IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v13y2021i11p6363-d568378.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Higher Education Sustainability before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Spanish and Ecuadorian Case

Author

Listed:
  • Johanna Andrea Navarro-Espinosa

    (Unidad de Seguimiento a Graduados, Banca Laboral y Prácticas Pre Profesionales, Universidad de ECOTEC, Guayaquil 090501, Ecuador)

  • Manuel Vaquero-Abellán

    (GC12 Clinical and Epidemiological Research in Primary Care, Campus de Menéndez Pidal, Instituto Maimónides, Universidad de Córdoba, 14071 Córdoba, Spain
    Departamento de Enfermería, Fisioterapia y Farmacología, Campus de Menéndez Pidal, Universidad de Córdoba, 14071 Córdoba, Spain)

  • Alberto-Jesús Perea-Moreno

    (Departamento de Física Aplicada, Radiología y Medicina Física, Edificio Albert Einstein, Campus de Rabanales, Universidad de Córdoba, 14071 Córdoba, Spain)

  • Gerardo Pedrós-Pérez

    (Departamento de Física Aplicada, Radiología y Medicina Física, Edificio Albert Einstein, Campus de Rabanales, Universidad de Córdoba, 14071 Córdoba, Spain)

  • Pilar Aparicio-Martínez

    (GC12 Clinical and Epidemiological Research in Primary Care, Campus de Menéndez Pidal, Instituto Maimónides, Universidad de Córdoba, 14071 Córdoba, Spain
    Departamento de Enfermería, Fisioterapia y Farmacología, Campus de Menéndez Pidal, Universidad de Córdoba, 14071 Córdoba, Spain)

  • Mª Pilar Martínez-Jiménez

    (Departamento de Física Aplicada, Radiología y Medicina Física, Edificio Albert Einstein, Campus de Rabanales, Universidad de Córdoba, 14071 Córdoba, Spain
    Responsable Grupo Investigación PAIDI de la Junta de Andalucía TEP149, Modelos de Simulación en Energías, Transporte, Física, Ingeniería y Riesgos Laborales, Edificio Albert Einstein, Campus de Rabanales, Universidad de Córdoba, 14071 Córdoba, Spain)

Abstract

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are key to create sustainable higher education institutions (HEIs). Most researchers focused on the students’ perspective, especially during the online teaching caused by COVID-19; however, university teachers are often forgotten, having their opinion missing. This study’s objective was to determine the factors that contribute to the inclusion of ICTs. The research based on a comparative study through an online qualitative survey focused on the inclusion and use of ICTs in two HEIs and two different moments (pre- and post-lockdowns). There were differences regarding country and working experience ( p < 0.001), being linked to the ICTs use, evaluation of obstacles, and the role given to ICTs ( p < 0.05). The COVID-19 caused modifications of the teachers’ perspectives, including an improvement of the opinion of older teachers regarding the essentialness of ICTs in the teaching process ( p < 0.001) and worsening their perception about their ICTs skill ( p < 0.05). Additionally, an initial model focused only on the university teachers and their use of ICTs has been proposed. In conclusion, the less experienced university teachers used more ICTs, identified more greatly the problematic factors, and considered more important the ICTs, with the perception of all teachers modified by COVID-19.

Suggested Citation

  • Johanna Andrea Navarro-Espinosa & Manuel Vaquero-Abellán & Alberto-Jesús Perea-Moreno & Gerardo Pedrós-Pérez & Pilar Aparicio-Martínez & Mª Pilar Martínez-Jiménez, 2021. "The Higher Education Sustainability before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Spanish and Ecuadorian Case," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-22, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:11:p:6363-:d:568378
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/11/6363/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/11/6363/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Adar Ben-Eliyahu, 2021. "Sustainable Learning in Education," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-10, April.
    2. Maja Batez, 2021. "ICT Skills of University Students from the Faculty of Sport and Physical Education during the COVID-19 Pandemic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-13, February.
    3. Santiago Tejedor & Laura Cervi & Ana Pérez-Escoda & Fernanda Tusa Jumbo, 2020. "Digital Literacy and Higher Education during COVID-19 Lockdown: Spain, Italy, and Ecuador," Publications, MDPI, vol. 8(4), pages 1-17, November.
    4. -, 2020. "Education in the time of COVID-19," Coediciones, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), number 45905 edited by Eclac.
    5. repec:ecr:col016:45905 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Ferran Calabuig-Moreno & María Huertas González-Serrano & Javier Fombona & Marta García-Tascón, 2020. "The Emergence of Technology in Physical Education: A General Bibliometric Analysis with a Focus on Virtual and Augmented Reality," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-23, March.
    7. Katerina Ananiadou & Magdalean Claro, 2009. "21st Century Skills and Competences for New Millennium Learners in OECD Countries," OECD Education Working Papers 41, OECD Publishing.
    8. Michele Biasutti & Eleonora Concina & Sara Frate & Ibrahim Delen, 2021. "Teacher Professional Development: Experiences in an International Project on Intercultural Education," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-16, April.
    9. Linda Daniela & Anna Visvizi & Calixto Gutiérrez-Braojos & Miltiadis D. Lytras, 2018. "Sustainable Higher Education and Technology-Enhanced Learning (TEL)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-22, October.
    10. Mariana-Daniela González-Zamar & Emilio Abad-Segura & Eloy López-Meneses & José Gómez-Galán, 2020. "Managing ICT for Sustainable Education: Research Analysis in the Context of Higher Education," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(19), pages 1-25, October.
    11. Marta Liesa-Orús & Cecilia Latorre-Cosculluela & Sandra Vázquez-Toledo & Verónica Sierra-Sánchez, 2020. "The Technological Challenge Facing Higher Education Professors: Perceptions of ICT Tools for Developing 21st Century Skills," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-14, July.
    12. Aldo Alvarez-Risco & Shyla Del-Aguila-Arcentales & Marc A. Rosen & Verónica García-Ibarra & Sandra Maycotte-Felkel & Gabriel Mauricio Martínez-Toro, 2021. "Expectations and Interests of University Students in COVID-19 Times about Sustainable Development Goals: Evidence from Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, and Peru," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-19, March.
    13. César Torres Martín & Christian Acal & Mohammed El Homrani & Ángel Custodio Mingorance Estrada, 2021. "Impact on the Virtual Learning Environment Due to COVID-19," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-16, January.
    14. Luis Espino-Díaz & Gemma Fernandez-Caminero & Carmen-Maria Hernandez-Lloret & Hugo Gonzalez-Gonzalez & Jose-Luis Alvarez-Castillo, 2020. "Analyzing the Impact of COVID-19 on Education Professionals. Toward a Paradigm Shift: ICT and Neuroeducation as a Binomial of Action," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-10, July.
    15. Asanov, Igor & Flores, Francisco & McKenzie, David & Mensmann, Mona & Schulte, Mathis, 2021. "Remote-learning, time-use, and mental health of Ecuadorian high-school students during the COVID-19 quarantine," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    16. Sarah E. Krejci & Shirma Ramroop-Butts & Hector N. Torres & Raphael D. Isokpehi, 2020. "Visual Literacy Intervention for Improving Undergraduate Student Critical Thinking of Global Sustainability Issues," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-19, December.
    17. José Juan Carrión-Martínez & Antonio Luque-de la Rosa & José Fernández-Cerero & Marta Montenegro-Rueda, 2020. "Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) in Education for Sustainable Development: A Bibliographic Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-12, April.
    18. Jelle Boeve-de Pauw & Niklas Gericke & Daniel Olsson & Teresa Berglund, 2015. "The Effectiveness of Education for Sustainable Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(11), pages 1-25, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Tabea Bork-Hüffer & Vanessa Kulcar & Ferdinand Brielmair & Andrea Markl & Daniel Marian Immer & Barbara Juen & Maria Hildegard Walter & Katja Kaufmann, 2021. "University Students’ Perception, Evaluation, and Spaces of Distance Learning during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Austria: What Can We Learn for Post-Pandemic Educational Futures?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-25, July.
    2. Frank Guerra-Reyes & Miguel Naranjo-Toro & Andrea Basantes-Andrade & Eric Guerra-Davila & Andrés Benavides-Piedra, 2023. "COVID-19, Didactic Practices, and Representations Assumed by Preservice Teachers at Universidad Técnica del Norte-Ecuador," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-17, March.
    3. Juan Carlos Bustamante & Manuel Segura-Berges & Manuel Lizalde-Gil & Carlos Peñarrubia-Lozano, 2022. "Qualitative Analyses of e-Learning Implementation and Hybrid Teaching during the COVID-19 Pandemic at Spanish Universities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-19, September.
    4. Jangwan Ko & Seungsu Paek & Seoyoon Park & Jiwoo Park, 2021. "A News Big Data Analysis of Issues in Higher Education in Korea amid the COVID-19 Pandemic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-18, June.
    5. Zawar Shah & Shannon Kennedy-Clark & Yancong Xie & Md Shamsur Rahim & Mehregan Mahdavi & Andrew Levula, 2022. "Teacher Views on Teaching Sustainability in Higher Education Institutes in Australia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-18, July.
    6. Ángela Martín-Gutiérrez & María Dolores Díaz-Noguera & Carlos Hervás-Gómez & Gloria Luisa Morales-Pérez, 2022. "Models of Future Teachers’ Adaptation to New Post-Pandemic Digital Educational Scenarios," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-14, November.
    7. Annchen Mielmann, 2021. "Being Innovative in Running an Online Food Research Project in Consumer Sciences during the COVID-19 Pandemic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(24), pages 1-22, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Johanna Andrea Navarro-Espinosa & Manuel Vaquero-Abellán & Alberto-Jesús Perea-Moreno & Gerardo Pedrós-Pérez & Maria del Pilar Martínez-Jiménez & Pilar Aparicio-Martínez, 2022. "Gamification as a Promoting Tool of Motivation for Creating Sustainable Higher Education Institutions," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(5), pages 1-20, February.
    2. Laís Viera Trevisan & João Henrique Paulino Pires Eustachio & Bárbara Galleli Dias & Walter Leal Filho & Eugênio Ávila Pedrozo, 2024. "Digital transformation towards sustainability in higher education: state-of-the-art and future research insights," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(2), pages 2789-2810, February.
    3. Boruchowicz, Cynthia & Parker, Susan W. & Robbins, Lindsay, 2022. "Time use of youth during a pandemic: Evidence from Mexico," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    4. Lenka Mynaříková & Lukáš Novotný, 2021. "The Current Challenges of Further Education in ICT with the Example of the Czech Republic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-17, April.
    5. Maria José Sá & Ana Isabel Santos & Sandro Serpa & Carlos Miguel Ferreira, 2021. "Digitainability—Digital Competences Post-COVID-19 for a Sustainable Society," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-22, August.
    6. Jangwan Ko & Seungsu Paek & Seoyoon Park & Jiwoo Park, 2021. "A News Big Data Analysis of Issues in Higher Education in Korea amid the COVID-19 Pandemic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-18, June.
    7. Bethy Merchán-Sanmartín & Mayra Brocel-Bajaña & Johny Pambabay-Calero & Sergio Bauz-Olvera & Néstor Montalván-Burbano & Maribel Aguilar-Aguilar & Paúl Carrión-Mero, 2022. "Multivariate Analysis on Physical Activity, Emotional and Health Status of University Students Caused by COVID-19 Confinement," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(17), pages 1-22, September.
    8. Salvador Baena-Morales & Rosabel Martinez-Roig & María J. Hernádez-Amorós, 2020. "Sustainability and Educational Technology—A Description of the Teaching Self-Concept," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(24), pages 1-20, December.
    9. Leejin Choi & Sunjoo Chung, 2021. "Navigating Online Language Teaching in Uncertain Times: Challenges and Strategies of EFL Educators in Creating a Sustainable Technology-Mediated Language Learning Environment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-14, July.
    10. Estébanez, Raquel Pérez & Grande, Elena Urquía & Cañizares Espada, Manuela & Villacorta, Miguel Ángel & Lorain, Marie Anne & Martín, Gracia Rubio, 2023. "Rethinking international cooperation in Higher Education Institutions, in the post COVID world from the student’s perspective," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    11. Natanael Karjanto & Maxima Joyosa Acelajado, 2022. "Sustainable Learning, Cognitive Gains, and Improved Attitudes in College Algebra Flipped Classrooms," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-18, September.
    12. Johanna Andrea Navarro-Espinosa & Manuel Vaquero-Abellán & Alberto-Jesús Perea-Moreno & Gerardo Pedrós-Pérez & Pilar Aparicio-Martínez & Maria Pilar Martínez-Jiménez, 2021. "The Influence of Technology on Mental Well-Being of STEM Teachers at University Level: COVID-19 as a Stressor," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(18), pages 1-23, September.
    13. Larisa Gorina & Marina Gordova & Irina Khristoforova & Lyudmila Sundeeva & Wadim Strielkowski, 2023. "Sustainable Education and Digitalization through the Prism of the COVID-19 Pandemic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-18, April.
    14. Dang, Hai-Anh H. & Oseni, Gbemisola & Abanokova, Kseniya, 2025. "Educational inequalities during COVID-19: Results from longitudinal surveys in Sub-Saharan Africa," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    15. Anna Rutkowska & Katarzyna Kacperak & Sebastian Rutkowski & Luisa Cacciante & Pawel Kiper & Jan Szczegielniak, 2021. "The Impact of Isolation Due to COVID-19 on Physical Activity Levels in Adult Students," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-9, January.
    16. Siddik Bakir, 2019. "An Examination of Preservice Teachers’ 21st Century Learner and Teacher Skills Based on Different Variables," Asian Journal of Education and Training, Asian Online Journal Publishing Group, vol. 5(4), pages 595-602.
    17. Chen, Liang & Guo, Yirong, 2023. "The drivers of sustainable development: Natural resources extraction and education for low-middle- and high-income countries," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(PB).
    18. Eduardo Sandoval-Obando & Nicolás Pareja Arellano & Ángel Acevedo-Duque & Hernán Riquelme-Brevis & Claudio Hernández-Mosqueira & Johan Rivas-Valenzuela, 2022. "Understanding the Relational Dynamics of Chilean Rural Teachers: Contributions from a Narrative-Generative Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-17, July.
    19. Amith Khandakar & Muhammad E. H. Chowdhury & Md. Saifuddin Khalid & Nizar Zorba, 2022. "Case Study of Multi-Course Project-Based Learning and Online Assessment in Electrical Engineering Courses during COVID-19 Pandemic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-18, April.
    20. Jianping Huang & Yuheng Tao & Minghong Shi & Jun Wu, 2022. "Empirical Study on Design Trend of Taiwan (1960s–2020): The Evolution of Theme, Diversity and Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-22, October.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:11:p:6363-:d:568378. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.