Navigating Crises: Examining the Impact on Students in Four European Countries

Abstract

A crisis is any challenging situation that requires a judgment or a decision. During their lifespan people are exposed to crises at micro, meso and macro levels. Lately, many research deals with crises at macro level. Situations of crises at a macro level that we have been facing such as pandemics, war, earthquakes, and substantial challenges in everyday situations and life lead to the necessity to explore learning and teaching at higher education institutions in the times of crises. The goal of the research was to determine strategies for dealing with crises on macro level among students in higher education. For this purpose, qualitative research was conducted using the focus group method. Four focus groups were held in which a total of 40 students of different profiles from Belgium, Croatia, Poland, and Romania participated. The results show that the biggest challenge for most participants in crisis situations was the absence of social support. In their answers, participants discussed the challenges of distance education, stating "screen fatigue" as an obstacle. Despite this, participants pointed out that times of crisis enabled them to discover their own strengths, which they can use as coping strategies in potential future crises.