Abstract:

Slovenian faculties, as well as many other institutions, closed their doors during the Covid-19 pandemic. During this time, all of the lectures were moved to virtual platforms. Around the same time, dormitories closed their doors and many students were forced to relocate. Our research focuses on student housing during the Covid-19 pandemic. Understanding changes in students' housing and social status during Covid-19 can help us better understand their academic success and well-being. During the 2nd wave of Covid-19 (between 2/25/2021 and 4/30/2021), we conducted an online survey about studying from home. This survey included both the 1st and 2nd Covid-19 waves in Slovenia. Because students had different study conditions, we examined a limited number of conditions to first determine the average study conditions. We were also interested in the large migration flows among students caused by the sudden closure of institutions. Most of the students who lived alone in the university city during normal (face-to-face) studying returned to their original families. Therefore, in our study, we divided students into two different groups. One group had to move from their original place of study to another place, and one group could stay at the same location (usually those who were already living with their original families before the pandemic - the so-called daily drivers). Students who had to move in the 1st wave generally rated their common conditions for studying from home worse than students who did not face this challenge. This demonstrates the inequities caused by the pandemic. Of the conditions considered (lighting, size, equipment, internet speed, etc. of the room in which they studied), students (on average) rated the individual conditions themselves as quite adequate. We saw an improvement in satisfaction between the 1st and 2nd waves of Covid-19. Some students also noted that they needed to improve their equipment for studying from home. The condition that posed the greatest challenge for students was disruption from their household members. Since students were faced with an unfamiliar situation, this could greatly affect their studying. Since the physical environment does not shed light on the problem of studying from home in its entirety, we also included some other factors: social factors (relationships in the household, loneliness), different time allocation, financial factors, etc. For some of these factors, the differences between students were greater than for the spatial factors. Because many students returned to their parents' homes, we expected a higher likelihood of conflict and coordination among household members. With the closure of many activities during Covid-19 and, in some cases, the loss of housing (closure of dormitories), students faced the loss of their student jobs, which exacerbated the problem and made them less independent. At the same time, when we examined the conditions for working from home (among employees), we found greater differences in satisfaction with work/study conditions between these groups, with employees generally more satisfied with working from home than students with studying from home. Students, even if they are among the most computer literate generations, do not necessarily consider studying from home a good and less time-consuming option. We believe that due to faculty closures during Covid-19, face-to-face lectures have gained popularity among students.

Keywords:

Students, Covid-19, studying from home, spatial planning, studying conditions.