hubbard . I went on the We Teach for NC Spring Break trip with her last week. I just connect with her on a certain level; she inspires me to do better things as a student leader.

When we went on this trip, there were like 30 of us, and she was in charge of all of us the entire time. Seeing her plan the events and seeing her execute them and keeping her cool when things didn’t go right or we had to improvise and just seeing her empathy for everybody — she just inspires me in so many ways.

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Crack the Code for Girls

• Posted March 27, 2024
• By Gabriela Dumancela
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
• Entrepreneurship
• Global Education
• Informal and Out-of-School Learning
• Technology and Media

When master’s student Kavya Krishna embarked on a tech career in New York, she witnessed firsthand the personal and financial growth that comes with job opportunities. However, she also recognized that not everyone has access to similar developmental experiences. There is a gender-based digital inequality in many low- and middle-income countries, she says, including in her native India. 

“In this day and age, digital literacy is literacy. If someone is not digitally literate, then they might as well be considered illiterate,” says Krishna, who was recently named among Forbes ’ 30 Under 30 for her dedication to empowering girls in underserved communities with the skills needed to excel in a technology-driven society. 

In 2018, Krishna and colleague Farah Laurore launched the Society of Women (SOW) Coders , a nonprofit that works with corporations and community organizations in lower-income countries to provide digital literacy skills, coding training, and support to young girls. The venture began with a trip to Haiti and Belize, during which the partners taught coding to 40 girls through a workshop. Utilizing vacation time, days off, and personal savings, Krishna and Laurore built on the promise of this initial workshop, gathering data on the program’s impact and building a community that would maintain students’ learning over time. They also established partnerships with organizations that helped them grow their program into a comprehensive six-month course that includes training in website development and coding with Python, a programming language.

When COVID-19 restricted travel, Krishna created remote opportunities, facilitating online learning experiences for girls located in multiple geographic spaces. Although online learning presented challenges in engaging with local communities, it also opened up new opportunities, allowing SOW Coders to expand its instructor base and diversify the courses offered. Currently, the nonprofit has partnerships with numerous tech companies and civic entities located throughout the United States and Latin America and boasts a network of more than 500 volunteers.

In the six years since its founding, more than 40,000 girls across 423 schools in 57 countries have been empowered by SOW Coders’ programming, with many sharing testimonials on SOW’s website about how taking the course has opened up new paths for them, including studying computer science at international universities and building websites for themselves and outside organizations.

“SOW Coders changed my life by opening up new career paths I did not know existed,” says 2020 graduate Namita Giri in a testimonial. “Instead of following the traditional pathway, I was able to learn something new and meet amazing people.”  

At HGSE, Krishna inspires others to transform their ideas into actions by sharing her experience of launching and scaling SOW Coders, as well as by taking a leadership role in the entrepreneurship pitch competition affiliated with HIVE, the Harvard Ed School's student-run group focused on social entrepreneurship. 

“She knows that it truly does take a village to turn a good idea into action and so, when you listen to her talk — whether in the classroom or online — you hear how she credits others, learns from others, and builds momentum for change through and with others,” says Professor Monica Higgins , who teaches the course Leadership, Entrepreneurship, and Learning. 

Krishna says her time at the Ed School has broadened her perspective about learning and social impact, while also positioning her to connect SOW Coders with a rich ecosystem of resources. In 2023, Krishna and SOW Coders became a venture team at the Harvard iLab , where she was named a semi-finalist for the President’s Innovation Fellowship. 

"Every day, I am privileged to learn from amazing people, interact with fellow leaders in the social impact world and benefit from the insights of our wonderful faculty,” says Krishna. One of her biggest lessons from the Ed School is that “mission-oriented leadership is more important than margin-oriented leadership,” which works nicely with SOW Coders’ commitment to challenging cultural biases surrounding technology use and the presence of women in tech-related roles.

“When I think about the company, I think about it as myself: mission-oriented. From this perspective, the company is just one platform,” Krishna says.

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The Impact of COVID-19 on Education: A Meta-Narrative Review

Aras bozkurt.

1 Distance Education Department, Anadolu University, Eskişehir, Turkey

2 Department of English Studies, University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa

3 Anadolu Üniversitesi, Açıköğretim Fakültesi, Kat:7, Oda:702, 26470, Tepebaşı, Eskişehir, Turkey

Kadir Karakaya

4 Applied Linguistics & Technology Department, Iowa State University, Ames, IA USA

5 Educational Psychology, Learning Sciences, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK USA

Özlem Karakaya

6 Educational Technology & Human-Computer Interaction, Iowa State University, Ames, IA USA

Daniela Castellanos-Reyes

7 Curriculum and Instruction, Learning Design and Technology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN USA

Associated Data

The dataset is available from the authors upon request.

The rapid and unexpected onset of the COVID-19 global pandemic has generated a great degree of uncertainty about the future of education and has required teachers and students alike to adapt to a new normal to survive in the new educational ecology. Through this experience of the new educational ecology, educators have learned many lessons, including how to navigate through uncertainty by recognizing their strengths and vulnerabilities. In this context, the aim of this study is to conduct a bibliometric analysis of the publications covering COVID-19 and education to analyze the impact of the pandemic by applying the data mining and analytics techniques of social network analysis and text-mining. From the abstract, title, and keyword analysis of a total of 1150 publications, seven themes were identified: (1) the great reset, (2) shifting educational landscape and emerging educational roles (3) digital pedagogy, (4) emergency remote education, (5) pedagogy of care, (6) social equity, equality, and injustice, and (7) future of education. Moreover, from the citation analysis, two thematic clusters emerged: (1) educational response, emergency remote education affordances, and continuity of education, and (2) psychological impact of COVID-19. The overlap between themes and thematic clusters revealed researchers’ emphasis on guaranteeing continuity of education and supporting the socio-emotional needs of learners. From the results of the study, it is clear that there is a heightened need to develop effective strategies to ensure the continuity of education in the future, and that it is critical to proactively respond to such crises through resilience and flexibility.

Introduction

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has proven to be a massive challenge for the entire world, imposing a radical transformation in many areas of life, including education. It was rapid and unexpected; the world was unprepared and hit hard. The virus is highly contagious, having a pathogenic nature whose effects have not been limited to humans alone, but rather, includes every construct and domain of societies, including education. The education system, which has been affected at all levels, has been required to respond to the crisis, forced to transition into emergency modes, and adapt to the unprecedented impact of the global crisis. Although the beginning of 2021 will mark nearly a year of experience in living through the pandemic, the crisis remains a phenomenon with many unknowns. A deeper and more comprehensive understanding of the changes that have been made in response to the crisis is needed to survive in these hard times. Hence, this study aims to provide a better understanding by examining the scholarly publications on COVID-19 and education. In doing this, we can identify our weaknesses and vulnerabilities, be better prepared for the new normal, and be more fit to survive.

Related Literature

Though the COVID-19 pandemic is not the first major disruption to be experienced in the history of the world, it has been unique due to its scale and the requirements that have been imposed because of it (Guitton, 2020 ). The economies of many countries have greatly suffered from the lockdowns and other restrictive measurements, and people have had to adapt to a new lifestyle, where their primary concern is to survive by keeping themselves safe from contracting the deadly virus. The education system has not been exempt from this series of unfortunate events inflicted by COVID-19. Since brick-and-mortar schools had to be closed due to the pandemic, millions of students, from those in K-12 to those in higher education, were deprived of physical access to their classrooms, peers, and teachers (Bozkurt & Sharma, 2020a , b ). This extraordinary pandemic period has posed arguably the most challenging and complex problems ever for educators, students, schools, educational institutions, parents, governments, and all other educational stakeholders. The closing of brick-and-mortar schools and campuses rendered online teaching and learning the only viable solution to the problem of access-to-education during this emergency period (Hodges et al., 2020 ). Due to the urgency of this move, teachers and instructors were rushed to shift all their face-to-face instruction and instructional materials to online spaces, such as learning management systems or electronic platforms, in order to facilitate teaching virtually at a distance. As a result of this sudden migration to learning and instruction online, the key distinctions between online education and education delivered online during such crisis and emergency circumstances have been obfuscated (Hodges et al., 2020 ).

State of the Current Relevant Literature

Although the scale of the impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic on education overshadows previously experienced nationwide or global crises or disruptions, the phenomenon of schools and higher education institutions having to shift their instruction to online spaces is not totally new to the education community and academia (Johnson et al., 2020 ). Prior literature on this subject indicates that in the past, schools and institutions resorted to online or electronic delivery of instruction in times of serious crises and uncertainties, including but not limited to natural disasters such as floods or earthquakes (e.g., Ayebi-Arthur, 2017 ; Lorenzo, 2008 ; Tull et al., 2017 ), local disruptions such as civil wars and socio-economic events such as political upheavals, social turmoils or economic recessions (e.g., Czerniewicz et al., 2019 ). Nevertheless, the past attempts to move learning and teaching online do not compare to the current efforts that have been implemented during the global COVID-19 pandemic, insofar as the past crisis situations were sporadic events in specific territories, affecting a limited population for relatively short periods of time. In contrast, the COVID-19 pandemic has continued to pose a serious threat to the continuity of education around the globe (Johnson et al., 2020 ).

Considering the scale and severity of the global pandemic, the impacts it has had on education in general and higher education in particular need to be explored and studied empirically so that necessary plans and strategies aimed at reducing its devastating effects can be developed and implemented. Due to the rapid onset and spread of the global pandemic, the current literature on the impact of COVID-19 on education is still limited, including mostly non-academic editorials or non-empirical personal reflections, anecdotes, reports, and stories (e.g., Baker, 2020 ; DePietro, 2020 ). Yet, with that said, empirical research on the impact of the global pandemic on higher education is rapidly growing. For example, Johnson et al. ( 2020 ), in their empirical study, found that faculty members who were struggling with various challenges adopted new instructional methods and strategies and adjusted certain course components to foster emergency remote education (ERE). Unger and Meiran ( 2020 ) observed that the pandemic made students in the US feel anxious about completing online learning tasks. In contrast, Suleri ( 2020 ) reported that a large majority of European higher education students were satisfied with their virtual learning experiences during the pandemic, and that most were willing to continue virtual higher education even after the pandemic (Suleri, 2020 ). The limited empirical research also points to the need for systematically planning and designing online learning experiences in advance in preparation for future outbreaks of such global pandemics and other crises (e.g., Korkmaz & Toraman, 2020 ). Despite the growing literature, the studies provide only fragmentary evidence on the impact of the pandemic on online learning and teaching. For a more thorough understanding of the serious implications the pandemic has for higher education in relation to learning and teaching online, more empirical research is needed.

Unlike previously conducted bibliometric analysis studies on this subject, which have largely involved general analysis of research on health sciences and COVID-19, Aristovnik et al. ( 2020 ) performed an in-depth bibliometric analysis of various science and social science research disciplines by examining a comprehensive database of document and source information. By the final phase of their bibliometric analysis, the authors had analyzed 16,866 documents. They utilized a mix of innovative bibliometric approaches to capture the existing research and assess the state of COVID-19 research across different research landscapes (e.g., health sciences, life sciences, physical sciences, social sciences, and humanities). Their findings showed that most COVID-19 research has been performed in the field of health sciences, followed by life sciences, physical sciences, and social sciences and humanities. Results from the keyword co-occurrence analysis revealed that health sciences research on COVID-19 tended to focus on health consequences, whereas the life sciences research on the subject tended to focus on drug efficiency. Moreover, physical sciences research tended to focus on environmental consequences, and social sciences and humanities research was largely oriented towards socio-economic consequences.

Similarly, Rodrigues et al. ( 2020 ) carried out a bibliometric analysis of COVID-19 related studies from a management perspective in order to elucidate how scientific research and education arrive at solutions to the pandemic crisis and the post-COVID-19 era. In line with Aristovnik et al.’s ( 2020 ) findings, Rodrigues et al. ( 2020 ) reported that most of the published research on this subject has fallen under the field of health sciences, leaving education as an under-researched area of inquiry. The content analysis they performed in their study also found a special emphasis on qualitative research. The descriptive and content analysis yielded two major strands of studies: (1) online education and (2) COVID-19 and education, business, economics, and management. The online education strand focused on the issue of technological anxiety caused by online classes, the feeling of belonging to an academic community, and feedback.

Lastly, Bond ( 2020 ) conducted a rapid review of K-12 research undertaken in the first seven months of the COVID-19 pandemic to identify successes and challenges and to offer recommendations for the future. From a search of K-12 research on the Web of Science, Scopus, EBSCOHost, the Microsoft Academic, and the COVID-19 living systematic map, 90 studies were identified and analyzed. The findings revealed that the reviewed research has focused predominantly on the challenges to shifting to ERE, teacher digital competencies and digital infrastructure, teacher ICT skills, parent engagement in learning, and students’ health and well-being. The review highlighted the need for straightforward communication between schools and families to inform families about learning activities and to promote interactivity between students. Teachers were also encouraged to develop their professional networks to increase motivation and support amongst themselves and to include opportunities for both synchronous and asynchronous interaction for promoting student engagement when using technology. Bond ( 2020 ) reported that the reviewed studies called for providing teachers with opportunities to further develop their digital technical competencies and their distance and online learning pedagogies. In a recent study that examines the impact of COVID-19 at higher education (Bozkurt, 2022 ), three broad themes from the body of research on this subject: (1) educational crisis and higher education in the new normal: resilience, adaptability, and sustainability, (2) psychological pressures, social uncertainty, and mental well-being of learners, and (3) the rise of online distance education and blended-hybrid modes. The findings of this study are similar to Mishra et al. ( 2021 ) who examined the COVID-19 pandemic from the lens of online distance education and noted that technologies for teaching and learning and psychosocial issues were emerging issues.

The aforementioned studies indicate that a great majority of research on COVID-19 has been produced in the field of health sciences, as expected. These studies nonetheless note that there is a noticeable shortage of studies dealing with the effects of the pandemic in the fields of social sciences, humanities, and education. Given the profound impact of the pandemic on learning and teaching, as well as on the related stakeholders in education, now more than ever, a greater amount of research on COVID-19 needs to be conducted in the field of education. The bibliometric studies discussed above have analyzed COVID-19 research across various fields, yielding a comparative snapshot of the research undertaken so far in different research spheres. However, despite being comprehensive, these studies did not appear to have examined a specific discipline or area of research in depth. Therefore, this bibliometric study aims to provide a focused, in-depth analysis of the COVID-19-related research in the field of education. In this regard, the main purpose of this study is to identify research patterns and trends in the field of education by examining COVID-19-related research papers. The study sought to answer the following research questions:

• What are the thematic patterns in the title, abstract, and keywords of the publications on COVID-19 and education?
• What are the citation trends in the references of the sampled publications on COVID-19 and education?

Methodology

This study used data mining and analytic approaches (Fayyad et al., 2002 ) to examine bibliometric patterns and trends. More specifically, social network analysis (SNA) (Hansen et al., 2020 ) was applied to examine the keywords and references, while text-mining was applied (Aggarwal & Zhai, 2012 ) to examine the titles and abstracts of the research corpus. Keywords represent the essence of an article at a micro level and for the analysis of the keywords, SNA was used. SNA “provides powerful ways to summarize networks and identify key people, [entities], or other objects that occupy strategic locations and positions within a matrix of links” (Hansen et al., 2020 , p. 6). In this regard, the keywords were analyzed based on their co-occurrences and visualized on a network graph by identifying the significant keywords which were demonstrated as nodes and their relationships were demonstrated with ties. For text-mining of the titles and abstracts, the researchers performed a lexical analysis that employs “two stages of co-occurrence information extraction—semantic and relational—using a different algorithm for each stage” (Smith & Humphreys, 2006 , p. 262). Thus, text-mining analysis enabled researchers to identify the hidden patterns and visualize them on a thematic concept map. For the analysis of the references, the researchers further used SNA based on the arguments that “citing articles and cited articles are linked to each other through invisible ties, and they collaboratively and collectively build an intellectual community that can be referred to as a living network, structure, or an ecology” (Bozkurt, 2019 , p. 498). The analysis of the references enabled the researchers to identify pivotal scholarly contributions that guided and shaped the intellectual landscape. The use of multiple approaches enables the study to present a broader view, or a meta-narrative.

Sample and Inclusion Criteria

The publications included in this research met the following inclusion criteria: (1) indexed by the Scopus database, (2) written in English, and (3) had the search queries on their title (Table ​ (Table1). 1 ). The search query reflects the focus on the impact of COVID-19 on education by including common words in the field like learn , teach , or student . Truncation was also used in the search to capture all relevant literature. Narrowing down the search allowed us to exclude publications that were not education related. Scopus was selected because it is one of the largest scholarly databases, and only publications in English were selected to facilitate identification of meaningful lexical patterns through text-mining and provide a condensed view of the research. The search yielded a total of 1150 papers (articles = 887, editorials = 66, notes = 58, conference papers = 56, letters = 40, review studies = 30, book chapters = 9, short surveys = 3, books = 1).

Search strings used to create research corpus

Data Analysis and Research Procedures

This study has two phases of analysis. In the first phase, text mining was used to analyze titles and abstracts, and SNA was applied to analyze keywords. By using two different analytical approaches, the authors were able to triangulate the research findings (Thurmond, 2001 ). In this phase, using lexical algorithms, text mining analysis enabled visualizing the textual data on a thematic concept map according to semantic relationships and co-occurrences of the words (Fig.  1 ). Text mining generated a machine-based concept map by analyzing the co-occurrences and lexical relationships of textual data. Then, based on the co-occurrences and centrality metrics, SNA enabled visualizing keywords on a network graphic called sociogram (Fig.  2 ). SNA allowed researchers to visually identify the key terms on a connected network graph where keywords are represented as nodes and their relationships are represented as edges. In the first phase of the study, by synthesizing outputs of the data mining and analytic approaches, meaningful patterns of textual data were presented as seven main research themes.

Thematic concept mapping of COVID-19 and education-related papers

Social networks analysis of the keywords in COVID-19 and education-related papers

In the second phase of the study, through the examination of the references and citation patterns (e.g., citing and being cited) of the articles in the research corpus, the citation patterns were visualized on a network graphic by clusters (See Fig.  3 ) showing also chronical relationships which enabled to identify pivotal COVID-19 studies. In the second phase of the study, two new themes were identified which were in line with the themes that emerged in the first phase of the study.

Social networks analysis of the references in COVID-19 and education-related papers 2019–2020 (Only the first authors were labeled – See Appendix Fig. ​ Fig.4 4 for SNA of references covering pre-COVID-19 period)

Strengths and Limitations

This study is one of the first attempts to use bibliometric approaches benefiting from data mining and analysis techniques to better understand COVID-19 and its consequences on published educational research. By applying such an approach, a large volume of data is able to be visualized and reported. However, besides these strengths, the study also has certain limitations. First, the study uses the Scopus database, which, though being one of the largest databases, does not include all types of publications. Therefore, the publications selected for this study offer only a partial view, as there are many significant publications in gray literature (e.g., reports, briefs, blogs). Second, the study includes only publications written in English, however, with COVID-19 being a global crisis, publications in different languages would provide a complementary view and be helpful in understanding local reflections in the field of education.

Findings and Discussion

Sna and text-mining: thematic patterns in the title, abstract, and keywords of the publications.

This section reports the findings based on a thematic concept map and network graphic that were developed through text mining (Fig.  1 —Textual data composed of 186.234 words visualized according to lexical relationships and co-occurrences) and sociograms created using SNA (Fig.  2 —The top 200 keywords with highest betweenness centrality and 1577 connections among them mapped on a network graph) to visualize the data. Accordingly, seven major themes were identified by analyzing the data through text-mining and SNA: (1) the great reset, (2) digital pedagogy, (3) shifting educational landscape and emerging educational roles, (4) emergency remote education, (5) pedagogy of care, (6) social equity, equality, and injustice, and (7) future of education.

• Theme 1: The Great Reset (See path Fig.  1 : lockdown  +  emergency  +  community  +  challenges  +  during  >  pandemic and impact  >  outbreak  >  coronavirus  >  pandemic and global  >  crisis  >  pandemic  >  world; See nodes on Fig.  2 : Covid19, pandemic, Coronavirus, lockdown, crisis ). The first theme in the thematic concept map and network graphic is the Great Reset. It has been relatively a short time since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 a pandemic. Although vaccination had already started, the pandemic continued to have an adverse impact on the world. Ever since the start of the pandemic, people were discussing when there would be a return to normal (Bozkurt & Sharma, 2020a , b ; Xiao, 2021 ); however, as time goes by, this hope has faded, and returning to normal appears to be far into the future (Schwab & Malleret, 2020 ). The pandemic is seen as a major milestone, in the sense that a macro reset in economic, social, geopolitical, environmental, and technological fields will produce multi-faceted changes affecting almost all aspects of life (Schwab & Malleret, 2020 ). The cover of an issue of the international edition of Time Magazine reflected this idea of a great reset and presented the COVID-19 pandemic as an opportunity to transform the way we live and work (Time, 2020 ). It has been argued that the pandemic will generate the emergence of a new era, and that we will have to adapt to the changes it produces (Bozkurt & Sharma, 2020 ). For example, the industrial sector quickly embraced remote work despite its challenges, and it is possible that most industrial companies will not return to the on-site working model even after the pandemic ends (Hern, 2020 ). We can expect a high rate of similar responses in other fields, including education, where COVID-19 has already reshaped our educational systems, the way we deliver education, and pedagogical approaches.
• Theme 2: Digital pedagogy (See path on Fig.  1 : distance learning  >  research  >  teacher  >  development  >  need  >  training  +  technology  +  virtual  >  digital  >  communication  >  support  >  process  >  teaching  >  online  >  learning  >  online learning  +  course  >  faculty  >  students  >  experience ; See nodes on Fig.  2 : online learning, distance learning, computer-based learning, elearning, online education, distance education, online teaching, multimedia-based learning, technology, blended learning, online, digital transformation, ICT, online classes, flexible learning, technology-enhanced learning, digitalization ). Owing to the rapid transition to online education as a result of COVID-19, digital pedagogy and teachers’ competencies in information and communication technology (ICT) integration have gained greater prominence with the unprecedented challenges teachers have faced to adapt to remote teaching and learning. The COVID-19 pandemic has unquestionably manifested the need to prepare teachers to teach online, as most of them have been forced to assume ERE roles with inadequate preparation. Studies involving the use of SNA indicate a correspondence between adapting to a digital pedagogy and the need to equip teachers with greater competency in technology and online teaching (e.g., Blume, 2020 ; König et al., 2020 ). König et al. ( 2020 ) conducted a survey-based study investigating how early career teachers have adapted to online teaching during COVID-19 school closures. Their study found that while all the teachers maintained communication with students and their parents, introduced new learning content, and provided feedback, they lacked the ability to respond to challenges requiring ICT integration, such as those related to providing quality online teaching and to conducting assessments. Likewise, Blume ( 2020 ) noted that most teachers need to acquire digital skills to implement digitally-mediated pedagogy and communication more effectively. Both study findings point to the need for building ICT-related teaching and learning competencies in initial teacher education and teacher professional development. The findings from the SNA conducted in the present study are in line with the aforementioned findings in terms of keyword analysis and overlapping themes and nodes.
• Theme 3: Shifting educational landscape and emerging educational roles (See path on Fig.  1 : future > education > role > Covid19; See nodes on Fig.  2 : higher education, education, student, curriculum, university, teachers, learning, professional development, teacher education, knowledge, readiness ). The role of technology in education and human learning has been essential during the COVID-19 pandemic. Technology has become a prerequisite for learning and teaching during the pandemic and will likely continue to be so after it. In the rapid shift to an unprecedented mode of learning and teaching, stakeholders have had to assume different roles in the educational landscape of the new normal. For example, in a comprehensive study involving the participation of over 30 K higher education students from 62 countries conducted by Aristovnik et al. ( 2020 ), it was found that students with certain socio-demographic characteristics (male, lower living standard, from Africa or Asia) were significantly less satisfied with the changes to work/life balance created by the COVID-19 pandemic, and that female students who were facing financial problems were generally more affected by COVID-19 in their emotional life and personal circumstances. Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, there is likely to be carry over in the post-pandemic era of some of the educational changes made during the COVID-19 times. For example, traditional lecture-based teacher-centered classes may be replaced by more student-centered online collaborative classes (Zhu & Liu, 2020 ). This may require the development and proliferation of open educational platforms that allow access to high-quality educational materials (Bozkurt et al., 2020 ) and the adoption of new roles to survive in the learning ecologies informed by digital learning pedagogies. In common with the present study, the aforementioned studies (e.g., Aristovnik et al., 2020 ; König et al., 2020 ) call for more deliberate actions to improve teacher education programs by offering training on various teaching approaches, such as blended, hybrid, flexible, and online learning, to better prepare educators for emerging roles in the post-pandemic era.
• Theme 4: Emergency remote education (see path Fig.  1 : higher education  >  university  >  student  >  experience  >  remote; See nodes on Fig.  2 : Covid19, pandemic, Coronavirus, higher education, education, school closure, emergency remote teaching, emergency remote learning ). Educational institutions have undergone a rapid shift to ERE in the wake of COVID-19 (Bozkurt & Sharma, 2020a ; Bozkurt et al., 2020 ; Hodges et al., 2020 ). Although ERE is viewed as similar to distance education, they are essentially different. That is, ERE is a prompt response measure to an emergency situation or unusual circumstances, such as a global pandemic or a civil war, for a temporary period of time, whereas distance education is a planned and systematic approach to instructional design and development grounded in educational theory and practice (Bozkurt & Sharma, 2020b ). Due to the urgent nature of situations requiring ERE, it may fall short in embracing the solid pedagogical learning and teaching principles represented by distance education (Hodges et al., 2020 ). The early implementations of ERE primarily involved synchronous video-conferencing sessions that sought to imitate in-person classroom instruction. It is worth noting that educators may have heavily relied on synchronous communication to overcome certain challenges, such as the lack of available materials and planned activities for asynchronous communication. Lockdowns and school closures, which turned homes into compulsory learning environments, have posed major challenges for families and students, including scheduling, device sharing, and learner engagement in a socially distanced home learning environment (Bond, 2020 ). For example, Shim and Lee ( 2020 ) conducted a qualitative study exploring university students’ ERE experiences and reported that students complained about network instability, unilateral interactions, and reduced levels of concentration. The SNA findings clearly highlight that there has been a focus on ERE due to the school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is key to adopt the best practices of ERE and to utilize them regularly in distance education (Bozkurt, 2022 ). Moreover, it is important to note that unless clear distinctions are drawn between these two different forms of distance education or virtual instruction, a series of unfortunate events in education during these COVID-19 times is very likely to take place and lead to fatal errors in instructional practices and to poor student learning outcomes.
• Theme 5: Pedagogy of care (See path Fig.  1 : r ole  >  education  >  Covid19  >  care ; See nodes on Fig.  2 : Stress, anxiety, student wellbeing, coping, care, crisis management, depression ). The thematic concept map and network graphic show the psychological and emotional impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on various stakeholders, revealing that they have experienced anxiety, expressed the need for care, and sought coping strategies. A study by Baloran ( 2020 ), conducted in the southern part of the Philippines to examine college students’ knowledge, attitudes, anxiety, and personal coping strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic, found that the majority of the students experienced anxiety during the lockdown and worried about food security, financial resources, social contact, and large gatherings. It was reported that the students coped with this anxiety by following protective measures, chatting with family members and friends, and motivating themselves to have a positive attitude. In a similar study, Islam et al. ( 2020 ) conducted an investigation to determine whether Bangladeshi college students experienced anxiety and depression and the factors responsible for these emotional responses. Their cross-sectional survey-based study found that a large percentage of the participants had suffered from anxiety and depression during the pandemic. Academic and professional uncertainty, as well as financial insecurity, have been documented as factors contributing to the anxiety and depression among college students. Both studies point to the need for support mechanisms to be established by higher education institutions in order to ensure student wellbeing, provide them with care, and help them to cope with stress, anxiety, and depression. Talidong and Toquero ( 2020 ) reported that, in addition to students’ well-being and care, teachers’ perceptions and experiences of stress and anxiety during the quarantine period need to be taken into account. The authors found that teachers were worried about the safety of their loved ones and were susceptible to anxiety but tended to follow the preventive policies. A pedagogy of care has been presented as an approach that would effectively allow educators to plan more supportive teaching practices during the pandemic by fostering clear and prompt communication with students and their families and taking into consideration learner needs in lesson planning (e.g., Karakaya, 2021 ; Robinson et al., 2020 ). Here it is important to stress that a pedagogy of care is a multifaceted concept, one that involves the concepts of social equity, equality, and injustice.
• Theme 6: Social equity, equality, and injustice (See path on Fig.  1 : Impact  >  outbreak  >  coronavirus  >  pandemic  >  social ; See nodes on Fig.  2 : Support, equity, social justice, digital divide, inequality, social support ). One of the more significant impacts of COVID-19 has been the deepening of the existing social injustices around the world (Oldekop et al., 2020 ; Williamson et al., 2020 ). Long-term school closures have deteriorated social bonds and adversely affected health issues, poverty, economy, food insecurity, and digital divide (Van Lancker & Parolin, 2020 ). Regarding the digital divide, there has been a major disparity in access to devices and data connectivity between high-income and low-income populations increasing the digital divide, social injustice, and inequality in the world (Bozkurt et al., 2020 ). In line with the SNA findings, the digital divide, manifesting itself most visibly in the inadequacy and insufficiency of digital devices and lack of high-speed Internet, can easily result in widespread inequalities. As such, the disparities between low and high socio-economic status families and school districts in terms of digital pedagogy inequality may deepen as teachers in affluent schools are more likely to offer a wide range of online learning activities and thereby secure better student engagement, participation, and interaction (Greenhow et al., 2020 ). These findings demonstrate that social inequities have been sharpened by the unfortunate disparities imposed by the COVID-19, thus requiring us to reimagine a future that mitigates such concerns.
• Theme 7: Future of education (See word path on Fig.  1 : Future  >  education  >  Covid19  >  pandemic  >  changes and pandemic  >  coronavirus, outbreak, impact  >  world ; See nodes on Fig.  2 : Sustainability, resilience, uncertainty, sdg4). Most significantly, COVID-19 the pandemic has shown the entire world that teachers and schools are invaluable resources and execute critical roles in society. Beyond that, with the compulsory changes resulting from the pandemic, it is evident that teaching and learning environments are not exclusive to brick-and-mortar classrooms. Digital technologies, being at the center of teaching and learning during the pandemic period, have been viewed as a pivotal agent in leveraging how learning takes place beyond the classroom walls (Quilter-Pinner & Ambrose, 2020 ). COVID-19 has made some concerns more visible. For example, the well-being of students, teachers, and society at large has gained more importance in these times of crisis. Furthermore, the need for educational technology and digital devices has compounded and amplified social inequities (Pelletier et al., 2021 ; West & Allen, 2020 ). Despite its global challenges, the need for technology and digital devices has highlighted some advantages that are likely to shape the future of education, particularly those related to the benefits of educational technology. For example, online learning could provide a more flexible, informal, self-paced learning environment for students (Adedoyin & Soykan, 2020 ). However, it also bears the risk of minimizing social interaction, as working in shared office environments has shifted to working alone in home-office settings. In this respect, the transformation of online education must involve a particular emphasis on sustaining interactivity through technology (Dwivedi et al., 2020 ). In view of the findings of the aforementioned studies, our text-mining and SNA findings suggest that the COVID-19 impositions may strongly shape the future of education and how learning takes place.

In summary, these themes extracted from the text-mining and SNA point to a significant milestone in the history of humanity, a multi-faceted reset that will affect many fields of life, from education and economics to sociology and lifestyle. The resulting themes have revealed that our natural response to an emerging worldwide situation shifted the educational landscape. The early response of the educational system was emergency-based and emphasized the continuance of in-person instruction via synchronous learning technologies. The subsequent response foregrounded the significance of digitally mediated learning pedagogy, related teacher competencies, and professional development. As various stakeholders (e.g., students, teachers, parents) have experienced a heightened level of anxiety and stress, an emerging strand of research has highlighted the need for care-based and trauma-informed pedagogies as a response to the side effects of the pandemic. In addition, as the global pandemic has made systemic impairments, such as social injustice and inequity, more visible, an important line of research has emerged on how social justice can be ensured given the challenges caused by the pandemic. Lastly, a sizable amount of research indicates that although the COVID-19 pandemic has imposed unprecedented challenges to our personal, educational, and social lives, it has also taught us how to respond to future crises in a timely, technologically-ready, pedagogically appropriate, and inclusive manner.

SNA: Citation Trends in the References of the Sampled Publications

The trends identified through SNA in citation patterns indicate two lines of thematic clusters (see Fig.  3 -A network graph depicting the citing and being cited patterns in the research corpus. Node sizes were defined by their citation count and betweenness centrality.). These clusters align with the results of the analysis of the titles, abstracts, and keywords of the sampled publications and forge the earlier themes (Theme 4: Emergency remote education and Theme 5: Pedagogy of care).

• Thematic Cluster 1: The first cluster centers on the abilities of educational response, emergency remote education affordances, and continuity of education (Bozkurt & Sharma, 2020a ; Crawford et al., 2020 ; Hodges et al., 2020 ) to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on education, especially for more vulnerable and disadvantaged groups (UNESCO, 2020 ; Viner et al., 2020 ). The thematic cluster one agrees with the theme four emergency remote education . The first trend line (See red line in Fig.  3 ) shows that the education system is vulnerable to external threats. Considering that interruption of education is not exclusive to pandemics – for example, political crises have also caused disruptions (Rapp et al., 2016 ) – it is clear that coping mechanisms are needed to ensure the continuity of education under all conditions. In this case, we need to reimagine and recalibrate education to make it resilient, flexible, and adaptive, not only to ensure the continuity of education, but also to ensure social justice, equity, and equality. Given that online education has its own limitations (e.g., it is restricted to online tools and infrastructures), we need to identify alternative entry points for those who do not have digital devices or lack access to the internet.

“What we teach in these times can have secondary importance. We have to keep in mind that students will remember not the educational content delivered, but how they felt during these hard times. With an empathetic approach, the story will not center on how to successfully deliver educational content, but it will be on how learners narrate these times” (p. iv).

Conclusion and Suggestions

The results from this study indicate that quick adaptability and flexibility have been key to surviving the substantial challenges generated by COVID-19. However, extreme demands on flexibility have taken a toll on human well-being and have exacerbated systemic issues like inequity and inequality. Using data mining that involved network analysis and text mining as analytical tools, this research provides a panoramic picture of the COVID-19-related themes educational researchers have addressed in their work. A sample of 1150 references yielded seven themes, which served to provide a comprehensive meta-narrative about COVID-19 and its impact on education.

A portion of the sampled publications focused on what we refer to as the great reset , highlighting the challenges that the emergency lockdown brought to the world. A publication pattern centered around digital pedagogy posited distance and online learning as key components and identified the need for teacher training. Given the need for adaptability, a third theme revealed the demand for professional development in higher education and a future shift in educational roles. It can be recommended that future research investigate institutional policy changes and the adaptation to these changes in renewed educational roles. The ERE theme centered on the lack of preparation in instituting the forced changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. The publications related to this theme revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic uncovered silent threads in educational environments, like depression, inequality, and injustice. A pedagogy of care has been developed with the aim of reducing anxiety and providing support through coping strategies. These research patterns indicate that the future of education demands sustainability and resilience in the face of uncertainty.

Results of the thematic analysis of citation patterns (Fig.  3 ) overlapped with two of the themes found in our thematic concept map (Fig.  1 ) and network graphic (Fig.  2 ). It was shown that researchers have emphasized the continuity of education and the psychological effects of the COVID-19 crisis on learners. Creating coping strategies to deal with global crises (e.g., pandemics, political upheavals, natural disasters) has been shown to be a priority for educational researchers. The pedagogy of resilience (Purdue University Innovative learning, n.d. ) provides governments, institutions, and instructors with an alternative tool to applying to their contexts in the face of hardship. Furthermore, prioritizing the psychological long-term effects of the crisis in learners could alleviate achievement gaps. We recommend that researchers support grieving learners through care (Noddings, 1984 ) and trauma-informed pedagogy (Imad, 2020 ). Our resilience and empathy will reflect our preparedness for impending crises. The thematic analysis of citation patterns (1: educational response, emergency remote education affordances, and continuity of education; 2: psychological impact of COVID-19) further indicates suggestions for future instructional/learning designers. Freire ( 1985 ) argues that to transform the world we need to humanize it. Supporting that argument, the need for human-centered pedagogical approaches (Robinson et al., 2020 ) by considering learning a multifaceted process (Hodges et al., 2021 ) for well-designed learning experiences (Moore et al., 2021 ) is a requirement and instructional/learning designers have an important responsibility not only to design courses but an entire learning ecosystem where diversity, sensitivity, and inclusivity are prioritized.

ERE is not a representative feature in the field of online education or distance education but rather, a forced reaction to extraordinary circumstances in education. The increasing confusion between the practice of ERE and online learning could have catastrophic consequences in learners' outcomes, teachers' instructional practices, and institutional policies. Researchers, educators, and policymakers must work cooperatively and be guided by sound work in the field of distance learning to design nourishing educational environments that serve students’ best interests.

In this study, text mining and social network analysis were demonstrated to be powerful tools for exploring and visualizing patterns in COVID-19-related educational research. However, a more in-depth examination is still needed to synthesize effective strategies that can be used to support us in future crises. Systematic reviews that use classical manual coding techniques may take more time but increase our understanding of a phenomenon and help us to develop specific action plans. Future systematic reviews can use the seven themes identified in this study to analyze primary studies and find strategies that counteract the survival of the fittest mindset to ensure that no student is left behind.

Acknowledgements

This paper is dedicated to all educators and instructional/learning designers who ensured the continuity of education during the tough times of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This article is produced as a part of the 2020 AECT Mentoring Program.

SNA of references covering pre-COVID-19 period (Only the first authors were labeled)

Authors’ Contributions

AB: Conceptualization, Methodology, Software, Formal analysis, Investigation, Resources, Data Curation, Writing—Original Draft, Writing—Review & Editing, Visualization, Funding acquisition.; KK: Conceptualization, Investigation, Writing—Original Draft, Writing—Review & Editing.; MT: Conceptualization, Investigation, Writing—Original Draft, Writing—Review & Editing.; ÖK: Conceptualization, Investigation, Writing—Original Draft, Writing—Review & Editing.; DCR: Conceptualization, Investigation, Writing—Original Draft, Writing—Review & Editing.

This paper is supported by Anadolu University, Scientific Research Commission with grant no: 2106E084.

Data Availability

Declarations.

This is a systematic review study and exempt from ethical approval.

The authors declare no competing interests.

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Contributor Information

Aras Bozkurt, Email: moc.liamg@trukzobsara .

Kadir Karakaya, Email: ude.etatsai@ayakarak .

Murat Turk, Email: [email protected] .

Özlem Karakaya, Email: ude.etatsai@melzo .

Daniela Castellanos-Reyes, Email: ude.eudrup@dletsac .

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