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Influence of COVID-19 confinement on students’ performance in higher education

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  • T Gonzalez
  • M A de la Rubia
  • K P Hincz
  • M Comas-Lopez
  • Laia Subirats
  • Santi Fort
  • G M Sacha

Abstract

This study analyzes the effects of COVID-19 confinement on the autonomous learning performance of students in higher education. Using a field experiment with 458 students from three different subjects at Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain), we study the differences in assessments by dividing students into two groups. The first group (control) corresponds to academic years 2017/2018 and 2018/2019. The second group (experimental) corresponds to students from 2019/2020, which is the group of students that had their face-to-face activities interrupted because of the confinement. The results show that there is a significant positive effect of the COVID-19 confinement on students’ performance. This effect is also significant in activities that did not change their format when performed after the confinement. We find that this effect is significant both in subjects that increased the number of assessment activities and subjects that did not change the student workload. Additionally, an analysis of students’ learning strategies before confinement shows that students did not study on a continuous basis. Based on these results, we conclude that COVID-19 confinement changed students’ learning strategies to a more continuous habit, improving their efficiency. For these reasons, better scores in students’ assessment are expected due to COVID-19 confinement that can be explained by an improvement in their learning performance.

Suggested Citation

  • T Gonzalez & M A de la Rubia & K P Hincz & M Comas-Lopez & Laia Subirats & Santi Fort & G M Sacha, 2020. "Influence of COVID-19 confinement on students’ performance in higher education," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(10), pages 1-23, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0239490
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0239490
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    7. Bandar N. Alarifi & Steve Song, 2024. "Online vs in-person learning in higher education: effects on student achievement and recommendations for leadership," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-8, December.
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    9. Pertold-Gebicka, Barbara, 2024. "Medium-run effects of COVID-19 induced distant learning on students’ academic performance," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    10. Michael P. Cameron & Barbara Fogarty-Perry & Gemma Piercy, 2021. "The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on higher education students in New Zealand," Working Papers in Economics 21/02, University of Waikato.
    11. Norzaidi Mohd Daud & Ezzra Natasha Ramli & Nur Ariena Atirah Atrin & Nur Atasshahazahani & Siti Khadijahannuar, 2024. "The New Educational Norm in Malaysian Universities is Online Education Worthwhile," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 8(8), pages 3533-3542, August.
    12. Snigdha Choudhury, 2024. "Exigency-driven Academic Motivation of Learners: A Comparative Analysis During COVID and pre-COVID Scenario," IIM Kozhikode Society & Management Review, , vol. 13(1), pages 101-114, January.
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    14. Seher Uçkun & Aysen Simsek Kandemir, 2021. "The Effects of the Covid-19 Pandemic on the Career Goal Feedbacks of University Students," Bingol University Journal of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Bingol University, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, vol. 5(2), pages 191-213, December.
    15. Samar Yakoob Almossa & Sahar Matar Alzahrani, 2022. "Assessment practices in Saudi higher education during the COVID-19 pandemic," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 1-9, December.
    16. Valentin Kuleto & Milena P. Ilić & Nevenka Popović Šević & Marko Ranković & Dušan Stojaković & Milutin Dobrilović, 2021. "Factors Affecting the Efficiency of Teaching Process in Higher Education in the Republic of Serbia during COVID-19," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-20, November.
    17. Sally Diviner Yaa Adzaku & Hayford Daniel Adzakpa, 2022. "Impact of COVID-19 on the Nature of Academic Work in Colleges of Education in Ghana," Technium Social Sciences Journal, Technium Science, vol. 27(1), pages 117-130, January.
    18. Laura Ihm & Han Zhang & Alexandra van Vijfeijken & Mark G. Waugh, 2021. "Impacts of the Covid‐19 pandemic on the health of university students," International Journal of Health Planning and Management, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(3), pages 618-627, May.
    19. Dimitrios Tsiotas & Vassilis Tselios, 2021. "Understanding the uneven spread of COVID-19 in the context of the global interconnected economy," Papers 2101.11036, arXiv.org.
    20. Demirtaş, Burak Kağan & Türk, Umut, 2022. "Student performance under asynchronous and synchronous methods in distance education: A quasi-field experiment," International Review of Economics Education, Elsevier, vol. 41(C).
    21. Ahmad A. Shahba & Zaid Alashban & Ibrahim Sales & Abdelrahman Y. Sherif & Osman Yusuf, 2022. "Development and Evaluation of Interactive Flipped e-Learning (iFEEL) for Pharmacy Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(7), pages 1-19, March.
    22. Mauricio Acuña & Roberto Alvarez & Cristobal Avarca, 2024. "The Heterogeneous Impact of COVID-19 on University Student's Academic Performance," Working Papers wp556, University of Chile, Department of Economics.
    23. Alaa El-Sakran & Reem Salman & Ayman Alzaatreh, 2022. "Impacts of Emergency Remote Teaching on College Students Amid COVID-19 in the UAE," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(5), pages 1-21, March.
    24. Sayed Mostafa & Kathy Cousins-Cooper & Barbara Tankersley & Shea Burns & Guoqing Tang, 2022. "The impact of COVID-19 induced emergency remote instruction on students’ academic performance at an HBCU," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(3), pages 1-24, March.
    25. Alina Mihaela Dima & Mihail Busu & Vanesa Madalina Vargas, 2022. "The mediating role of students’ ability to adapt to online activities on the relationship between perceived university culture and academic performance," Oeconomia Copernicana, Institute of Economic Research, vol. 13(4), pages 1253-1281, December.

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