Resilience of Higher Education Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The coronavirus pandemic has caused unprecedented disruption to various sectors of the social systems around the world. The young population has faced important challenges not only in education, but also in their economic situation. The transition to online education, as well as the reduction of the workforce, changed the lives of young people in an unprecedented way. The current paper analyses micro-data collected from higher education students through a global survey during the coronavirus pandemic. Our results show that many young people have adapted well to the new teaching and learning experiences. On the other hand, a high number of higher education students experienced permanent or temporary job loss or salary cuts. The resilience of students has been fostered by the possession of digital skills. Moreover, negative experiences during the pandemic were associated with greater worries with respect to their future education and career. Our results highlight the importance of developing digital skills and providing support services in order to increase the resilience of young people facing crisis.