Academic education in conditions of the COVID-19 epidemic threat – the perspective of students and lecturers

Understanding the opinions of students and lecturers of Polish universities on the quality of academic education during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as their recommended activities for improvement of learning processes in the event of a constant epidemic threat was the main goal of the conducted research. The main tool in the adopted research model were proprietary questionnaire forms based on the Servqual methodology. The research results presented in the publication illustrate the gaps (differences) between the expectations of students and lecturers and the aspects assessed by them, which make up the quality of academic education. 145 students, representing 12 Polish universities participated in the research. They represented both a practical and general academic profile of studies, full-time and part-time studies. In the case of lecturers, the research sample was 81 academic staff representing 20 Polish universities. According to the position held, the most numerous group of lecturers were: assistant professors, senior lecturers, university professors, lecturers and assistants. The publication presents the problems most frequently indicated by students and lecturers related to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, including the implementation of distance learning. Methods of improving the organization of didactic classes in the context of the epidemic threat were also presented.

The article presents an analysis of the transformations in private space and spatial practices manifested by students in connection with long-term online university education during the COVID-19 pandemic. The text includes a presentation of the results of a series of four focus group interviews carried out in 2021 via Zoom platform with students drawn from a few Polish colleges. The research sample was diversified in terms of gender, field of study, type of college, and mode of study. The research suggests key dimensions shaping the experience of remote university study: the spatial dimension, technological dimension and the organisational-educational dimension. Four basic kinds of student experiences are presented as well. The analyses also include a description of spatial practices such as: changing or adapting space for remote university education, negotiating spatial boundaries and attempts to ameliorate conflicts resulting from the interaction of diverse social roles and institutional orders in the same domestic space.

The main aim of this paper is to raise reflection on the conditions of respect for the right to education in the unexpected, pandemic time and after. The right to education is presented as the main agent of personal and social well-being, respect for human dignity, and the power of changing the world. The main question that organizes the structure of this paper concerns the conditions of respecting the right to education in Poland during remote education forced by a pandemic. Attention is focused on conditions, such as the place of living, possibilities for parents with different levels of education to support students, and access to broadband Internet. The discussion highlights the role of imagination as a factor of change in education and ways of respect for the right to education.

This study aimed to evaluate the COVID-19 pandemic anxiety experienced by students in Poland and its impact on their: social support, satisfaction with studying online and expectations of success in life. The data was obtained from a survey of Polish public and private university students. The research presented here examined the environmental and psychosocial effects of social withdrawal during the first period of the pandemic on the well-being and confidence in their chances for success in academic study. Recognising the individual and social condition of adolescents standing at the threshold of social maturity is essential to understanding the pedagogical and motivational consequences of institutional anti-pandemic regulation.

The article is an attempt to identify the tendencies displayed by university teachers towards the adoption of e-learning solutions in the academic environment. The paper is divided into four main sections. Section one explains the theoretical assumptions behind remote education and the role of the university teacher, with behavioral component being considered the core element. Section two describes the research methodology and defines the original research tool used to measure the scale of concrete actions taken by university teachers in their embrace of e-learning. On the basis of the analysis of the results, the importance of further education of academic staff for the improvement of the quality of education was demonstrated, regardless of the place of residence or professed values. The concluding section sums up the findings and puts forward recommendations for higher-education institutions in the area of remote education in the academic environment.

Constitutional and Statutory Regulation of Remote Education. Theory Versus Practice. The Case of the University of Rzeszów

The article compares the provisions of the legal regulations on the remote form of education with the actual scope of their application in the academic environment. The research method used was an analysis of documents such as the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, the Act ‘Law on Higher Education and Science’, regulations of the Ministry of Education and Science and internal legal regulations (Orders of UR). The aim of the research was to compare the provisions found in the aforementioned legal regulations with their practical application in the realities of higher education, while the case study of this analysis was the University of Rzeszów. The conclusions obtained may be used to verify solutions both in the course of the standard implementation of the educational process and the introduction of remote education in crisis periods. These include the need for blended learning or the establishment of distance learning centres.