Challenges in higher education during the COVID-19 pandemic: Systematic literature review

Abstract

Objective: To characterize higher education challenges identified by students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methodology: A systematic literature search was performed in Scopus. Result: The challenges were classified into the following categories: educational practices in the digital ecosystem, and the impact of COVID-19 on the motivational and economic factors of education. Discussion and conclusions: Despite the training provided by universities in ICT use for educational processes during the pandemic, some students feel they needed more preparation and timely technical support. On the other hand, aspects such as isolation, uncertainty, stress, anguish, anxiety, depression, and physical and mental discomfort of the students, as a result of adapting to Emergency Remote Education, shed light on the need to address students' health-related issues. Regarding the digital gap, it was evident that the shared use of devices and Internet connection problems hindered access to online classes. It is also concluded that effective strategies in on-site settings are not so much so in online educational scenarios mediated by ICT.