A comprehensive study of the literature on the implications of COVID-19 epidemic on pupils' academic performance in the educational system

Authors

Md Sarfaraz Alam, Department of Design, Dr. Vishwanath Karad MIT World Peace University, Pune, India.Follow
Milap Sharma, Department of Production and Industrial Engineering, Punjab Engineering College (Deemed to be University), Chandigarh, India
Waseem Ahmad, Department of Management Science and Engineering, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi.
Zulquernain Mallick, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 epidemic negatively affected every aspect of society on a global scale, including the economy, healthcare, and education. This affected "1.6 billion" students and "63 million" teachers globally, as "191 countries" closed schools nationwide.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to review the state-of-the-art and emerging trends in the field of COVID-19 and student academic performance (SAP).

METHODS: A comprehensive analysis considering various factors has been utilized to evaluate the current level of research on COVID-19 and the SAP. In this study, “content analysis” approach was used for a “systematic literature review (SLR)” on COVID-19 and SAP. The publications that include the term "COVID-19 and student performance" in the title, abstract, and keywords were selected from the SCOPUS, WoS, and PubMed databases. Only first-quartile (Q1) articles in the English language have been considered in this SLR. A total of 63 peer-reviewed publications on COVID-19 and SAP published in different journals throughout the last four years (i.e., 2020 – 2024) were critically reviewed.

RESULTS: This type of SLR study on COVID-19 and SAP is still in its earlier phases. The study found that in the first phase of the pandemic, more studies were done on the academic performance of medical students. Later, more studies were done on the SAP in other fields, such as science, business, economics, engineering, and physiotherapy. Developed countries showed more dominance in working on COVID-19 and SAP; while China was prominent among the developing countries. Most of the articles in this study implemented “survey”, and “survey+case study” methodology, while descriptive analysis was commonly utilized to evaluate the data.

CONCLUSION: The review will provide a better knowledge of the current state of research and what needs to be explored in the context of COVID and student academic performance issues. The specified "research gaps" and future prospects may deliver further guidance to advance COVID-19 and SAP research.

Recommended Citation

Alam, Md Sarfaraz; Sharma, Milap; Ahmad, Waseem; and Mallick, Zulquernain (2024) "A comprehensive study of the literature on the implications of COVID-19 epidemic on pupils' academic performance in the educational system," Health Professions Education: Vol. 10: Iss. 4, Article 4.
DOI: 10.55890/2452-3011.1300
Available at: https://hpe.researchcommons.org/journal/vol10/iss4/4