ABSTRACT
As the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the globe, educational systems were forced to adapt to the new reality of online learning, causing practical academic specializations, such as social work (SW), to be severely affected. To highlight the perspectives of SW students during the pandemic, we used a mixed sociological approach that combined exploratory qualitative research (using the focus-group technique) with cross-sectional quantitative research. Participants who had both on-site and online SW studies before and after the COVID-19 outbreak were included in the study. The study was conducted during a period when almost all educational activities were held online. We aimed to investigate students' perceptions of the educational process during the pandemic, how their wellbeing was affected, and their perspectives on educational and professional development. Students identified advantages of online learning, such as discovering online learning tools, and disadvantages, mainly marked by concerns about their career path once practical activities were heavily limited by institutional measures and policies. Our conclusions suggest that in a post-pandemic context, universities should provide continuous feedback, integrate students' opinions into policies, offer material and technical support, facilitate access to high-quality resources, enrich the SW curricula with resilience programs, and organize peer-to-peer mentoring activities.
ABSTRACT
The aim of the paper is to test the validity and highlight the psychometric properties of a scale about the academic worries of students in the pandemic context (Pandemic Academic Worries among University Students scale - PAWAUS scale), following a quantitative research study consisting of a self-administered questionnaire within a university in north-eastern Romania in May 2021. The sample comprised 282 undergraduate and master students in the Social Work field. The factor analysis performed shows an initial validity of the PAWAUS scale. Generally, the findings of this study indicate that the students adapted rapidly and (relatively) fluidly to the new context but reported worries related to their academic and professional path. The premise from which we started was the following: the Social Work students follow, in the pandemic context, a speciality where the combination of theoretical knowledge with practical skills even from the undergraduate period is essential, which may contribute to the formation of their professional identity. The second objective of the paper consisted of analysing the emotional impact of the pandemic among the Social Work students using a recentlydeveloped tool - PEIS (Ballou et al., 2020). Through the specific analysis of the relationship between the two scales, we have identified that the worries of the Social Work students are influenced significantly by the emotional impact generated by the Covid-19 pandemic.Alternate :L'objectif de l'article est de tester la validité et de mettre en évidence les propriétés psychométriques d'une échelle sur les inquiétudes académiques des étudiants dans le contexte de la pandémie (Pandemic Academic Worries Among University Students scale - PAWAUS), à la suite d'une étude de recherche quantitative consistant en un autoquestionnaire administré dans une université du nord-est de la Roumanie en mai 2021. L'échantillon comprenait 282 étudiants de premier cycle et de master dans le domaine du travail social. L'analyse factorielle réalisée montre une première validité de l'échelle PAWAUS. De manière générale, les résultats de cette étude indiquent que les étudiants se sont adaptés rapidement et (relativement) avec fluidité au nouveau contexte mais ont signalé des inquiétudes liées à leur cheminement accadémique et professionnel. La prémisse initiale de laquelle nous sommes partis était la suivante: les étudiants en travail social suivent, dans le contexte de la pandémie, une spécialité où la combinaison de connaissances théoriques avec des compétences pratiques même dès le premier cycle est essentielle, ce qui peut contribuer à la formation de leur identité professionnelle. Le deuxième objectif de l'article consistait à analyser l'impact émotionnel de la pandémie sur les étudiants en travail social à l'aide d'un outil récemment développé - PEIS (Ballou et al., 2020). Grâce à l'analyse spécifique de la rélation entre les deux échelles, nous avons identifié que les inquiétudes des étudiants en travail social sont influencées de manière significative par l'impact émotionnel généré par la pandémie de Covid-19.Alternate :Obiectivul central al articolului este de a testa validatatea și de a evidenţia proprietăţile psihometrice ale unei scale despre îngrijorările pe plan academic, în context pandemic, în rândul studenţilor (scala PAWAUS), în urma efectuării unei cercetări cantitative, prin intermediul unui chestionar auto-administrat, în cadrul unei universităţi din partea de nord-est a României, în mai 2021. Eșantionul a cuprins 282 de studenţi care urmau programe de studii de licenţă și masterat în domeniul Asistenţei Sociale. Analiza factorială efectuată arată o validare iniţială a scalei PAWAUS. La nivel general, rezultatele acestui studiu indică faptul că studenţii s-au adaptat rapid și (relativ) fluid la noul context, raportând însă îngrijorări legate de traseul lor academic și profesional. Premisa de la care am pornit a fost că stu enţii de la Asistenţă socială urmează, în context pandemic, o specializare în care îmbinarea cunoștinţelor teoretice cu abilităţile de ordin practic încă din perioada studiilor universitare este esenţială, fapt care poate contribui la formarea identităţii lor profesionale. Un alt doilea obiectiv al articolului a constat în analizarea impactului emoţional al pandemiei în rândul studenţilor de la Asistenţă socială, apelând la un instrument recent construit – PEIS (Ballou et al., 2020). Prin analiza particulară a relaţiei dintre cele două scale am identificat faptul că îngrijorările studenţilor de la Asistenţă socială sunt influenţate semnificativ de impactul emoţional generat de pandemia de Covid-19.