Factors affecting undergraduates' academic performance during COVID-19: Fear, stress and teacher-parents' support

• Main Authors: Abdullah, Nor Aishah, Abu Shamsi, Nurulaini, Jenatabadi, Hashem Salarzadeh, Ng, Boon-Kwee, Che Mentri, Khairul Anam
• Format: Article
• Published: MDPI 2022
• Subjects: L Education (General); LB2300 Higher Education
• Online Access: http://eprints.um.edu.my/41875/
• Institution: Universiti Malaya

The emergency transition from physical to online learning during COVID-19 has affected university students in various aspects, especially their academic performance. It can be caused by many factors, such as individual, environmental and social factors. Therefore, this study aims to determine the impact of fear, stress, well-being, teacher and parents' support (independent variables) on undergraduates' academic performance (dependent variable) during the COVID-19 pandemic. A structured online questionnaire has been developed and administered to 400 undergraduates. A structural equation model that integrated all variables under investigation was built and statistically validated using AMOS. The results demonstrated that well-being, teacher emotional support and teacher academic support have the highest significant impact on the respondents' academic performance. It can be concluded that teachers' support is the most substantial influence in ensuring student learning sustainability during the COVID-19 pandemic.