Sex and Careers of University Students in Educational Practices as Factors of Individual Differences in Learning Environment and Psychological Factors during COVID-19

Effects of Physical Activity and COVID-19 on Healthy Student Strengths in the University System: Implications for Post-Pandemic Management

The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly affected the physical, mental, and social well-being of millions worldwide. It has also brought about abrupt disruptions to the entire university system, whose students form a crucial segment of society. The pandemic's effects on student education and well-being have been particularly significant. One of the primary consequences has been a drastic reduction in physical activity levels among students, leading to mental and physical health problems. Despite the rapid growth in the literature exploring student experiences during the pandemic, there is a paucity of research on how this decline in physical activity has affected the five strengths of the healthy student: optimism, self-efficacy, resilience, engagement, and hope. Therefore, the aim of this investigation is to examine the relationship between physical activity levels and the five strengths of the healthy student at two different time points (pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19) through the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) and the Healthy Student Questionnaire. The study involved 897 participants, with 290 participating in the pre-COVID-19 phase and 607 participating in the COVID-19 phase. The results revealed significant differences in the five strengths between the two periods. Students who engaged in physical activity exhibited significantly higher optimism scores in the pre-COVID-19 phase. During the COVID-19 phase, physically active students demonstrated significantly higher scores in optimism, resilience, and self-efficacy. These findings provide clear guidance for university administrators seeking to enhance student well-being in a post-pandemic world and in the face of future disruptions. Universities should consider implementing physical exercise programs for their students to promote psychosocial well-being and provide training and resources to equip faculty members with new skills to better understand and support students' perceptions.

Accentuating technology acceptance among academicians: A conservation of resource perspective in the Malaysian context

Although recent research looked at the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) model among academicians, there is still lacking an adequate account for their technology adoption intentions and behaviors in the face of the COVID-19 virus. This study applies the conservation of resource (COR) theory to ground the statistical results investigating the moderation and moderated mediation effects of COVID-19 anxiety in relation to the UTAUT model. According to the COR theory, anxiety linked with the COVID-19 pandemic endangers resources such as human connections (death of friends and relatives), job security and finances, as well as physical health and psychological well-being. Since resource loss is more salient according to COR theory, academicians are more willing to employ technologies like Zoom, MS Teams, and Google Classroom since the COVID-19 threat is existential and the resource loss is eminent. To test the theory, data was collected through an anonymous survey during the months of December 2020 and January 2021. The resultant data from 215 academicians was analyzed using Hayes Process Macro in SPSS. COVID-19 Anxiety positive moderates both the direct effects of Performance Expectance-Behavior Intention and the mediating Performance Expectance-Behavior Intension-Usage relationships. Similar results were seen for other predictors, albeit the moderated mediations for Effort Expectancy and Facilitating Conditions were not significant. These findings overwhelmingly corroborate the claims that COR theory more comprehensively explains the effects of COVID-19 anxiety among academicians in relation to the UTAUT model.

The Psychological Well-Being of University Students amidst COVID-19 Pandemic: Scoping review, systematic review and meta-analysis

This review aimed to summarise the current evidence relating to university students' psychological well-being amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. A scoping review, using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews guidelines, was first conducted to determine if the evidence can be systematically reviewed and meta-analysed. The search was performed via Google Scholar, MEDLINE/PubMed, Science Direct, Scopus and Web of Science. A total of 90 original articles were selected for the scoping review. Meta-analysis of a total of 46,284 cases revealed an overall pooled prevalence rate of 29.1% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 20.9-39.0; K = 9, N = 22357) for anxiety symptoms and 23.2% (95% CI: 15.7-32.9; K = 12, N = 23927) for depression symptoms. This data revealed that COVID-19 had a significant impact on university students' psychological well-being.

Delphi methodology in healthcare research: How to decide its appropriateness

The Delphi technique is a systematic process of forecasting using the collective opinion of panel members. The structured method of developing consensus among panel members using Delphi methodology has gained acceptance in diverse fields of medicine. The Delphi methods assumed a pivotal role in the last few decades to develop best practice guidance using collective intelligence where research is limited, ethically/logistically difficult or evidence is conflicting. However, the attempts to assess the quality standard of Delphi studies have reported significant variance, and details of the process followed are usually unclear. We recommend systematic quality tools for evaluation of Delphi methodology; identification of problem area of research, selection of panel, anonymity of panelists, controlled feedback, iterative Delphi rounds, consensus criteria, analysis of consensus, closing criteria, and stability of the results. Based on these nine qualitative evaluation points, we assessed the quality of Delphi studies in the medical field related to coronavirus disease 2019. There was inconsistency in reporting vital elements of Delphi methods such as identification of panel members, defining consensus, closing criteria for rounds, and presenting the results. We propose our evaluation points for researchers, medical journal editorial boards, and reviewers to evaluate the quality of the Delphi methods in healthcare research.

Delphi methodology in healthcare research: How to decide its appropriateness

The Delphi technique is a systematic process of forecasting using the collective opinion of panel members. The structured method of developing consensus among panel members using Delphi methodology has gained acceptance in diverse fields of medicine. The Delphi methods assumed a pivotal role in the last few decades to develop best practice guidance using collective intelligence where research is limited, ethically/logistically difficult or evidence is conflicting. However, the attempts to assess the quality standard of Delphi studies have reported significant variance, and details of the process followed are usually unclear. We recommend systematic quality tools for evaluation of Delphi methodology; identification of problem area of research, selection of panel, anonymity of panelists, controlled feedback, iterative Delphi rounds, consensus criteria, analysis of consensus, closing criteria, and stability of the results. Based on these nine qualitative evaluation points, we assessed the quality of Delphi studies in the medical field related to coronavirus disease 2019. There was inconsistency in reporting vital elements of Delphi methods such as identification of panel members, defining consensus, closing criteria for rounds, and presenting the results. We propose our evaluation points for researchers, medical journal editorial boards, and reviewers to evaluate the quality of the Delphi methods in healthcare research.

COVID-19 and Higher Education: First-Year Students’ Expectations toward Distance Learning

The article deals with distance education, which as a teaching method had to be suddenly introduced in schools and higher education institutions as a result of the global pandemic situation. The paper captures the second wave of Poland’s pandemic situation in relation to global circumstances and the methods of conducting distance learning used across the globe. The purpose of this study was to investigate first-year students’ expectations about the education shift to distance learning. GETAMEL, which is the adapted General Extended Technology Acceptance Model for E-Learning, was used in the study. The study analyzed the influence of Experience, Subjective Norms, Enjoyment, Computer Anxiety, and Self-Efficacy on students’ expectations in the context of distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. To test the research model presented during the research, The Partial Least Squares method of Structural Equation Modeling was used. An online survey was created to conduct the research, which collected data from 670 Polish first-year undergraduate students. The acquired data were analyzed using the SmartPLS 3 software. The results of the research indicated that the most important factors that influence the feelings of students and can convince them to change from teaching in the classroom to teaching in the distance learning model are the feeling of pleasure in this form of education and a sense of self-efficacy. The results of this study may be of particular interest to education practitioners, including teachers, and a starting point for further research on e-learning models, including, in particular, the understanding of students’ expectations regarding distance learning.

Gender and Socioeconomic Status as Factors of Individual Differences in Pre-University Students' Decision-Making for Careers, with a Focus on Family Influence and Psychosocial Factors

The present study analyses the influence of family, specifically parents, on the career decisions of their children, and how gender and socioeconomic status influence this choice. Research was carried out using data obtained from a questionnaire administered to a representative sample of students who took the university entrance examination (PEvAU, its Spanish acronym) in Spanish North Africa. A quantitative research design was adopted in which multivariate analysis (MANOVA) was applied anda decision tree, which was also used for graphical and analytical analysis. The main results indicated a significant influence of parents on their children’s choices, this being the best predictor regarding the decision to take the said examination. It was also verified that their choice of Spanish Baccalaureate programme was significantly associated with their selected career path, and gender and socioeconomic status had a significant impact on that decision. These results lead to the need for further research on guidance from secondary education onwards. It would be interesting to analyse factors neglected thus far, such as those related to the cultural environment of students.

The role of social media in spreading panic among primary and secondary school students during the COVID-19 pandemic: An online questionnaire study from the Gaza Strip, Palestine

BACKGROUND

The rapid outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has opened up various issues on social media platforms among school students. The dangerous issue is that misinformation, fake news, and rumours spread on social media faster than reliable information, and also faster than the virus itself, damaging the health systems and affecting the mental health of social media users.

OBJECTIVE

The current study aims at determining how social media affects the spread of panic about COVID-19 among primary and secondary school students in the Gaza Strip, Palestine.

METHODS

The data were collected through an online questionnaire. By utilizing convenience sampling, we have reached a total of 1067 school students, aged between 6 and 18 years, from 56 schools located in the Gaza Strip, Palestine. Independent Samples T-test, ANOVA, and chi-square tests were used to compare the data.

RESULTS

The results showed that social media has a significant impact on spreading panic about COVID-19 among school students, with a potential negative impact on their mental health and psychological well-being. Facebook was the most common social media platform among students (81.8%), where female students had a higher likelihood than male students to use it to get news about COVID-19 (p < 0.001). Health news was the most frequently topic seen, read, or heard (n = 529, 56.2%) during the COVID-19 pandemic, where males were more likely to follow health news than females (p < 0.001). The majority of the students (n = 736, 78.1%) were psychologically affected, whereas those physically affected were the lowest (n = 12, 1.3%). Female students were psychologically affected and experienced greater fear significantly more than male students (p < 0.001). The effect of social media panic depending on a student's age and gender. (p < 0.001). This study showed a significant positive correlation between social media and spreading panic about COVID-19 (R = 0.891).

CONCLUSIONS

During the closure of schools, students are using social media to continue their learning as well as to know more information about the COVID-19 outbreak. Social media has a main role in rapidly spreading of panic about the COVID-19 pandemic among students in the Gaza Strip.

Does Physical Activity Matter for the Mental Health of University Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic?

Research indicates that university and college students are at higher risk of experiencing mental health problems than other populations. This study aims to examine the relationship between Physical Activity (PA) and the mental health of Ukrainian university students during the Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic lockdown. The conventional sample consisted of 1512 students from 11 Ukrainian universities, with a mean age of 20 years (M = 20.06, SD = 3.05) and 69% of whom were female. The cross-sectional online survey was disseminated through the most popular social media channels in Ukraine (i.e., Facebook, Viber, Telegram) and included the Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) scale to measure anxiety and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) to assess depression. Data were collected from 14 May to 4 June 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak in Ukraine. Among university students, 43% were engaged in PA ≥ 150 min weekly, 24% met the criteria of GAD, and 32% met the criteria of depression. More students were involved in PA before the COVID-19 outbreak than during the national lockdown. Students with anxiety and depression were almost two times less likely to engage in PA than their counterparts without mental health disorders. The inactive group had higher scores of anxiety and depression than the physically active group. The relationship of PA with anxiety and depression was statistically significant but weak during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Validation of the Smart City as a Sustainable Development Knowledge Tool: The Challenge of Using Technologies in Education during COVID-19

The objective of this research was to design and validate a questionnaire for teachers on the knowledge and use of smart city concepts and their usefulness in online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic based on a sustainable approach at different educational levels. It is important to analyze the use of online education based on the construction of intelligent learning environments, which favor the interaction between the environment and the student. With a quasi-experimental methodology, the psychometric properties of the questionnaire were analyzed through structural equation modeling (SEM), and the model was adjusted through a multivariate regression analysis to relate response patterns to a set of latent factors that cannot be directly observed, but exist in continuous dimensions of the people evaluated, and to create a valid and reliable instrument as a measurement tool using a sample of n = 973 subjects. The sample distribution consisted of 22.36% primary school teachers, 59.01% high school teachers, and 18.56% university teachers. The results showed a high reliability and construct validity through two models, and adjustment of the original model produced better goodness-of-fit parameters. We conclude that the designed questionnaire is a useful and valid tool for understanding how teachers have approached online teaching during the pandemic and their knowledge and use of Smart City concepts.

Analysis of Psychometric Properties of the Quality and Satisfaction Questionnaire Focused on Sustainability in Higher Education

The aim of this research was to develop and validate a questionnaire to assess the quality of education, from a sustainability perspective, in higher education institutions of Naples (Italy), and determine whether differences exist between the groups (families, teachers and, students) with respect to their level of satisfaction concerning that quality, since it is important that education policies promote that assessment from an economic, social, environmental, and organisational dimension. The questionnaire was validated using a quantitative, quasi experimental, cross sectional method. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was conducted on a sample of n = 1091 subjects to study the differences between the groups and their level of satisfaction. The results show a good reliability and validity. In this MANOVA, significant differences and large effect sizes were found. Families and teachers consider that quality management in higher education is adequate. The three groups are very satisfied with teaching management, and the teachers’ group has the higher level of satisfaction with teaching planning. It is concluded that this validated questionnaire provides information on the opinions about the quality of education from a sustainability perspective and that the self-assessment of those responsible for teaching is essential to achieve continuous improvement.

Students' Acceptance of the COVID-19 Impact on Shifting Higher Education to Distance Learning in Poland

This paper is dedicated to the higher education institutions shifting towards distance learning processes due to the global pandemic situation caused by COVID-19 in 2020. The paper covers the pandemic situation in Poland generally, analyzing governmental ordinances and tracking the gradual extension of restrictions for educational institutions. The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of Experience, Enjoyment, Computer Anxiety, and Self-Efficacy on students’ acceptance of shifting education to distance learning. The study tested and used the adapted General Extended Technology Acceptance Model for E-Learning (GETAMEL) in the context of coronavirus pandemic. The partial least squares method of structural equation modeling was employed to test the proposed research model. The study utilizes an online survey to obtain data from 1692 Polish undergraduate and graduate students in both full- and part-time study. The dataset was analyzed using SmartPLS 3 software. Results showed that the best predictor of student’s acceptance of shifting education to distance learning is Enjoyment, followed by Self-Efficacy. Both Perceived Ease of Use and Perceived Usefulness predict student’s Attitude Towards Using and Intention to Use the distance learning. The findings improve understanding regarding the acceptance of distance learning and this work is therefore of particular interest to teachers and practitioners of education.