Skip to main content

Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic on Higher Education. A Bibliometric Perspective

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Fostering Recovery Through Metaverse Business Modelling (ICESS 2022)

Part of the book series: Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics ((SPBE))

Included in the following conference series:

  • 133 Accesses

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically contributed to the change of the educational process. In higher education, teaching and pedagogy, evaluation, as well as experiences of students and teachers have changed profoundly from the beginning of the pandemic to the present. The educational process shifted from face-to-face interactions to online distance learning, changing many aspects of the conventional educational process. This paper presents a comprehensive overview of studies on the COVID-19 impact on higher education. We used bibliometric analysis to unfold how higher education institutions responded and adapted to the pandemic context as well as to the social distancing measures. By analyzing the main occurring terms with the support of the VOS program, we scrutinize the papers written from the beginning of the pandemic and indexed in the Web of Science database. The analysis of the publications from 2020 to 2022 showed, at the beginning, a research focus mainly on the negative effects of the pandemic. But then, diversity of topics increased, shifting to technological acceptance, quality of education and its outcomes, satisfaction with teaching and learning, or quality of life of all actors. The focus on the psychological well-being and mental health issues remained a constant for the entire period. The results are leading to a better understanding of how higher education institutions have adapted to the pandemic context and of the main trends in the field.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 169.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Abbasi, M.S., Ahmed, N., Sajjad, B., Alshahrani, A., Saeed, S., Sarfaraz, S., et al.: E-Learning perception and satisfaction among health sciences students amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Work 67(3), 549–556 (2020)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Andrew, A., Cattan, S.D, Costa-Dias, M. C., Farquharson, C., Kraftman, L., Krutikova, S., Phimister, A., Sevilla, A.: Learning during the lockdown: real-time data on children’s experiences during home learning. (IFS Briefing Note BN288). The Institute for Fiscal Studies. https://ifs.org.uk/publications/14848 (2020). Last accessed 15 June 2022

  • Aristovnik, A., Keržič, D., Ravšelj, D., Tomaževič, N., Umek. L.: Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on life of higher education students: a global perspective. Sustainability 12(20), 8438 (2020)

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen, T., Lucock, M.: The mental health of university students during the COVID-19 pandemic: an online survey in the UK. PLoS ONE 17(1), (2022)

    Google Scholar 

  • Di Malta, G., Bond, J., Conroy, D., Smith, K., Moller, N.: Distance education students’ mental health, connectedness and academic performance during COVID-19: a mixed-methods study. Distance Educ. 43(1), 97–118 (2022)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Doucet, A., Netolicky, D., Timmers, K., Tuscano, F.J.: Thinking about pedagogy in an unfolding pandemic (An Independent Report on Approaches to Distance Learning during COVID-19 School Closure). Work of Education International and UNESCO. https://issuu.com/educationinternational/docs/2020_research_covid-19_eng (2020). Last accessed 15 June 2022

  • Engzell, P., Frey, A., Verhagen, M.: Learning inequality during the COVID-19 pandemic. SocArXiv (2020)

    Google Scholar 

  • Kecojevic, A., Basch, C.H., Sullivan, M., Davi, N.K.: The impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on mental health of undergraduate students in New Jersey, cross-sectional study. PLoS ONE 15(9), e0239696 (2020)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keržič, D., Alex, J.K., Pamela Balbontín Alvarado, R., Bezerra, D.d.S., Cheraghi, M., Dobrowolska, B., et al.: Academic student satisfaction and perceived performance in the e-learning environment during the COVID-19 pandemic: evidence across ten countries. PLoS ONE 16(10), (2021)

    Google Scholar 

  • Khan, M.A.: COVID-19’s impact on higher education: a rapid review of early reactive literature. Educ. Sci. 11(8), 421 (2021)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maldonado, J.E., De Witte, K.: The effect of school closures on standardised student test outcomes. Br. Educ. Res. J. 48(1), 49–94 (2022)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nambiar, D.: The impact of online learning during COVID-19: students’ and teachers’ perspective. Int. J. Indian Psychol. 8(2), 783–793 (2020)

    Google Scholar 

  • Nilsberth, M., Liljekvist, Y., Olin-Scheller, C., Samuelsson, J., Hallquist, C.: Digital teaching as the new normal? Swedish upper secondary teachers’ experiences of emergency remote teaching during the COVID-19 crisis. Eur. Educ. Res. J. 20(4), 442–462 (2021)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Olasile, B.A., Emrah, S.: Covid-19 pandemic and online learning: the challenges and opportunities. Interact. Learn. Environ. (2020)

    Google Scholar 

  • Osman, M.E.: Global impact of COVID-19 on education systems: the emergency remote teaching at Sultan Qaboos University. J. Educ. Teach. 46(4), 463–471 (2020)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pérez-Jorge, D., Rodríguez-Jiménez, M.C., Ariño-Mateo, E., Barragán-Medero, F.: The effect of COVID-19 in university tutoring models. Sustainability 12, 8631 (2020)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pokhrel, S., Chhetri, R.: A literature review on impact of COVID-19 pandemic on teaching and learning. High. Educ. Futur. 8(1), 133–141 (2021)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sarasjärvi, K.K., Vuolanto, P.H., Solin, P.C.M., et al.: Subjective mental well-being among higher education students in Finland during the first wave of COVID-19. Scand. J. Public Health (2022)

    Google Scholar 

  • Sipeki, I., Vissi, T., Túri, I.: The effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on the mental health of students and teaching staff. Heliyon 8(4), (2022)

    Google Scholar 

  • UNESCO: The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on education: international evidence from the Responses to Educational Disruption Survey (REDS). https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000380398 (2022). Last accessed 15 June 2022

  • van Eck, N.J., Waltman, L.: Manual for VOSviewer version 1.6.17. Leiden University. https://www.vosviewer.com/documentation/Manual_VOSviewer_1.6.17.pdf (2021). Last accessed 15 June 2022

Download references

Acknowledgements

This publication was realized with the EEA Financial Mechanism 2014–2021 financial support through the Project “Moving toward the new normal in digital learning—new dimension of human capital in higher education”, contract number 20-COP-0043. Its content does not reflect the official opinion of the Programme Operator, the National Contact Point, and the Financial Mechanism Office. Responsibility for the information and views expressed therein lies entirely with the authors.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Cristina Mocanu .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this paper

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this paper

Mocanu, C., Grigorescu, A., Nastasa, A., Zamfir, AM. (2023). Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic on Higher Education. A Bibliometric Perspective. In: Dima, A.M., Danescu, E.R. (eds) Fostering Recovery Through Metaverse Business Modelling. ICESS 2022. Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-28255-3_12

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics