Literature Review
According to the research conducted by Li et al. (2020), to determine the impact of
Covid-19 on the performance of students in China, the researchers linked the low performance to
disaster causing economic shock to teachers, students, parents and government. The economic
shock impacted the education of the students negatively. Wang & Zhao (2020) discussed that
Covid-19 rendered most of the Chinese population unemployed, leading to reduced educational
achievement through threatening the early childhood education and reducing the abilities of both
teachers and parents to provide a favourable learning environment to the students, causing delays
in educational plans at primary, secondary and university levels. Li et al. (2020) show that
potential negative impacts from the economic shock caused by the outbreak of Covid-19, such as
long working hours by the parents reduced the time parents devoted to supporting their children
with homework, reading and any educational activity.
With the emergence of Covid-19, there are exacerbated opportunity gaps connected with
uneven access to food, financial relief and health insurance. The disruption caused by the
pandemic and interruption of the normal working of the schools led to barriers for most of the
students to meet the basic needs required to achieve high performance. Carnegie, Guthrie &
Martin-Sardesai (2021) noted that the impacts of the virus affected the performance of students
in Australia differently. According to Carnegie, Guthrie & Martin-Sardesai (2021), the effect of
the Covid-19 on the performance of girls was higher than the boys. The researchers showed that
in Australia, the performance of 54% of the girls reduced as compared to 43% of the boys due to
the outbreak of Covid-19. In the research, the authors were interested in determining the
psychological influence of the virus based on the gender of high school students in Australia. In
another study conducted by Takaku & Yokoyama (2021), in Japan, the resources of the families
were significantly impacted by the economic downturn influencing the performance of the
learners. The research aimed to provide evidence that low-income families had less access to the
required necessities during the outbreak of Covid-19, making it difficult for them to maintain
their performance after the virus outbreak. There was high inequality created affecting the
educational development of children in Japan. The low performance of the learners was
exacerbated by the immediate closure of schools from the economic crisis of the virus, putting
boys and girls at different levels of overcoming the challenges.
The social distancing and lockdown measures outlined by the World Health Organization
(WHO) due to the outbreak of Covid-19 led to the closure of schools and high education
facilities in most countries across the globe. There has been a shift in the manner educators are
delivering quality education for high school students through the use of online platforms. In
Kenya, there is the usage of online learning as a response to the emergence of Cvid-19, making
online learning to become a panacea for the unprecedented world pandemic. Shumba et al.
(2020) outline that shifting from traditional face-to-face learning to online learning in Kenya
caused a different experience for the educators and learners, impacting the psychological status
of the student, leading to change in the performance of the learners, forcing them to adapt with
no available alternatives. As a school in Kenya was closed to cope with the virus, students,
educators, and parents across the globe felt the unexpected ripple impact of the Covid-19. Sarah
(2020) researched the impact of Covid-19 on the performance of high school students ageing
between 12-16 years in Kenya. During the study, Sarah (2020) noted that students aged between
12-14 years were less affected by the virus. Those aged between 15-16 years experienced a high
negative effect on their performance due to the virus, with gild being more affected as compared
to boys. The study aimed to create an understanding of the emotional and psychological distress
based on age and gender during the Covid-19 leading to reduced performance of the students.
Educators tried to come up with online learning to help the students. But being a developing
country, with students having a low level of academic knowledge on online learning and
computer usage, the step was only beneficial to the student with good economic backgrounds.
Pokhrel & Chhetri (2021) state that learners' academic performance is likely to drop due
to decreased contact hours for learners lacking consultation with teachers creating understanding
challenges. With the virus outbreak, the students' assessment had to be carried online, creating
uncertainty and confusion amongst students, parents, and educators. The method of conducting
online examination varies based on the expertise and convenience of the educators and the
compatibility of the students. Gao & Zhang (2020) reported that most students, parents, and
educators have no skills in operating online examinations. 80% of the students in China who
registered for online learning declared to have completed the exams due to closure of the system
and automatic submission resulting in a high percentage of low performance. The lockdown of
colleges and schools has affected the internal examination and assessments for the main public
qualifications such as General Certificate of Secondary Educations (GCSE). The A levels in the
UK has been cancelled for the entire cohort due to Covid-19 affecting the norm of the students
causing psychological torture and leading to reduced performance of the learners (Azevedo et
al., 2020).
Mwila et al. (2021) researched in Zambia to determine the impact of Covid-19 on the
students' performance. During the study, the researchers realized that since the outbreaks of
Covid-19, most of the students had reduced their momentum of learning, leading to low
performance. The data collected by the researcher indicated that there was a reduction by 29% in
the performance of girls ageing between 12-15 years and a 22% performance reduction in boys
ageing between 12-15 years. The study aimed to investigate the impact of the virus on students’
academic performance based on age and gender. To provide high quality data, the researchers
also determine the socio-economic factors such as the financial status of the family and students'
relationship impacting the learners' performance. Sintema (2020) showed that the students'
performance was also impacted negatively by psychological factors during the outbreak of
Covid-19, causing stress and emotions.
References
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potential impacts of COVID-19 school closures on schooling and learning outcomes: A
set of global estimates. The World Bank.
Carnegie, G. D., Guthrie, J., & Martin-Sardesai, A. (2021). Public universities and impacts of
COVID-19 in Australia: risk disclosures and organisational change.BAccounting, Auditing
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Gao, L. X., & Zhang, L. J. (2020). Teacher learning in difficult times: Examining foreign
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Mwila, K., Kalolo, F., Mudenda, S., & Hikaambo, C. N. A. (2021). Impact of COVID-19 on
Academic Activities of Final Year Nursing Students in Zambia: Evidence from Zambia.
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teaching and learning. Higher Education for the Future,B8(1), 133-141.
Sarah, B. (2020). Influence of Selected Psychosocial Factors on Parents and Learners’ Mental
Wellbeing During the Long School Holiday Due to Corona Virus (Covid-19): A
Perception of Parents and Learners in Uasin Gishu County, Kenya.BJournal of Education
and Practice,B4(2), 34-52.
Shumba, C., Maina, R., Mbuthia, G., Kimani, R., Mbugua, S., Shah, S. & Ndirangu, E. (2020).
Reorienting Nurturing Care for Early Childhood Development during the COVID-19
Pandemic in Kenya: A Review.BInternational Journal of Environmental Research and
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Sintema, E. J. (2020). E-Learning and Smart Revision Portal for Zambian primary and secondary
school learners: A digitalized virtual classroom in the COVID-19 era and
beyond.BAcademia,B4(2), ep20017.
Takaku, R., & Yokoyama, I. (2021). What the COVID-19 school closure left in its wake:
Evidence from a regression discontinuity analysis in Japan.BJournal of public
economics,B195, 104364.
Wang, C., & Zhao, H. (2020). The impact of COVID-19 on anxiety in Chinese university
students.BFrontiers in psychology,B11, 1168.
