Emotional factors and learning in the context of a pandemic. Key issues for future crises

Abstract

This paper aims to determine the incidence that certain emotions (fear, loneliness, uncertainty and stress) generalized by the Covid-19 pandemic and the implementation of a virtual education system in an improvised manner have provoked in students at different moments of their academic life (high school, EVAU and university). A mixed method research design was carried out based on a questionnaire and three focus groups with university students (n=451). The results show that these emotions were not present to the same degree in these three periods. The study proves that being in a familiar learning environment such as high school allows us to control the factors of fear, uncertainty and loneliness (but not stress), while in novel situations, such as the EVAU or university, these emotions are significantly more complicated to manage. The feeling of loneliness was experienced with significantly greater intensity during the university period. This research discusses some key issues for the emotional management of students in future crises.