Impact of COVID-19 on Education Not Going Away, UM Study Finds

The AHA! Team — Wed, 16 Jul 2025 05:09:02 +0000

University of Mississippi via EurekAlert! – Student performance scores dipped following the COVID-19 pandemic, and recent UM research shows they have not returned to pre-pandemic levels. The team discovered that a loss of life skills normally developed in high school that prepare students to succeed may be to blame. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on student performance is well known, but four years after the pandemic, scores in college classes are not returning to their pre-pandemic levels. A University of Mississippi study might point to an answer. In a study published in a special issue of the Educational Sciences journal, three Ole Miss researchers found that student performance scores started a downward trend following COVID-19. Dozens of studies have documented the pandemic’s negative impact on education, but the Ole Miss team discovered evidence of a deeper problem. “We were a little puzzled at first because if learning was impacted by one big event, why didn’t scores drop and level off or start to climb again?” said Gregg Davidson, professor of geology and geological engineering. “Why did scores continue declining each year since COVID-19?” The researchers – Gregg Davidson; Kristin Davidson, lecturer in computer and information science; and Hong Xiao, assistant professor of computer and information science – make the case that it was not just missed exposure to educational material during school shutdowns, but a loss of life skills normally developed in high school that prepare students to succeed both in college and future careers. “As educators, recognizing that this is happening is important in order to be proactive about identifying causes and remedies,” Davidson said. These skills include time management, self-motivation, critical thinking and social interaction. Without these skills, students can struggle to stay engaged, manage coursework and seek help when needed, directly affecting their academic performance, the researchers said. “I started studying this before the pandemic when I was doing my dissertation for my Ph.D. program in higher education,” Kristin Davidson said. “I knew from day one I wanted to look at the difference between online and face-to-face classroom performance, because I believed there was something there. “Following the pandemic, the study expanded to determine if the impact of school shutdowns changed anything – and did it ever.” Prior to the pandemic, a student’s performance scores in online classes were often lower than for equivalent classes taken face-to-face. Highly motivated students who earned As in face-to-face settings usually got A’s in online classes, too. But students who received Bs or below for face-to-face classes were likely to drop by a full letter grade in online courses. For these students, the structure of a regular meeting schedule, with instructor-controlled pace, minimal distractions and fellow students nearby, normally translated into better performance, the researchers said. “Post-COVID, that structural benefit disappeared. The performance of students in the face-to-face classes dropped to be indistinguishable from the online scores,” Gregg Davidson said. Steady decline in scores The steady decline in scores in college classes provides additional evidence that students still in high school during shutdowns were more impacted than those already in college, he said. “The scores are a reflection of growing percentage of undergraduates each year who were in high school during the pandemic.” Hong Xiao analyzed more than 15,000 records from non-major geology courses over eight years. At the end of 2023 – the last year covered during the study – student performance scores showed no signs of improving. The findings The findings draw attention to the need for being intentional about life skill development before arriving at college and after. Those skills are critical for academic, professional, and personal success, the researchers said. “That can start with family,” Xiao said. “Family is their first major connection.” DOI 10.3390/educsci14111268 To read the original article click here.

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Online Learning Doesn’t Improve Student Sleep Habits, Research Suggests

AHA Publisher — Tue, 11 May 2021 07:00:41 +0000

Simon Fraser University via EurekAlert – New research from Simon Fraser University suggests that students learning remotely become night owls but do not sleep more despite the time saved commuting, working or attending social events. The study, led by psychology professor Ralph Mistlberger, Andrea Smit and Myriam Juda, at SFU’s Circadian Rhythms and Sleep Lab, compared self-reported data on sleep habits from 80 students enrolled in a 2020 summer session course at SFU with data collected from 450 students enrolled in the same course during previous summer semesters. The study results were recently published in the journal PLOS ONE. “There is a widespread belief among sleep researchers that many people, especially young adults, regularly obtain insufficient sleep due to work, school, and social activities,” says Mistlberger. “The move toward remote work and school during COVID-19 has provided a novel opportunity to test this belief.” The student participants kept daily sleep diaries over a period of two-to-eight weeks, completed questionnaires and provided written reports. Fitbit sleep tracker data was collected from a subsample of participants. The team found that students learning remotely in the summer 2020 session went to bed an average of 30 minutes later than pre-pandemic students. They slept less efficiently, less at night and more during the day, but did not sleep more overall despite having no early classes and 44 per cent fewer work days compared to students in previous semesters. “One very consistent finding is a collective delay of sleep timing – people go to bed and wake up later,” says Mistlberger. “Not surprisingly, there is also a marked reduction in natural light exposure, especially early in the day. The lack of change in sleep duration was a bit of a surprise, as it goes against the assumption that young adults would sleep more if they had the time.” Self-described night owls were more likely to report a greater positive impact on their sleep, getting to sleep in, instead of waking up early for that morning class, while morning types were more likely to report a negative response to sleeping later than usual. Sleep plays an important role in immune functioning and mental health, which is why good sleep habits are crucial. “My advice for students and anybody working from home is to try to get outside and be active early in the day because the morning light helps stabilize your circadian sleep-wake cycle – this should improve your sleep, and allow you to feel more rested and energized during the day,” says Mistlberger. To read the original article click here.

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Impact of COVID-19 on Education Not Going Away, UM Study Finds

Online Learning Doesn’t Improve Student Sleep Habits, Research Suggests