Abstract:

Recent empirical studies conducted at Heidelberg University of Education show that emergency remote learning/teaching due to the COVID-19 pandemic has been quite challenging for both students and lecturers. Although the sample has been found to be overall resilient, there are shared concerns, e.g. about social relationships between students and lecturers, competence acquisition, and students’ (behavioural) inhibition and increasing independence, self-reliance and responsibility in particular. Being aware that the pandemic currently is a major life stressor and immediate solutions are required, the attempt is to not only focus on short-term functioning but to promote internal well-being and competent functioning in the long-term, i.e. what is increasingly acknowledged to be ‘the new normal’. In order to facilitate adaption, cognitive, motivational, emotional as well as behavioural components need to be taken into consideration. An “Individual Digital Readiness Scale” will be developed to assess students’ and lecturers’ readiness for online learning environments. Furthermore, as protective processes are crucial for human psychological development, a prevention and intervention program will be implemented to strengthen the individual and to foster academic engagement.

The presentation will reflect on the latest findings at Heidelberg University of Education as well as touch upon methodological considerations in the concurrent research process.

Keywords:

Resilience, student wellbeing, individual digital readiness.