Studying in challenging times – a longitudinal study on social work students’ situations during the Covid-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study is to examine challenges and attitudes towards studying, social support, and personal lives of social work students during the Covid-19 pandemic, and to analyze how their situations have changed over the past few semesters under pandemic conditions. Drawing on a quantitative and qualitative research design, 99 students enrolled in the bachelor’s and master’s programmes at the school of social work at a Swiss University of Applied Sciences were surveyed over four points in time, starting in the spring semester 2020 and ending in the fall semester 2021. This study identifies being distracted, getting things done and worrying a lot as the main challenges across all analyzed semesters. However, only distraction changed over time. Other changes have been found in the challenges of being alone, planning the day, having no accurate workplace, and technical issues. Moreover, social work students’ attitudes toward their studies, as well as their social support, have changed significantly between the spring semester 2020 and the fall semester 2021. At last, there is strong qualitative evidence of a change in the students’ perceptions of their personal lives. These findings lead to implications for social work education, which are discussed in the final section.

ZUSAMMENFASSUNG

Ziel dieser Studie ist es, die Herausforderungen und Einstellungen zum Studium, zur sozialen Unterstützung und zum persönlichen Leben von Studierenden der Sozialen Arbeit während der Covid-19-Pandemie zu untersuchen und nachzuzeichnen, wie sich ihre Situation in den letzten Semestern unter Pandemiebedingungen verändert hat. Auf der Grundlage eines quantitativen und qualitativen Forschungsdesigns wurden 99 Studierende des Bachelor- und Masterstudiengangs Soziale Arbeit an einer Schweizer Fachhochschule über vier Zeitpunkte hinweg befragt, beginnend im Frühjahrssemester 2020 und endend im Herbstsemester 2021. Die Studie identifiziert Ablenkungen, viele Dinge erledigen müssen und drängende Sorgen als die größten Herausforderungen in allen untersuchten Semestern. Allerdings hat sich nur die Ablenkung im Laufe der Zeit verändert. Andere Veränderungen wurden bei den Herausforderungen des Alleinseins, der Tagesplanung, des Fehlens eines angemessenen Arbeitsplatzes und bei technischen Problemen festgestellt. Darüber hinaus haben sich die Einstellungen der Studierenden der Sozialen Arbeit zu ihrem Studium sowie ihre soziale Unterstützung zwischen dem Frühjahrssemester 2020 und dem Herbstsemester 2021 deutlich verändert. Schließlich gibt es eindeutige qualitative Hinweise auf eine Veränderung in der Wahrnehmung der Studierenden in Bezug auf ihr persönliches Leben. Die Ergebnisse dieser Studie werden im letzten Abschnitt hinsichtlich ihrer Implikationen für Studium und Ausbildung Sozialer Arbeit diskutiert.

KEYWORDS:

• Covid-19 pandemic
• social work
• students
• longitudinal study
• quantitative methods

SCHLÜSSELWÖRTER:

• Covid-19 Pandemie
• Soziale Arbeit
• Studierende
• Längsschnittstudie
• quantitative Forschungsmethoden

Introduction

More than two years after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, many people are struggling with social isolation, existential health issues or financial problems. Especially people who were already marginalised, such as social work service users, are still particularly affected in many ways (Banks et al., 2020). In this context, social work is challenged to uncover existing and growing social inequalities, develop new concepts and explore innovative approaches. In line with these challenges, the question arises how social work students are prepared for their future work. Prospective professionals who were enrolled as students in the past two years found themselves in the exceptional situation of having most or all courses drastically adjusted due to the Covid-19 restrictions. Therefore, social work students do not only study with the prospect of challenging professional conditions ahead of them, but the conditions under which they study are in themselves challenging.

In order to better assess the impacts of these special conditions on social work students’ course of study, this study aims to closely analyze if and how their situation has changed over the past semesters under pandemic conditions. To examine these questions, the study focuses on challenges experienced and attitudes held towards studying, social support, and the personal lives of social work students during the Covid-19 pandemic (see also Kindler et al., 2021a, 2021b; Schmid et al., 2020).

State of the research

Over the past two years during the Covid-19 pandemic, several studies have focused on social work practice in general, specific questions relevant to social work practice, higher education in general as well as various aspects in social work education such as the impact of the pandemic on teaching in social work education, students’ experiences with online and blended learning, and specific topics in the lives of social work students.

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on social work practice in general has born out debate by various researchers across the globe, such as Alsago (2021), Buschle and Meyer (2020) and Müller-Hermann and Amez-Droz (2021) in Germany, Alston et al. (2022) in Australia and New Zealand, Ashcroft et al. (2022) in Canada, De Jonge et al. (2020) in the Netherlands, Flammang and Böwen (2021) in Luxembourg, Harrikari et al. (2021) in Finland, Kingstone et al. (2022) and McFadden et al. (2022) in the United Kingdom, Schiff et al. (2021) and Schwartz-Tayri (2022) in Israel, Singh et al. (2022) in India, and Sommerfeld et al. (2021) in Switzerland. The general findings of these studies indicate that as a result of the pandemic, the client needs became more urgent and demanding, communication with clients and colleagues became more challenging, and social workers’ workloads as well as the risk of health problems increased.

Further, several studies go deeper to discuss specific topical questions such as coping strategies (Ben-Ezra & Hamama-Raz, 2021) and resilience factors amongst social workers (Itzhai-Braun, 2021), ethical challenges (Banks et al., 2020), or new ways of delivering social care services (Kelly et al., 2021) during the pandemic.

When it comes to higher education in general, empirical research mainly focuses on two topics: challenges and opportunities of teaching online (e.g. Kreulich et al., 2021; Traus et al., 2021) and the overall well-being of students during the pandemic (e.g. Van de Velde et al., 2021).

In the field of social work education, the impacts of the pandemic on teaching are examined by Crisp et al. (2021), De Jonge et al. (2020), Fronek et al. (2021) and Osburn et al. (2021). The authors emphasise the importance of clear communication and consistent collaboration among all involved actors in the educational setting.

Students’ experiences with online and blended learning are discussed by Davis and Mirick (2021), Evans et al. (2021) and Smoyer et al. (2020) in the United States, De Jonge et al. (2020) in the Netherlands, Simanovic et al. (2021) in the United Kingdom, and Zuchowski et al. (2022) in Australia. The results of these studies show that despite the fact that possibilities of flexible learning are seen as an opportunity, a lack of clear structures, personal communication and emotional support is described as a challenge and has a negative impact on the learning process.

In addition to research on the overall well-being of students and their perceptions of new learning formats, studies also focus on specific topics such as mental health, substance use, and resilience issues among students of social work. Díaz-Jiménez et al. (2020) find that anxiety levels increased during the Covid-19 lockdown in Spain, while Kim et al. (2022) in the United States and Yehudai et al. (2020) in Israel and Russia highlight the link between Covid-19 related stressors, mental health, and substance use behaviour. Risk and protective factors that influence both overall well-being and mental health are discussed by Díaz-Jiménez et al. (2020) and Evans et al. (2021), who all stress the importance of financial security and social support in times of crisis.

While the available data provide valuable insights on the well-being and adaption to new circumstances of social work students at a particular point in time, we still know very little about how the challenges students experienced, the personal attitudes they held toward studying, and the support students received changed over the four semesters of online and/or blended learning. To date, no longitudinal studies have been conducted addressing these questions. Given the outlined research gaps and methodical restrictions of previous scholarship, our study aims to help address these gaps by addressing the following research questions:

1. What are the main challenges that social work students experienced and how did they change during the Covid-19 pandemic?

2. How did social work students’ attitudes toward studying change during the Covid-19 pandemic?

3. How did the level of social support social work students received change during the Covid-19 pandemic?

4. How did the Covid-19 pandemic affect social work students’ personal lives?

Methods

Study design and sample

Drawing on a quantitative longitudinal research design, we administered a 45-item questionnaire to all 648 bachelor (BSW) and master (MSW) students of social work at the Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences. The survey was self-administered and voluntary. All students gave their written consent to participate in the study through an online form. The study was approved by the president’s office as well as by all involved study programme directors.

The students were invited to participate in the study at four points in time: First, at the very beginning of the pandemic in the spring semester 2020 (SS20), shortly after all courses changed to be held online (n = 437). Second, in the fall semester 2020 (FS20), when all courses were still offered exclusively online (n = 268). Third, in the SS21, which was still an online semester at the Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences (n = 154). And fourth, the same students were surveyed again in FS21, during a period when all courses were held in-person at the campus from September until December 2021 (n = 99). The relatively high panel mortality can be explained by the fact that many students graduated during these four semesters and thus dropped out of the sampling criteria. The final sample consists of the 99 students who participated in all 4 waves.

Data collection

The survey was administered using umfrageonline.ch, an online survey tool. Students who participated in the preceding waves were invited to participate in each of the next waves. Invitations were sent out via email and included an individual link to which respondents’ data could be matched.

Research instruments

The study relied on adapted research instruments originally developed by Schober, Lüftenegger, and Spiel (2020) to identify challenges experienced, attitudes expressed towards studying, and levels of social support received during the Covid-19 pandemic. For each instrument respondents read statements and indicated their level of agreement using the following response scale: Strongly agree (4), agree (3), neither agree nor disagree (2), disagree (1), and strongly disagree (0).

To identify challenges faced by social work students, respondents were asked to rate the following eight statements: ‘In the current situation I experience it as particularly challenging … ’ (1) that I am distracted by many things (being distracted), (2) that I have many things to do besides studying (getting things done), (3) that I worry a lot (worrying a lot), (4) that I feel alone (feeling alone), (5) to plan my day (planning my day), (6) that I have no accurate workplace to study (no accurate WP), (7) that I must take care for relatives (care responsibilities), (8) that I have technical issues (technical issues).

To measure students’ attitudes towards their studies, respondents were asked to rate the following four statements: ‘In the current situation … ’ (1) I enjoy studying (enjoyment), (2) I find learning for my studies interesting (interest), (3) I can handle my studies well (study confidence), (4) I expect to pass upcoming exams (exam confidence).

To measure participants’ level of received social support, respondents were asked to rate the following two statements: ‘In the current situation … ’ (1) I feel supported by my fellow students, (2) I feel supported by people who are important to me (e.g. family, friends).

In addition to the quantitative items described above, the fourth wave included a qualitative, retrospective question. To develop an in-depth understanding of how social work student’s personal lives were affected by the pandemic, we asked the respondents the following open-ended question: ‘How have the last two years of the Covid-19 pandemic affected your personal life and your studies so far?’

Data analysis

IBM SPSS Statistics (version 28) was used to analyze the quantitative data. First, descriptive statistical methods were applied, and means and standard deviations generated. Then, one-way repeated measures analyses of variance (ANOVA) were used to determine whether the mean scores of the examined items changed over time. Multiple comparison post hoc tests were performed using the Bonferroni test.

The qualitative data was coded using MAXQDA software. The content analysis introduced by Mayring (2015) was chosen as a deductive-inductive procedure. In a first coding step, the entire data material was reviewed line by line and roughly coded. Based on these tentative codes, provisional main categories were formed in a second step. A third step involved the differentiation and specification of the categories and the formation of additional categories. After several rounds, the final category system was determined and arranged. The following six main categories were identified: (1) decrease in social contacts, (2) worsening of mental state, (3) feeling of isolation and loneliness, (4) deterioration of work-life balance, (5) limited leisure time opportunities, (6) increase in time spent with family and oneself. These categories are presented in detail in the findings section.

Limitations

The study is subject to several limitations. First, the sample consists of social work students from only one higher education institution, namely the Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences. Therefore, when generalising to the overall student population, this sampling limitation must be considered. Second, the level of panel mortality is high since each semester students graduate or start an internship, resulting in a relatively small sample of students who responded in all four waves. Third, possible self-selection effects, that could bias the sample, such as high workloads or psychological pressure due to the Covid-19 pandemic must be taken into account.

Findings

Description of the sample

The sample was predominantly female, and most of the respondents were enrolled in the bachelor’s programme at the time of the first survey wave (see Table 1). This is consistent with the population demographics of students enrolled in the Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences’ social work programmes. The mean age was 26.3 years (SD = 6.6). Forty-two percent were in their second semester of study. 65% reported working at least part-time in addition to their studies. Eighteen percent indicated that they take care of children or relatives in their household.

Table 1. Demographic Characteristics of the Sample in SS20.

Variable	n	%
Gender
Male	23	23.2
Female	76	76.8
Diverse	0	0.0
Age
20–24	52	52.5
25–29	27	27.3
30–34	10	10.1
>34	9	10.1
Stage
BSW	90	90.9
MSW	9	9.1
Semester
1	17	17.2
2	42	42.4
3	12	12.1
4	15	15.2
>4	13	13.1
Work besides studies
Yes	64	64.6
No	35	35.4
Care obligations
Yes	18	18.2
No	81	81.8

Challenges

 Table 2 shows the means and standard deviations of the challenges across all four examined semesters. The main challenges across SS20, FS20, SS21, and FS21 indicated by the surveyed students are being distracted, getting a lot of things done besides studying, worrying a lot, being alone, and planning the day.

Table 2. Means and Standard Deviations of challenges across SS20, FS20, SS21, and FS21.

Challenge	M	SD
Being distracted	2.87	0.83
Getting things done	2.54	0.95
Worrying a lot	2.36	0.98
Feeling alone	1.81	0.96
Planning my day	1.81	0.89
No accurate WP	1.46	1.12
Care responsibilites	1.42	1.18
Technical issues	1.20	0.97

Table 3 shows the means and standard deviations of challenges for each semester separately. There is a significant difference between the four semesters in terms of the challenge of distraction. Post hoc comparisons indicate that distraction in FS21 significantly differs from reported distraction in SS20 (M = 2.94, SD = 1.18, p = .013), FS20 (M = 3.09, SD = 1.00, p < .001), and SS21 (M = 2.99, SD = 1.16, p = .004). There is also a significant difference between the examined semesters regarding the feeling of being alone. Post hoc comparisons show that the feeling of being alone in the FS21 (M = 1.26, SD = 1.19) significantly differs from reported feelings in SS20 (M = 1.79, SD = 1.49, p = .014), FS20 (M = 2.11, SD = 1.43, p < .001) and SS21 (M = 2.08, SD = 1.35, p < .001). There is a significant difference between the four semesters regarding the challenge of planning the day. Post hoc comparisons indicate that the extent of reported difficulties in planning the day in FS21 (M = 1.42, SD = 1.24) significantly differs from responses in SS20 (M = 2.04, SD = 1.37, p = .003), and SS21 (M = 2.04, SD = 1.40, p = .001). There is a significant difference between the four semesters regarding the challenge of not having an accurate workplace. Post hoc comparisons, however, reveal no significant differences between the semesters. Finally, there is also a statistical difference between the four semesters regarding technical issues. Post hoc comparisons show that struggles with technical issues in FS21 (M = 0.87, SD = 1.09) significantly differ from those reported in FS20 (M = 1.34, SD = 1.37, p = .009), and SS21 (M = 1.32, SD = 1.35, p = .006).

Table 3. Means, Standard Deviations, and one-way repeated measures analyses of variance in challenges, attitudes, and social support.

	SS20		FS20		SS21		FS21		ANOVA
	M	SD	M	SD	M	SD	M	SD	F ratio	df	η^2
Challenges
Being distracted	2.94	1.18	3.09	1.00	2.99	1.16	2.45	1.31	8.80***	2.71, 265.60	.082
Getting things done	2.43	1.33	2.59	1.19	2.48	1.27	2.66	1.28	1.04	3, 294	.010
Worrying a lot	2.26	1.41	2.48	1.22	2.25	1.33	2.44	1.36	1.35	3, 294	.014
Feeling alone	1.79	1.49	2.11	1.43	2.08	1.35	1.26	1.19	11.87***	3, 294	.108
Planning my day	2.04	1.37	1.72	1.37	2.04	1.40	1.42	1.24	6.37***	3, 294	.061
No accurate WP	1.56	1.53	1.62	1.54	1.45	1.47	1.22	1.24	2.64*	3, 294	.026
Care responsibilites	1.57	1.47	1.39	1.39	1.28	1.44	1.44	1.42	1.58	3, 294	.016
Technical issues	1.26	1.37	1.34	1.37	1.32	1.35	0.87	1.09	4.99**	3, 294	.048
Attitudes
Enjoyment	1.82	1.16	1.22	1.07	1.36	1.10	1.84	1.16	9.96***	2.77, 271.74	.092
Interest	1.95	1.11	1.26	1.00	1.33	1.06	2.07	1.09	24.05***	3, 294	.197
Study confidence	2.03	1.17	2.17	1.14	2.28	1.09	2.71	0.98	9.55***	3, 294	.089
Exam confidence	2.13	1.07	2.49	0.95	2.68	0.98	2.85	0.93	16.81***	2.72, 266.34	.146
Social support
Fellow students	3.45	0.81	2.09	1.25	2.24	1.15	2.53	1.03	39.15***	3, 294	.285
Family/friends	3.29	0.86	2.76	1.19	2.90	0.91	3.10	0.80	7.72***	2.68, 262.12	.073

Note. n = 99.

* p < .05. ** p < .01. *** p < .001.

Attitudes toward studying

As shown in Table 3, there is a significant difference between the four examined semesters concerning students’ enjoyment in their studies. Post hoc comparisons show that the enjoyment of studying in FS21 (M = 1.84, SD = 1.16) differs significantly from the reported enjoyment in FS20 (M = 1.22, SD = 1.07, p < .001) and SS21 (M = 1.36, SD = 1.10, p = .016). Also, the enjoyment of studies in SS20 (M = 1.82, SD = 1.16) differs significantly from the reported enjoyment in FS20 (M = 1.22, SD = 1.07, p < .001) and SS21 (M = 1.36, SD = 1.10, p = .012). There is a significant difference between the four examined semesters concerning students who find it interesting to learn for their studies. Post hoc comparisons indicate that the level of interest in FS21 (M = 2.07, SD = 1.09) differs significantly from the reported interest in FS20 (M = 1.26, SD = 1.00, p < .001) and SS21 (M = 1.33, SD = 1.06, p < .001). Also, the interest in learning for the studies in SS20 (M = 1.95, SD = 1.11) differs significantly from the reported interest in FS20 (M = 1.26, SD = 1.00, p < .001) and SS21 (M = 1.33, SD = 1.06, p < .001). There is a significant difference between the four examined semesters concerning students’ study confidence. Post hoc comparisons show that students’ confidence in FS21 (M = 2.71, SD = 1.09) differs significantly from reported confidence in SS20 (M = 2.03, SD = 1.17, p < .001), FS20 (M = 2.17, SD = 1.14, p < .001), and SS21 (M = 2.28, SD = 1.09, p = .003). Finally, there is a significant difference between the four examined semesters concerning students’ expected success in upcoming exams. Post hoc comparisons reveal that students’ belief to pass upcoming exams in SS20 (M = 2.13, SD = 1.07) differs significantly from their confidence in FS20 (M = 2.49, SD = 0.95, p = .009), SS21 (M = 2.68, SD = 0.98, p < .001), and FS21 (M = 2.85, SD = 0.93, p < .001).

Level of received social support

As outlined in Table 3, there is a significant difference between the four examined semesters concerning students’ level of perceived social support from their fellow students. Post hoc comparisons indicate that students’ social support from other students in SS20 (M = 3.45, SD = 0.81) differs significantly from their perceived support in FS20 (M = 2.09, SD = 1.25, p < .001), SS21 (M = 2.24, SD = 1.15, p < .001), and FS21 (M = 2.53, SD = 1.03, p < .001). Additionally, there is a significant difference between the four examined semesters concerning students’ level of perceived social support from their families. Post hoc comparisons show that students’ social support from their families in the SS20 (M = 3.29, SD = 0.86) differs significantly from their perceived support in FS20 (M = 2.76, SD = 1.19, p < .001) and SS21 (M = 2.90, SD = 0.91, p = .003).

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on students’ personal lives

Besides changes in challenges, attitudes, and the amount of social support received, social work students’ personal lives were also affected throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. Qualitative content analysis (Mayring, 2015) revealed the following impacts that the pandemic and related measures had on students’ personal lives.

The factor most prominently mentioned by the students is the drastic decrease in social contacts during the pandemic. This affects all areas of personal life, such as studies, work, family, or friends. The large number of people describing this effect indicates that the shift to digital modes of communication could not fully prevent this negative development. Unsurprisingly, the decline is particularly evident in joint activities such as participating in study groups, doing sports, going out for a drink or going to a cultural event, but also affects regular visits to family members. For a vast majority of students, contacts during the pandemic were largely limited to the members of their own household. One of the respondents elaborates:

Social contacts decreased, both physically and digitally. This had a negative impact on my state of mind. I withdrew more and more.

Another frequently mentioned point is the limited leisure time opportunities, which are connected with restricted travel and mobility possibilities. For many participants, these restrictions led them to perceive their everyday life as more monotonous and hence to be less motivated to engage in work and study. This decline in motivation is often explained by the difficulty of finding an adequate balance to activities such as studying and working, which have become increasingly challenging in recent semesters. Overall, we note a reduction in leisure activities and, at the same time, often more demanding situations at work and in studies. The combination of these two factors seems to be a challenge for many of the respondents, as highlighted in the following quote:

I couldn’t attend sports as a source of relaxation anymore, and my job in the field of social counselling became increasingly stressful. It was very difficult for me to motivate myself and the home-office setting worsened my work-life balance. This imbalance tended to lower my overall energy level.

Many of the participants subsequently describe a feeling of isolation and loneliness. In terms of the responses given, this seems to affect to a greater extent those students who study full-time or have had to shift their work completely to home office. This has led to a growing amount of time being spent alone, which in many cases has led to feelings described as missing other people, a lack of light-heartedness, irritability, lethargy, and ultimately loneliness and isolation. The feelings described are certainly related to the categories described above and below but strongly indicate the qualitative extent of the impact that the pandemic period had on students’ personal lives.

I struggled a lot with loneliness, felt depressed and powerless. This was especially the case in the winter months.

Respondents repeatedly described stressful personal moments that often led to a situation that many experience as a worsening of their mental state. Various reasons underly this self-diagnosis, such as newly emerged unemployment, short-time work and financial problems, the death of friends and family members, fear of infection, and a general feeling of uncertainty about the future. The statements in this regard highlight the problem that numerous students ruminate, worry, and consider themselves mentally unwell or unbalanced. Among other things, this leads to some being unable to compensate adequately for the stress they have built up.

Above all, the pandemic had psychological effects. Staying within the same four walls for a long time, not being able to do any sports, not being able to see friends and family members triggered depressive conditions. Due to travel restrictions, I could no longer visit my grandmother who lives abroad. She died in the pandemic and the fact that I could not see her for so long hurts.

In addition, responses indicate that individual workloads increased or became more complex during the pandemic and that the balance between studies, work, and private life was perceived as increasingly challenging. There are strong qualitative indications of a sustained deterioration of work-life balance. Statements referring to this development can be found among students with and without care responsibilities, as well as among full-time and part-time students. Concerning the identified imbalance, a major issue seems to be the increasing spatial and social intertwining of work study and private life. For a large proportion of respondents, this is a rather negative and problematic aspect of the pandemic situation, as depicted by a respondent:

I hardly get away from home anymore. My life currently takes place between my bedroom, home office and kitchen.

On the positive side, many respondents mentioned that the pandemic and the related measures might have led to an increase in time spent with family and themselves. In this regard, the answers refer to deceleration, mindfulness, and self-discovery. Accordingly, one impact of the pandemic and related actions was the ability to spend more time on friendships or leisure activities. In contrast to the wider absence of leisure opportunities discussed earlier, for some students the time given through this absence led to a change in how and with whom the actual time was spent. A change that is perceived by some as quite positive.

I spent much more time with my boyfriend last year. Also, my brother and I were working and studying remotely so we had much more time together than before, which we liked.

Discussion

This study’s aim was to examine challenges, attitudes, social support, and personal lives of social work students during the Covid-19 pandemic. Complementing and expanding on the knowledge generated by previous scholarship (Zuchowski et al., 2022), the analysis shows that students agreed highly that they were often distracted, had no accurate workplace, felt difficulty planning the day, and experienced technical issues during the pandemic. Similar to the results of Smoyer et al. (2020), the findings show that the respondents struggled significantly more with these challenges when courses are held online (SS20, FS20, SS21) than when they are held on-campus (FS21). The same can be stated about the challenge of feeling alone, although improvement seen in FS21 cannot be attributed solely to the fact that lectures were held on site again; it is likely linked to broader societal developments (e.g. vaccination progress, re-opening of restaurants etc.) that allowed respondents to reconnect with people beyond their group of fellow students.

The trend of diminishing challenges over the four semesters under pandemic conditions is accompanied by a steady increase in the confidence to getting along well with the studies’ requirements. This means that respondents’ confidence of handling their studies well and their belief to pass the upcoming exams increased similarly with each semester.

The same changes are also evident in the enjoyment of studying as well as regarding the in how interesting the study programme is for the respondents. In line with previous research on social workers (Ben-Ezra & Hamama-Raz, 2021), we interpret that this effect is connected to students’ development of coping strategies. They seem to have adapted quickly to the new situation. However, in contrast to the above-mentioned variables, enjoyment and interest initially decreased dramatically between the first (SS20) and the second online semester (FS20) before slowly but steadily increasing again across the following semesters. This delayed decent could be explained by the psychological effect caused by realising that restrictions would be longer-lasting. Online learning was not only perceived as a burden in the beginning, but also as an exciting change; students soon realised that the pandemic affected their lives longer and probably harder than initially expected. Moreover, it could be argued that the negative effects experienced only emerged as such over time. Another factor that might explain the decline between the first two semesters is the seasonal change, as at the beginning of the pandemic in spring 2020, meetings with family and friends could easily be relocated outside, whereas outdoor gatherings in the fall of 2020 were less comfortable due to the cold temperatures. Finally, the public discourse on the Covid-19 pandemic, respective federal measures, and individual attitudes intensified significantly between spring and fall 2020, which may have influenced students’ lives to an extent that their enjoyment of and interest in their studies and other areas of life was reduced.

A similar but even more intense decline between the first two semesters in the Covid-19 pandemic can be observed in social support. While respondents felt strongly supported by their fellow students in spring semester 2020, this feeling of support decreased dramatically in the fall semester 2020 and has only recovered to a small and non-significant extent thus far. The same shift is also evident regarding support from family and friends, albeit to a somewhat less pronounced extent. This difference between the perceived support from fellow students and family and friends can at best be explained by the fact that the respondents increasingly limited themselves to the very most essential social contacts during this challenging time. However, it can also be assumed that support was very high at the beginning, but became less and less as the pandemic progressed, in the sense of getting used to everyday life. This hypothesis could be examined in further research.

Complementing previous research (e.g. Evans et al., 2021; Zuchowski et al., 2022), this study provides important qualitative insights about how the Covid-19 pandemic not only affected social work students’ study situation, but also their personal lives. The students’ qualitative responses show how the imposed measures and recommendations to contain the pandemic, as well as students’ and their relatives’ fears, resulted in a fewer of common activities, a loss that could not be compensated for by digital means. This in turn led to a strong decrease in social contacts. At the same time, various leisure activities as well as travel and mobility opportunities – e.g. going out for a drink, attending a concert, watching a movie in the cinema, going on a city trip, doing group sports – were massively restricted. It is therefore not surprising that many of the participating students describe their situation as isolated and lonely. These feelings, together with increasing workload and stress, uncertainties about the future, worries and fears, are accompanied by a self-description of a worsening of the mental state, i.e. a lack of light-heartedness, irritability, and lethargy. These results also explain why a large proportion of the students perceive their overall work-life balance as not very satisfying. However, some students feel that the last four semesters, with a wide variety of options being eliminated, also allowed them to spend more time with their closest friends, with family, or alone. Many of the respondents also mention how they made more conscious decisions about what commitments they are willing to make.

Conclusion

At least three implications for social work education can be drawn from this study. To begin with, the findings reveal differences between online learning and on-site classroom teaching. The related changes in the measured effects indicate that face-to-face teaching is a central part of social work programmes. The personal, often informal interaction between students, as well as between lecturers and students, cannot be substituted with online tools without significant compromises. In line with the findings of Simanovic et al. (2021), social work education should balance online and offline learning opportunities.

Furthermore, the changes in respondents’ challenges, attitudes, social support, and personal lives occurred in different patterns. This fact supports an argument for closely monitoring changes in students’ lives with the aim of improving their situations in the long term. Thus, further studies are needed. Such research should, e.g. seek to better understand the above-mentioned different patterns and to discuss appropriate solutions to address them effectively. Also, the scope of future scholarship should go beyond the impact of Covid-19 on students’ lives and include post-pandemic factors as well.

Finally, all results can be related not only to the students’ study situation, but also to their personal lives and recent changes in them. Students should therefore be attended to, especially in such a challenging situation, not only in their role as students, but as individual beings with different needs, fears, attitudes, and perspectives.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request in Zenodo at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6940140. The data are not publicly available due to content that could compromise respondents’ privacy.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Tobias Kindler

Tobias Kindler (MSW) works as a research associate at the Institute of Social Work and Social Spaces at the Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences (OST).

Thomas Schmid

Thomas Schmid (MSW) works as a research associate at the Institute of Social Work and Social Spaces at the Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences (OST).

Barbara Graf

Barbara Graf (BSW) works as a research assistant at the Institute of Social Work and Social Spaces at the Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences (OST).