Page 11 - IJSA, Vol. 3, No 2, 2020

рrint ISSN: 2617-2682; online ISSN: 2707-3637; DOI:10.26697/ijsa IJSA

SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES. Education

ORIGINAL RESEARCH

The Impact of Social Distancing Measures

on Higher Education Stakeholders

Authors’ Contribution: Pypenko I. S. 1,2,3 ACDG , Maslov Yu. V. 4 ABDEFG , Melnyk Yu. B. 2,3 ABDEFG
A – Study design;
B – Data collection; 1 Simon Kuznets Kharkiv National University of Economics, Ukraine
C – Statistical analysis; 2 Kharkiv Regional Public Organization “Culture of Health” (KRPOCH), Ukraine
D – Data interpretation; 3 Scientific Research Institute KRPOCH, Ukraine
E – Manuscript preparation; 4 Belarusian State Economic University, Belarus
F – Literature search;
G – Funds collection Received: 25.10.2020; Accepted: 07.12.2020; Published: 20.12.2020

Abstract
Background and The global CoVID-19 pandemic has affected education systems dramatically. Remote
Aim of Study: teaching/learning practices have become everyday reality across the globe.
The aim of the study: to assess the level of readiness of higher education stakeholders
for distance learning/remote teaching, and to evaluate the role of social distancing
measures.

Material and Methods: 594 stakeholders (216 teachers and 378 students) provided anonymous responses to a
questionnaire. Teacher did so during the round table discussion during the 6
th
International Academic Conference “Psychological and Pedagogical Problems of
Modern Specialist Formation” (June 2020). Students responded using Viber,
WhatsApp, and Telegram. Validation by Pearson method χ produced statistically
2
2
significant results (df=4, χ 2=22.083, р<0.01; df=4, χ 3=44.389, р<0.01; df=4,
2
χ 4=29.666, р<0.01).
2

Results: 62.9% of teachers and 56.6% of students consider educational institutions ready for
distance learning. The majority of teachers/students seem to be prepared for it (81.0%
and 93.4% respectively). 68.5% of teachers are positive about educational outcomes
(contrasted with 90.0% of students). Only 37.0% of teachers and 21.7% of students
assess the impact of social distancing measures on physical and mental health
positively.

Conclusions: The survey results prove that social distancing measures impact on higher education
is significant. The respondents assess highly their individual levels of preparedness and
of satisfaction, students displaying higher levels of both. However, the view on social
distancing measures impact on physical and mental health is more negative, the trend
being more visible in student responses.

Keywords: higher education, stakeholders, social distancing, emergency remote
teaching/learning, physical and mental health
Copyright: © 2020 Pypenko I. S., Maslov Yu. V., Melnyk Yu. B. Published by Archives of
International Journal of Science Annals
DOI and UDC DOI 10.26697/ijsa.2020.2.2; UDC 37.014.5:614.461
Conflict of interests: The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests
Peer review: Double-blind review
Source of support: This research did not receive any outside funding or support
Information about Pypenko Iryna Sergiivna (Corresponding Author) – https://orcid.org/0000-0001-
the authors: 5083-540X; [email protected]; Doctor of Philosophy in Economics, Associate
Professor, Simon Kuznets Kharkiv National University of Economics; Co-Director,
Scientific Research Institute KRPOCH; Kharkiv, Ukraine.
Maslov Yuri Vsevolodovich – https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5715-6546; Doctor of
Philosophy in Pedagogy, Associate Professor, Belarusian State Economic University,
Minsk, Belarus.
Melnyk Yuriy Borysovych – https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8527-4638; Doctor of
Philosophy in Pedagogy, Associate Professor; Founder and Chairman of the Board,
Kharkiv Regional Public Organization “Culture of Health”; Director, Scientific
Research Institute KRPOCH; Kharkiv, Ukraine.

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