Cognitive Empowerment of Students with Disabilities and Its Impact on Academic Self-Efficacy and Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic—the University of Sharjah as a Model

Abstract

AbstractObjective: This study aims to document the interventions implemented at the University of Sharjah (Disability Resource Center) to enhance learning processes to achieve cognitive empowerment for students living with disabilities during COVID-19 and its impact on academic self-efficacy, psychological well-being, and health from their point of view. Methods: The descriptive-analytical approach was used. The study tools applied include the academic self-efficacy scale, the cognitive empowerment scale, and the mental health scale: R-SCL-90. Dimensions (anxiety, depression, and phobia), (n = 120). Results: A statistically significant inverse correlation at the level (0.01) between cognitive empowerment (cognitive awareness, information availability, training and empowerment, independence, and commitment) and mental health (depression, anxiety, and phobia), where the correlation coefficients amounted to –0.522, –0.534, and –0.512 was noted. There is a positive, statistically significant correlation at the level of significance (0.01) between the dimensions of cognitive empowerment and academic self-efficacy, where the correlation coefficient reached 0.549. A statistically significant inverse correlation at 0.01 between mental health (anxiety, depression, and phobia) and academic self-efficacy, as the correlation coefficients amounted to –0.605, –0.558, and –0.557. There are no statistically significant differences between average females and males in cognitive empowerment. There is a statistically significant difference in the dimensions of cognitive and empowerment according to the disability category’s variable. The order of the categories of disability came according to the degree of response to cognitive empowerment: Physical disability, visual disability, hearing disability, and learning difficulties.