STUDENTS’ ADVERSITIES, COPING, AND ANXIETY ON LEARNING IN THE NEW NORMAL

Abstract

 The COVID-19 pandemic has posed significant challenges to the educational sector, resulting in school closures due to lockdown measures. In response to this unprecedented situation, educational institutions swiftly transitioned to alternative learning modes. A new standard educational system emerged after the pandemic, necessitating significant modifications in students’ learning processes. This study examined students’ adversities, coping mechanisms, and anxiety levels in the context of the new normal while also comparing these variables across different demographic profiles, namely sex and age. A cross-sectional comparative non-experimental quantitative research design was employed to address these questions. Data were collected using the Adversities Questionnaire developed by Musingafi et al. (2015), the Brief COPE Questionnaire by Carver (1997), and W. K. Zung’s self-rating scale (William, 1971) among third-year Bachelor of Elementary Education students at a State University in Cagayan Valley. The results indicate that students generally experience low levels of adversities in learning during the new normal. Moreover, students’ coping strategies in this environment are predominantly adaptive, while anxiety levels related to learning are notably high. Furthermore, irrespective of students’ sex and age, similar patterns of adversities, coping strategies, and anxiety levels in learning during the new normal were observed.