Impact of COVID-19 on undergraduate business students: a longitudinal study on academic motivation, engagement and attachment to university
ISSN: 1030-9616
Article publication date: 18 December 2020
Issue publication date: 19 July 2021
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore whether the COVID-19-related circumstances hindered these academic-related variables.
Design Methodology Approach
The authors surveyed two groups of undergraduate business students (42% male) who completed the questionnaires at the beginning and at the end of the semester. One group of students attended only face-to-face classes in the 2018/2019 academic year (n = 126) and the other group transitioned to online classes because of the COVID-19 outbreak in the 2019/2020 academic year (n = 99).
Findings
The findings show no statistically significant group differences between the pre- and post-test in students’ intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, feelings of attachment to the university and engagement dimensions of absorption and vigour. Nevertheless, a moderate negative effect was found in the dedication engagement dimension.
Practical Implications
The authors discuss the main results in terms of some practices that may contribute towards attenuating the effects of future emerging pandemics in the higher education setting.
Originality Value
The COVID-19 pandemic imposed a rapid transition to online instruction in education institutions worldwide. However, it remains unclear to date how students’ engagement, motivation and attachment to the university were negatively affected by the first COVID-19 outbreak.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Funding: This research was funded by Foundation for Science and Technology under Grant references SFRH/BD/116281/2016 awarded to Ana Camanho and SFRH/BD/117130/2016 awarded to Rita Pasion.
Conflicts of interest: No potential competing interest was reported by the authors.
Citation
Pasion, R., Dias-Oliveira, E., Camacho, A., Morais, C. and Campos Franco, R. (2021), "Impact of COVID-19 on undergraduate business students: a longitudinal study on academic motivation, engagement and attachment to university", Accounting Research Journal, Vol. 34 No. 2, pp. 246-257. https://doi.org/10.1108/ARJ-09-2020-0286
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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