Were Higher Education Institutions Communication Strategies Well Suited for the COVID-19 Pandemic?

Calonge, David Santandreu; Aguerrebere, Pablo Medina; Hultberg, Patrik T.; Connor, Melissa A.

doi:10.5539/jel.v10n4p1

Cited by 7 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 52 publications

(52 reference statements)

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“…Various researchers situated in HEIs had previously helped to manage pandemics, including HIV/AIDS, and were able to normalize the pandemic protocol. The importance of communication in this domain echoes Calonge et al (2021) research who employed the Cynefin Framework in Higher education to investigate the suitability of communication strategies for the COVID-19 pandemic. These authors emphasize the importance of social media to communicate with all stakeholders, the challenge to communicate complex issues to diverse audiences, the importance of accurate time-critical information, the importance of students' involvement, and the imperative of trustworthy, consistency, positive messaging and empathy.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

South African Higher Education Institutions at the Beginning of the Covid-19 Pandemic: Sense-Making and Lessons Learnt

et al. 2022

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After the unprecedented changes experienced in higher education due to the Covid-19 pandemic, there is a need to integrate initial thoughts and reflective experience to decide on the way forward. This study aimed to reflect on, and make sense of the events related to South African higher education institutions HEIs at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic by using the Cynefin framework. Data from a rapid review of online media at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and a collaborative autoethnography session 1 year since lockdowns were implemented are used to present perspectives for the sense-making process. This offers insights to both ends of the spectrum as it highlights the evolution of processes taking place at multiple levels from government policies to institutional practices, as well as how this impacted on both staff and students. The Cynefin framework demonstrated sense-making efforts in the disordered, to the chaotic, to the complex, then to the complicated and eventually to the simple domain. Each domain ushered in its peculiarities and highlighted the issues ranging from vulnerabilities experienced in the higher education sector, to trying to reconfigure the academic year, to dealing with wicked problems, to eventually relying on expert assistance to navigate the virtual university space. Trying to establish causality in the simple domain proved challenging as the information available during the time was sparse. Despite these challenges, the lessons learnt include the importance of the sense-making process among all academic staff, the significance of collaboration and team efforts and the need to adapt leadership and self-leadership approaches to the changed ways of working in higher education institutions.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

South African Higher Education Institutions at the Beginning of the Covid-19 Pandemic: Sense-Making and Lessons Learnt

et al. 2022

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“…Terdapat tiga arah distribusi informasi tentang protokol kesehatan di Universitas Brawijaya. Distribusi dari eksternal ke tim Satgas COVID-19 UB, distribusi dari Tim Satgas COVID-19 UB ke civitas akademika, dan dari Tim Satgas COVID-19 UB ke eksternal (masyarakat umum) (Choo, 2000;Calonge, et al, 2021). Distribusi informasi dari eksternal ke tim Satgas COVID-19 menjalankan peran gatekeeper -menyeleksi informasi dari eksternal yang relevan dengan kebutuhan internal- (Choo, 2000).…”

Section: Distribusi Informasi Publikunclassified

“…Adapun pengecualian tersebut tidak sesuai dengan konsep dan regulasi yang ada. Sebab salah satu informasi penting yang perlu disampaikan dalam kondisi krisis adalah informasi tentang situasi aktual yang sedang terjadi (Gluckman, et al, 2016;Pandiangan, 2020) didalam sebuah universitas (Calonge, et al, 2021)…”

Section: Distribusi Informasi Publikunclassified

Sistem Informasi Publik tentang Protokol Kesehatan Adaptasi Kebiasaan Baru di Universitas Brawijaya

Anggara¹

2022

JIAP

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University is one of the public spaces that have a high risk of COVID-19 transmission. These risks can be reduced with good information management, in which information management can be seen in the current information system. Brawijaya University has managed information about COVID-19 response, but the transmission risk is still high. The aim of this is to depicting the public information system on health protocols at Brawijaya University. The research use descriptive qualitative research method with spiral data analysis technique. The results showed that the existing information system consists of acquisition, production, storage, distribution and use of information. The findings showed that the existing public information system has not been able to provide a sense of urgency for the application of health protocols and the distribution channels used are not compatible with the distribution objectives.

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“…Many universities closed their campuses (Foresman, 2020), canceled in-person teaching and activities and started distant learning (Sahu, 2020). They creatively continued classes via various methods and technologies online (Calonge et al, 2021); however, not all universities and professors were prepared, and some students may not have possessed adequate facilities such as computers and internet (Sahu, 2020). Being unable to interact well with professors and peers may have a negative effect on grades (Sahu, 2020) which could, in turn, contribute to psychological distress.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some may have had to return to their hometowns; some may have been locked down on their campuses or in university halls due to the sudden nature of governmental lockdowns. Students may rely on their universities for pertinent information and support during these uncertain times (Calonge et al, 2021). However, universities have not always been consistent in communicating expectations (Zhou, 2020) possibly contributing to additional stress.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cross-Cultural Differences in Psychological Health, Perceived Stress, and Coping Strategies of University Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Mohamed¹,

Beckstein²,

Hutchings³

et al. 2022

EJMH

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Introduction: COVID-19 has affected the entire world, including university students. Students are likely to experience COVID-19 related stress that might adversely affect their psychological health and result in various coping strategies. Aims: This study’s objectives were to examine cross-cultural differences and the relationships between stress, psychological health, and coping among university students during the pandemic. Furthermore, the study explored whether coping strategies mediated the relationship between psychological health and perceived distress for this population. Methods: University students (n = 703) were recruited via convenience sampling from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Participants completed an online quantitative questionnaire consisting of demographics, the Perceived Stress Scale, the General Health Questionnaire, and the Brief-COPE. Results: Perceived psychological distress was significantly associated with poorer general psychological health and both were associated with dysfunctional coping. For all countries, psychological health mediated the relationship between perceived distress and dysfunctional coping. Students from individualistic cultures reported higher stress and poorer psychological health when compared to those from collectivistic countries. The latter tended to engage in more emotion-focused and problem-focused coping and used more dysfunctional coping strategies than the former. Conclusions: Future research should explore other mediators and moderators that affect university students’ responses to pandemics and should include longitudinal studies with larger samples. Findings emphasize the need for providing university students with mental health support during and after COVID-19. It is important to develop and research empirically based strategies for reducing their stress and psychological distress through effective and culturally appropriate coping strategies.

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Were Higher Education Institutions Communication Strategies Well Suited for the COVID-19 Pandemic?

Cited by 7 publications

References 52 publications

South African Higher Education Institutions at the Beginning of the Covid-19 Pandemic: Sense-Making and Lessons Learnt

South African Higher Education Institutions at the Beginning of the Covid-19 Pandemic: Sense-Making and Lessons Learnt

Sistem Informasi Publik tentang Protokol Kesehatan Adaptasi Kebiasaan Baru di Universitas Brawijaya

Cross-Cultural Differences in Psychological Health, Perceived Stress, and Coping Strategies of University Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic

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