Taking Care of Students Before, During, and After the Pandemic: The Case of an Ecuadorian University

Abstract

COVID-19 evidenced the need for emotional support and care by a generation of students widely exposed to information and communication technologies. This study aimed to explore professors' practices of caring for students to help them cope with their difficulties before, during, and after the pandemic in 2020 and 2021. The participants were thirty English preservice teachers and ten professors at an Ecuadorian national university. The BarOn model, adjusted by García et al. (2018), was used to collect information regarding the pandemic's impacts on the students' emotional well-being. The research team adjusted the instrument to the formats of in-depth interviews, observation checklist, and focus groups. The categories and subcategories selected were students' care, health and well-being, resilience, and perseverance before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The results confirmed that the participants, even with their developed autonomy and maturity levels, required the guidance of professors to cope with stress, anxiety, and depression caused by social distancing, economic impacts, and loss of loved ones during the pandemic. The study concluded that literature group reading, open dialogues promoted by professors, and mentoring could generate supportive environments to improve students' capacity to deal with dramatic events.