Higher education students’ perceptions of issues related to Covid-19: A study on three Portuguese-speaking countries

In early 2020, a pandemic caused by the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 affected the world and all countries had to adopt important measures to face a disease named COVID-19. This paper aims at investigating the perceptions about key issues related to COVID-19 held by students attending the third year of...

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Main Authors: Laurinda Leite, Luís Dourado, Maria Verónica Mapatse, José Arão, Jerusa Moraes, Sônia Castellar
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2023-12-01
Series:Cogent Social Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23311886.2023.2186578
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author Laurinda Leite
Luís Dourado
Maria Verónica Mapatse
José Arão
Jerusa Moraes
Sônia Castellar
author_facet Laurinda Leite
Luís Dourado
Maria Verónica Mapatse
José Arão
Jerusa Moraes
Sônia Castellar
author_sort Laurinda Leite
collection DOAJ
description In early 2020, a pandemic caused by the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 affected the world and all countries had to adopt important measures to face a disease named COVID-19. This paper aims at investigating the perceptions about key issues related to COVID-19 held by students attending the third year of three different areas of undergraduate studies at higher education institutions of three Portuguese-speaking countries: Brazil, Mozambique and Portugal. Four hundred and forty university students participated in the study by answering to a questionnaire. They were attending undergraduate programs in the areas of education/pedagogy, natural sciences, and social sciences. Differences emerged among participants of different nationalities and areas of study. Brazilians and education undergraduates showed perceptions that are more consistent with the knowledge base available so far. Health related policies and local culture seem to influence participants’ perceptions regarding COVID-19 issues, which are not directly related to the extent of the science component of participants’ study programs. The latter relationship should be further studied, in order to uncover what needs to be improved in undergraduates’ education to ensure that they develop a good awareness of socio-scientific issues that are relevant for their personal and societal lives.
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series Cogent Social Sciences
spelling doaj-art-c143932cabf749ddbe7c8f19e81682ec2025-08-20T03:31:25ZengTaylor & Francis GroupCogent Social Sciences2331-18862023-12-019110.1080/23311886.2023.2186578Higher education students’ perceptions of issues related to Covid-19: A study on three Portuguese-speaking countriesLaurinda Leite0Luís Dourado1Maria Verónica Mapatse2José Arão3Jerusa Moraes4Sônia Castellar5Institute of Education, University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4710057 Braga, PortugalInstitute of Education, University of Minho, Braga PortugalFaculty of Educational Sciences and Psychology, University Save, MozambiqueFaculty of Science and Technology, University Licungo, MozambiqueSchool of Philosophy, Language and Human Sciences, The UNIFESP University, BrazilFaculty of Education, University of São Paulo, BrazilIn early 2020, a pandemic caused by the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 affected the world and all countries had to adopt important measures to face a disease named COVID-19. This paper aims at investigating the perceptions about key issues related to COVID-19 held by students attending the third year of three different areas of undergraduate studies at higher education institutions of three Portuguese-speaking countries: Brazil, Mozambique and Portugal. Four hundred and forty university students participated in the study by answering to a questionnaire. They were attending undergraduate programs in the areas of education/pedagogy, natural sciences, and social sciences. Differences emerged among participants of different nationalities and areas of study. Brazilians and education undergraduates showed perceptions that are more consistent with the knowledge base available so far. Health related policies and local culture seem to influence participants’ perceptions regarding COVID-19 issues, which are not directly related to the extent of the science component of participants’ study programs. The latter relationship should be further studied, in order to uncover what needs to be improved in undergraduates’ education to ensure that they develop a good awareness of socio-scientific issues that are relevant for their personal and societal lives.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23311886.2023.2186578COVID-19Portuguese-speaking countriesuniversity studentsknowledge of COVID-19perceptions of COVID-19
spellingShingle Laurinda Leite
Luís Dourado
Maria Verónica Mapatse
José Arão
Jerusa Moraes
Sônia Castellar
Higher education students’ perceptions of issues related to Covid-19: A study on three Portuguese-speaking countries
Cogent Social Sciences
COVID-19
Portuguese-speaking countries
university students
knowledge of COVID-19
perceptions of COVID-19
title Higher education students’ perceptions of issues related to Covid-19: A study on three Portuguese-speaking countries
title_full Higher education students’ perceptions of issues related to Covid-19: A study on three Portuguese-speaking countries
title_fullStr Higher education students’ perceptions of issues related to Covid-19: A study on three Portuguese-speaking countries
title_full_unstemmed Higher education students’ perceptions of issues related to Covid-19: A study on three Portuguese-speaking countries
title_short Higher education students’ perceptions of issues related to Covid-19: A study on three Portuguese-speaking countries
title_sort higher education students perceptions of issues related to covid 19 a study on three portuguese speaking countries
topic COVID-19
Portuguese-speaking countries
university students
knowledge of COVID-19
perceptions of COVID-19
url https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23311886.2023.2186578
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