Investigating the Impact of COVID-19 on E-Learning: Country Development and COVID-19 Response

Mirjana Pejić Bach (), Božidar Jaković, Ivan Jajić and Maja Meško
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Mirjana Pejić Bach: Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Božidar Jaković: Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Ivan Jajić: Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Maja Meško: Faculty of Organizational Sciences, University of Maribor, 4000 Kranj, Slovenia

Mathematics, 2023, vol. 11, issue 6, 1-21

Abstract: Due to its severity, the outbreak of COVID-19 led to unprecedented levels of social isolation that affected educational institutions, among others. Digital technologies such as cloud computing and video broadcasting helped the adoption of e-learning during the crisis. However, the speed and efficiency of e-learning adoption during the COVID-19 period varied across countries. This paper compares the adoption of e-learning in European countries before and during the COVID-19 pandemic and the relationship between the pandemic, e-learning, and economic development. First, the adoption of e-learning in European countries before and during the pandemic is compared. Second, using fuzzy C-means clustering, homogeneous groups of European countries are formed based on e-learning indicators for the periods before and during the pandemic. Third, GDP per capita is used as an indicator of economic development and severity indices are used as an indicator of the severity of the response to the pandemic to compare the different clusters. The research results show that economically and digitally advanced countries led the adoption of e-learning in both the period before and the period during the pandemic. However, they also responded less strictly to the pandemic. Less-advanced countries responded more strictly to the pandemic, likely due to a lack of healthcare resources, and also fell behind in the adoption of e-learning.

Keywords: e-learning; COVID-19; digital technologies; fuzzy clustering (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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