‘Covid affected Omani society psychologically, educationally’

STAFF REPORTER

MUSCAT, NOV 7

The Covid-19 Research Programme, one of the research projects funded by the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation (MoHERI), an expert team headed by Dr Mohsin bin Nasser al Salmi from the College of Education at Sultan Qaboos University (SQU), revealed the effects caused by Covid-19 on the Omani society.

The research study aimed to identify the educational, psychological, and social effects caused by Covid-19 on the Omani society, as well as studying the positive aspects showing the best practices followed by the Omani society in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic, which can be utilised for dealing with similar cases in the future. Furthermore, the study sought to provide suggestions to those in charge of the various sectors included in this research project on how to deal with these pandemics in the future. The study also aimed at training researchers in the humanities field on studying phenomena that have huge impact on societies, such as Covid-19.

Speaking about the prominent effects, Dr Mohsin al Salmi, said, “This research study revealed the most important positive practices that the Omani society followed in dealing with the effects of Covid-19 pandemic, which acted as a motivator for educational institutions to increase their attention to the quality of education, in terms of forming committees to deal with its effects benefiting from local media and social media. Taking the education quality into consideration, educational challenges and emergency conditions will be addressed so that institutions and students are kept up-to-date with the modern trends and developments in the educational system as they benefit from international and regional experiences.

One of the main findings of the study at the psychological field pointed that students of general education are having high levels of being addicted to study, self-regulation strategies of learning, and psychological flexibility. On the other hand, they have low levels of academic burnout, procrastination, and academic anxiety, which indicates the student’s ability to adapt to distance learning environment. This also reflects the effort put in by those in charge of the educational learning process in providing various ways that help learners achieve the educational aims.

The study findings also confirmed the long-term role of pandemic in the flourishing of technological life and digital communication (through social media applications) instead of physical communication.

The study focused on the social effects of official response in facing the pandemic on the front line workers, where the study sample members confirmed that working during Covid-19 added new skills for them and refined them better over time. Adding to that, because of the cases they underwent and had to deal with, it made them feel the life value and that changed some of their concepts.

Commenting on the most important recommendations that this study came out with, Dr Mohsin al Salmi, the Principal Investigator of the research study, said, “Recommendations given to those who are in charge at the educational sector can be summarised in developing a partnership strategy with telecommunications companies to strength the infrastructure of schools and universities sector in different governorates and wilayats of the Sultanate of Oman.”