THE LINK BETWEEN HEALTH ISSUES AND LEARNING DYNAMICS AMONG LATVIAN STUDENTS

The contagion of COVID-19 and its resulting health consequences, combined with the rapid and unplanned shift to online teaching and learning, profoundly affected various aspects of students’ personal and academic lives worldwide. The pandemic disrupted traditional educational systems, altering the way students learn and interact, while also influencing their mental and physical well-being. These changes have raised concerns about the long-term impact on students’ academic performance, engagement, and overall learning outcomes, especially in the context of health challenges exacerbated by the pandemic. Therefore, the aim of this study is to explore the link between COVID-19-related health problems and student learning dynamics. The study found that health indicators have generally worsened during COVID-19 and have significantly worsened for students who contracted COVID-19. However, this difference is statistically significant only for the health factor “nervousness.” The study also indicates that the overall deterioration of health does not significantly affect academic performance. A total of 106 students participated in the study, with 60 participants from grade 8 and 46 participants from grade 9. Of these, 59 were male and 47 were female. Among the participants, 81 contracted COVID-19, while 25 did not. Although many studies suggest that the consequences of COVID-19 negatively impact health and potentially affect academic achievement, these effects have not been found to be statistically significant. Therefore, further research is needed to identify specific cases where the spread of the disease could have a statistically significant impact on academic performance. Keywords: COVID-19, learning dynamics, learning outcomes, quantitative research, self-assessment survey