Influence of the covid-19 pandemic on the education and academic performance of university students
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21527/2176-7114.2024.49.14291Keywords:
Academic Performance, Coronavirus, Students, PandemicsAbstract
Purpose: Investigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the higher education through the perception of Brazilian undergraduates. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 1006 students of public and private universities. Data collection happened between September-December 2020 with an online questionnaire addressing socioeconomic characteristics, use of anxiolytics/antidepressants and issues related to the course. Data were analyzed using Poisson regression (α = 5%). Results: Most students (68.7%) perceived an impact on their education and reported a high satisfaction with the course (62.2%). Age (OR = 0.98, 95%CI: 0.96 – 0.99), residing in the northern region of the country (OR= 1.26, 95%CI: 1.06 – 1.50), enrollment at a public university (OR= 1.28, 95%CI: 1.17 – 1.40) and lower satisfaction with the course (OR= 1.13, 95%CI: 1.04 – 1.23) were associated with the perception of impact. Regarding self-rated performance in the courses, 41.7% students reported a very low/low performance. A family income of up to two times the monthly minimum wage (OR= 0.68, 95% CI: 0.48 – 0.97), residing in the northeastern region of the country (OR= 0.68, 95% CI: 0.48 – 0.97) and lower satisfaction with the course (OR= 0.36, 95% CI: 0.23 – 0.53) were associated with this outcome. Conclusions: The pandemic negatively affected two thirds of undergraduates, especially the younger, from the northern region, public universities and those less satisfied with the course. Nearly forty percent of students rated their academic performance during the pandemic as very low/low, especially those with a low family income, from the northeastern region and those less satisfied with the course.
References
1 World Health Organization. WHO Timeline – COVID-19. 2020.
2 United Nations Educational S and CO. Adverse consequences of school closures. 2020.
3 Brasil. Ministério da Educação. Parecer Homologado Parcialmente. Despacho do ministro. 2020;57.
4 Kaggwa, MM, et al. Prevalence and Factors Associated With Depression and Suicidal Ideation During the COVID-19 Pandemic Among University Students in Uganda: A Cross-Sectional Study. Frontiers in Psychiatry. 2022;13.
5 Seymour-Walsh A, Weber A, Bell A. Practical approaches to pedagogically rich online tutorials in health professions education. Rural Remote Health. 2020.
6 Lederer AM, Hoban MT, Lipson SK, et al. More than inconvenienced: The unique needs of US college students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Health Education & Behavior. 2021;48(1):14-19.
7 Hasan N, Bao Y. Impact of “e-Learning crack-up” perception on psychological distress among college students during COVID-19 pandemic: A mediating role of “fear of academic year loss”. Children and youth services review. 2020;118:105355.
8 Cao W, Fang Z, Hou G, et al. The psychological impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on college students in China. Psychiatry Res. 2020;287:112934.
9 Hasan N, Bao Y. Impact of “e-Learning crack-up” perception on psychological distres among college students during COVID-19 pandemic: A mediating role of “fear of academic year loss”. Children and youth services review. 2020;118:105355.
10 Osti A, Júnior JAFP, S. Almeida L. O comprometimento acadêmico no contexto da pandemia da covid-19 em estudantes brasileiros do ensino superior. Rev Prâksis. 2021;3:275-292.
11 Kassarnig V, Bjerre-Nielsen A, Mones E, et al. Class attendance, peer similarity, and academic performance in a large field study. PLoS One. 2017;12(11):e0187078.
12 Sörberg W, Alma, et al. Academic performance, externalizing disorders and depression: 26,000 adolescents followed into adulthood. Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology. 2019;54:977-986.
13 Brasil. Ministério da Saúde. Conselho Nacional de Saúde. Resolução nº 466, de 12 de dezembro de 2012.
14 Brasil. Ministério da Educação. Censo Educacional 2019. 2019.
15 Associação Brasileira de Mantenedoras de Ensino Superior. Na pandemia, 22% das faculdades particulares pausaram atividades e não adotaram o ensino remoto, diz pesquisa. Available from: https://abmes.org.br/noticias/detalhe/3768/na-pandemia22-das-faculdades-particulares-pausaram-atividades-enao-adotaram-o-ensino-remoto-diz-pesquisa. Access: 27 Dez. 2021.
16 United Nations Educational S and CO. COVID-19 impact on education. 2020.
17 Torres ACM, Alves LRG, Costa ACN. Education and Health: reflections on the university context in times of COVID-19. Educ Heal reflections Univ Context times COVID-19. 2020;1.92.
18 Gusso HL, Archer AB, Luiz FB, et al. Ensino Superior em tempos de pandemia: diretrizes à gestão universitária. Educ. Soc. 2020;41.
19 Ahshan R. A framework of implementing strategies for active student engagement in remote/online teaching and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Education Sciences. 2021;11(9):483.
20 Morgan, H. Alleviating the challenges with remote learning during a pandemic. Education Sciences. 2022;12(2):109.
21 Lorenzo-Quiles O, Galdón-López S, Lendínez-Turón A. Factors contributing to university dropout: a review. Front Educ. 2023;8:1159864. DOI: 10.3389/feduc.2023.1159864
22 Nurmalitasari ZAL, Mohammad FMN. Factors Influencing Dropout Students in Higher Education. Education Research International. 2023;(2023):7704142. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1155/2023/7704142
23 Lounsbury JW, Saudargas RA, Gibson LW, Leong FT. An Investigation of Broad and Narrow Personality Traits in Relation to General and Domain-Specific Life Satisfaction of College Students. Res High Educ. 2005;46(6):707-729.
24 Freitas EO, Silva NR, Silva RM, et al. Autoavaliação de estudantes universitários sobre seu desempenho acadêmico durante a pandemia da Covid-19. Rev Gaúcha Enferm. 2022;43.
25 Morcillo AJR, Costa CL, García JEM, Martínez MR. Experiences-of-nursing-students-during-the-abrupt-change-from-facetoface-to-elearning-education-during-the-first-month-of-confinement-due-to-COVID19-in-SpainInternational-Journal-of-Environmental-Research-and-Publ.pdf. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020;17(5519):1–15.
26 Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Convid: pesquisa de comportamentos. 2020.
27 United Nations. Policy Brief: Education during COVID-19 and Beyond (August 2020); Technical Report; United Nations: San Francisco, CA, USA; 2020.
28 Prada T, Costa PM, Nardi MB. Covid-19 e a contribuição da assistência estudantil para a permanência acadêmica. Cad Cajuína. 2021;6(3):128.
29 Costa R, Lino MM, Souza AIJ, et al. NUrsing teaching in covid-19 times: how to reinvent it in this context?. Texto Context – Enferm. 2020;29.
30 Khattar A, Jain PR, Quadri SMK. Effects of the disastrous pandemic covid 19 on learning styles, activities and mental health of young indian students-a machine learning approach. In: 2020 4th International Conference on Intelligent Computing and Control Systems (ICICCS). 2020;1:1190-1195.
31 Colasante E, Benedetti E, Fortunato L, et al. Paper-and-pencil versus computerized administration mode: comparison of data quality and risk behavior prevalence estimates in the european school survey project on alcohol and other drugs (ESPAD). PLoS One. 2019;14(11):e0225140. Available from: https://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0225140
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Revista Contexto & Saúde
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
By publishing in Revista Contexto & Saúde, authors agree to the following terms:
The works are licensed under the Creative Commons Atribuição 4.0 Internacional (CC BY 4.0) license, which allows:
Share — to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format;
Adapt — to remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, including commercial.
These permissions are irrevocable, provided that the following terms are respected:
Attribution — authors must be properly credited, with a link to the license and indication of any changes made.
No additional restrictions — no legal or technological measures may be applied that restrict the use permitted by the license.
Notes:
The license does not apply to elements in the public domain or covered by legal exceptions.
The license does not grant all rights necessary for specific uses (e.g., image rights, privacy, or moral rights).
The journal is not responsible for opinions expressed in the articles, which are the sole responsibility of the authors. The Editor, with the support of the Editorial Board, reserves the right to suggest or request modifications when necessary.
Only original scientific articles presenting research results of interest that have not been published or simultaneously submitted to another journal with the same objective will be accepted.
Mentions of trademarks or specific products are intended solely for identification purposes, without any promotional association by the authors or the journal.
License Agreement (for articles published from September 2025): Authors retain copyright over their article and grant Revista Contexto & Saúde the right of first publication.
