The Lack of Academic Social Interactions and Students’ Learning Difficulties during COVID-19 Faculty Lockdowns in Croatia: The Mediating Role of the Perceived Sense of Life Disruption Caused by the Pandemic and the Adjustment to Online Studying

Tea Pavin Ivanec

doi:10.3390/socsci11020042

Abstract

The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic caused significant disruptions and changes to the educational process worldwide, and higher education institutions rapidly shifted from onsite to online education. This study aimed to explore the association between a perceived lack of academic social interactions in the online learning environment and learning and self-regulation difficulties experienced during online studying. More specifically, the mediating role of students’ senses of life disruption caused by the pandemic and their general adjustment to online studying in the previously described association was explored. A total number of 464 university students from Croatia took part in an online questionnaire. The results revealed that students who perceive a greater lack of academic social interactions also report more learning and self-regulation difficulties during online studying. Further, the perceived lack of academic social interactions affects students’ perceptions of life disruption caused by the pandemic and adjustment to online studying. Both of these mediators, in turn, affect the level of experienced learning and self-regulation difficulties. The obtained results can be helpful for introducing certain measures that could support students’ learning and reduce the possibility of adverse effects of the pandemic.

Highlights

This study aimed to explore the association between a perceived lack of academic social interactions in the online learning environment and learning and self-regulation difficulties experienced during online studying
The results revealed that students who perceive a greater lack of academic social interactions report more learning and self-regulation difficulties during online studying
The COVID-19 pandemic that rapidly emerged at the beginning of 2020 affected various aspects of people’s lives worldwide and led to the introduction of different measures primarily aimed at social distancing

Summary

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic that rapidly emerged at the beginning of 2020 affected various aspects of people’s lives worldwide and led to the introduction of different measures primarily aimed at social distancing. Distance education is not a new form of education, the pandemic made it a dominant form for academic staff and students worldwide, and, according to Filho et al (2021), both academic staff and students experience the impact of social isolation during a lockdown of higher education institutions. Since this situation has been present for almost two years, it could be considered a prolonged crisis with potential long-term effects

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