Revista Brasileira de Educação do Campo
Brazilian Journal of Rural Education
ARTIGO/ARTICLE/ARTÍCULO
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.20873/uft.rbec.e12838
Tocantinópolis/Brasil
v. 6
e12838
10.20873/uft.rbec.e12838
2021
ISSN: 2525-4863
1
Este conteúdo utiliza a Licença Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Open Access. This content is licensed under a Creative Commons attribution-type BY
Anti-crisis management in Higher Education institutions
of Ukraine during the Covid-19 pandemic
Yuliia Nenko
1
, Oksana Orendarchuk
2
, Larysa Rudenko
3
, Andrii Lytvyn
4
1
National University of Civil Defence of Ukraine. Foreign Languages Department. 94 Chernyshevska Str., Kharkiv, Ukraine.
2
Bohdan Khmelnytsky National University of Cherkasy.
3, 4
Lviv State University of Life Safety of the State Emergency Service of
Ukraine.
Author for correspondence: julia18016@ukr.net
ABSTRACT. The article provides an overview of the anti-crisis
managerial strategies of the Ministry of Education of Ukraine
and educational authorities of Ukrainian higher education
institutions in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The
study comprises results of the on-line survey conducted between
the 1st of March 2021 and 11th of April 2021 and covering 380
respondents (faculty members of 12 major higher education
institutions in various regions of the country). The statistical and
descriptive analysis of the challenges faced by Ukrainian
teachers was carried out. The review makes clear that anti-crisis
management activities (organizational, socio-psychological,
technical, etc.) during corona-based closures have not yet been
the object of sufficient surveys and therefore remain an
unexplored phenomenon. The review presented proves the
urgency of the problem of development of anti-crisis
management activities and is intended to facilitate educational
anti-crisis management. In addition, the study provides a
relevant information basis for decisions and action in politics,
administration and academic practice.
Keywords: COVID-19, online teaching, challenge, educational
management, higher education.
Nenko, Y., Orendarchuk, O., Rudenko, L., & Lytvyn, A. (2021). Anti-crisis management in Higher Education institutions of Ukraine during the Covid-19
Pandemic…
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Gestão Anticrise nas instituições de Ensino Superior da
Ucrânia durante a Pandemia da COVID-19
RESUMO. O artigo fornece uma visão geral das estratégias de
gestão anticrise do Ministério da Educação da Ucrânia e das
autoridades educacionais das instituições de ensino superior
ucranianas no contexto da pandemia COVID-19. O estudo
compreende os resultados da pesquisa on-line realizada entre 1º
de março de 2021 e 11 de abril de 2021 e abrangeu 380
respondentes (docentes das 12 principais instituições de ensino
superior de diferentes regiões do país). Foi realizada a análise
estatística e descritiva dos desafios enfrentados pelos
professores ucranianos. A análise deixa clara que as atividades
de gestão de anticrise (organizacional, sociopsicológica, técnica,
etc.) durante os fechamentos causados pela Pandemia ainda não
foram objetos de pesquisas suficientes e, portanto, permanecem
um fenômeno inexplorado. A análise apresentada comprova a
urgência do problema de desenvolvimento de atividades de
gestão anticrise e visa facilitar a gestão educativa anticrise.
Além disso, o estudo fornece uma base de informações
relevantes para decisões e ações na política, administração e
prática acadêmica.
Palavras-chave: COVID-19, ensino online, desafio, gestão
educacional, ensino superior.
Nenko, Y., Orendarchuk, O., Rudenko, L., & Lytvyn, A. (2021). Anti-crisis management in Higher Education institutions of Ukraine during the Covid-19
Pandemic…
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Gestión anticrisis en las instituciones de Educación
Superior de Ucrania durante la Pandemia del Covid-19
RESUMEN. El artículo ofrece una visión general de las
estrategias de gestión anticrisis del Ministerio de Educación de
Ucrania y de las autoridades educativas de los centros de
enseñanza superior ucranianos en el contexto de la pandemia de
COVID-19. El estudio comprende los resultados de la encuesta
en línea realizada entre el 1 de marzo de 2021 y el 11 de abril de
2021 y abarcó a 380 encuestados (miembros del profesorado de
las 12 principales instituciones de enseñanza superior de
diferentes regiones del país). Se realizó un análisis estadístico y
descriptivo de los retos a los que se enfrentan los profesores
ucranianos. El análisis pone de manifiesto que las actividades de
gestión anticrisis (organizativas, sociopsicológicas, técnicas,
etc.) durante los cierres provocados por la pandemia aún no han
sido objeto de suficiente investigación y, por tanto, siguen
siendo un fenómeno inexplorado. El análisis presentado
demuestra la urgencia del problema de desarrollar actividades de
gestión anticrisis y pretende facilitar la gestión educativa
anticrisis. Además, el estudio proporciona una base de
información relevante para las decisiones y acciones en la
política, la administración y la práctica académicas.
Palabras clave: COVID-19, enseñanza en línea, desafío,
gestión educativa, educación superior.
Nenko, Y., Orendarchuk, O., Rudenko, L., & Lytvyn, A. (2021). Anti-crisis management in Higher Education institutions of Ukraine during the Covid-19
Pandemic…
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Introduction
The impact of the COVID-19
pandemic on the education sector is
unprecedented. The challenges emerging
from this health emergency have caused a
devastating blow to education systems in
both developed and developing countries
(Adnan & Anwar, 2020; Melnyk et al.,
2020; Toquero, 2020).
At the time of the “Corona crisis”,
the primary task of the Ministries of
education in different countries was to
ensure the continuity of the educational
process, which led to the mandatory shift
from the traditional face-to-face form of
education to the remote format at all school
levels in various countries (Ahmed et al.,
2020; Panev, 2021). This indicates a
radical change in methods, didactic and
psychological models of teaching,
compilation and development of digital
educational content.
The roles of the educational
management institutions of national and
regional levels in the organization of both
online and hybrid education, “starting with
an allocation of financial and technical
support, development of a legal base”
(Merfeldaite et al., 2020) and agreement on
further educational activities were quite
different. While some countries issued
methodological materials and
recommendations for the online
educational process (Lepp et al., 2021),
others left their teachers without any
methodological support, and they were
pushed “to learn new virtual instruction
pedagogy and platforms” (Pressley, 2021).
The pandemic has revealed the
shortcomings of the existing higher
education system and highlighted the need
to improve teacher training to adapt to the
rapidly changing global educational
climate. The transition to distance learning
has emphasized the inequality between
students in villages and cities in accessing
information resources: more than 4 million
Ukrainians live in villages without high-
quality fixed internet (Radchuk, 2021).
It has been established that all the
participants of the educational process
faced the challenges related to the lack of
IT solutions for distance teaching and
learning, psychological and technical
readiness for distance teaching and
learning, administrative/managerial
support of faculty members and
institutional e-learning policy (Kakepoto et
al., 2021; Nenko et al., 2020) resulting in
difficulties with student engagement
(Chaudhary, 2020), technical issues,
unreliable assessment due to the lack of
specific trainings on the use of the digital
tools of distance evaluation, professional
burnout of teaching staff, radical reduction
of live and direct communication and
Nenko, Y., Orendarchuk, O., Rudenko, L., & Lytvyn, A. (2021). Anti-crisis management in Higher Education institutions of Ukraine during the Covid-19
Pandemic…
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impoverishment of a student life, etc., all
of which impede effective e-learning and
teaching.
The urgency of the research topic is
due to modern challenges in the period of
the COVID-19 pandemic and the need for
rapid anti-crisis management decisions to
improve the distance learning in the system
of national education and “to maintain the
critical teaching workforce” (Pressley,
2021).
After overcoming the pandemic
crisis, distance learning and virtual
education may become an integral part of
the higher education system (Yelinska,
2020). To help reconcile such conflicting
circumstances, there is hence a need for
studies and methods that suggest
sustainable pedagogical managerial
strategies at the level of each single
educational institution and in a broader
context. Policymakers, experts, educational
authorities, faculty members should
collaborate closely to develop accessible
learning environments, educational
resources and tools to maintain the
efficiency and accessibility of education.
Purpose of the study
The paper aims to provide insight
into the impact of the COVID-19
pandemic on the educational process in
Ukrainian higher education institutions and
to present the managerial anti-crisis
strategies of the Ministry of Education of
Ukraine and educational authorities of
Ukrainian higher education institutions in
the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Secondly, the authors aim to present
challenges faced by the faculty members
due to the abrupt shift from face-to-face
class to Emergency Remote Teaching.
Methods
Due to the closure of many
Ukrainian educational institutions, online
survey method was considered to be
appropriate for data collection. The online
survey was carried out during the period
between the 1
st
of March 2021 and 11
th
of
April 2021. A self-developed questionnaire
was implied consisting of both closed
ended and open-ended questions. The
principal questions of the questionnaire
referred to the demographic information,
teaching experience, accessibility to online
learning and teaching resources,
prerequisites for online learning, digital
literacy and personality traits, etc.
Sampling procedure
The Questionnaire (Ukrainian
version) with the invitation to participate
was distributed within 500 faculty
members of major Ukrainian higher
education institutions in various regions of
Nenko, Y., Orendarchuk, O., Rudenko, L., & Lytvyn, A. (2021). Anti-crisis management in Higher Education institutions of Ukraine during the Covid-19
Pandemic…
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the country. The total number of
respondents involved in the survey
comprises 380 people. The participants
participated voluntarily and received no
compensation or benefit for their
participation.
Participant characteristics
380 faculty members of Ukrainian
higher education institutions ranging from
a lecturer, associate professor and
professor were taken as respondents of this
study. There were no significant socio-
demographic differences between
respondents in different geographical areas
of the survey. Respondents were evenly
distributed by gender: 50% were male,
50% were female.
Ranking of teachers by age and
teaching experience in higher education
institutions is presented in Fig. 1 and
Fig. 2.
Figure 1 - Age of faculty members.
5,30%
21,10%
55,20%
18,40%
Teachers' age
under 25 years
26-35 years
36-45 years
more than 45
Source: authors’ calculations based on the conducted survey.
Nenko, Y., Orendarchuk, O., Rudenko, L., & Lytvyn, A. (2021). Anti-crisis management in Higher Education institutions of Ukraine during the Covid-19
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Figure 2 - Teaching experience.
Source: authors’ calculations based on the conducted survey.
Data analytical procedure
The results of the survey were
processed by methods of mathematical
data processing. The obtained data were
subjected to statistical analysis, followed
by qualitative interpretation and
meaningful generalization.
Theoretical framework and background
The pandemic has led to significant
changes in education worldwide during
2020. At the beginning of quarantine in the
spring of 2020, the vast majority of
countries announced the temporary closure
of all educational institutions for at least
some time. As of April 6th, UNESCO
reported that 188 countries have
temporarily closed its educational
institutions, while several countries
implemented localized closures, affecting
1,576,021,818 learners (90%) (Eder,
2020). However, most of these institutions
were not sufficiently prepared to maintain
all of their courses online (Şenel & Şenel,
2021).
All Ukrainian universities have
switched from full-time to distance
learning since March 12, 2020, when the
epidemic began in the country and the first
cases of the disease were confirmed.
According to the Resolution of the Cabinet
of Ministers № 211 of March 11 (2020),
quarantine was introduced throughout the
country, and students were prohibited from
attending educational institutions.
Initially, the quarantine was set for 3
weeks - until April 3, 2020. Lately, it was
Nenko, Y., Orendarchuk, O., Rudenko, L., & Lytvyn, A. (2021). Anti-crisis management in Higher Education institutions of Ukraine during the Covid-19
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extended three more times – until April 24,
May 11 and May 22. Eventually, after the
quarantine restrictions were eased,
educational institutions began to resume
educational activities. During the period of
strict quarantine at the end of March, the
Ministry of Education and Science sent
explanations to the educational institutions
on the organization of the end of the
2019/2020 academic year. The letter
emphasized the autonomy decision making
on forms of distance learning at its own
discretion, however, recommended not to
change the end of the academic year, so all
educational institutions had to complete the
educational process by July 1.
Unfortunately, the Ministry did not offer
any guidelines and advice that teachers
could follow “to assure that the academic
experience of students continued
unencumbered by the pandemic” (Lynn &
Ward-Smith, 2021). The situation was
similar in other countries (Mikušková &
Verešová, 2020).
From July 2020, adaptive quarantine
was introduced in Ukraine. According to
the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers
of Ukraine № 641 of July 22, 2020,
depending on a number of indicators
(dynamics of the number of patients,
number of places in hospitals, etc.) it was
decided to assign one of 4 statuses to each
administrative unit, which determined the
degree of quarantine restrictions. The
responsibility for deciding whether an
educational institution switches to distance
learning was assigned to the management
of the educational institution.
There is a difference between
government decisions in spring and
autumn. During strict quarantine, when the
number of patients in Ukraine was
officially more insignificant, “education
authorities have urged for classes at all
levels to be moved online” (Eder, 2020),
and it was not until early summer that
some of them gradually opened to the
public. In autumn, when the number of
patients began to grow faster, the
government tried to avoid distance learning
and left the question of transferring the
institution to a distance form of work at the
discretion of educational management.
Before the current academic year, the
Ministry of Education and Science released
letters to higher education institutions
regarding the organization of the
2020/2021 academic year. However, most
of these recommendations concerned
sanitary and hygienic standards.
Concurrently, educational institutions were
offered to employ methods of blended
learning.
On October 16, 2020, Regulation on
updated conditions for the organization of
distance education developed by the
Nenko, Y., Orendarchuk, O., Rudenko, L., & Lytvyn, A. (2021). Anti-crisis management in Higher Education institutions of Ukraine during the Covid-19
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Ministry of Education and Science came
into force. This document was rather a
belated response, as it was issued more
than a month after the start of the new
academic year and contained brief
explanations of the organizational
processes of distance education. It lacked
guidelines for distance education for
different types of academic institutions, a
list of minimum requirements and
recommendations for the learning process.
Findings
The process of remote education still
remains frustrating for all participants in
the educational process: teaching staff,
students, their parents, educational
authorities. As we recognize students and
faculty staff going back to full-time study,
institutions were not prepared for the
possibility that corona outbreaks may still
occur, resulting in a potential lockdown
and once again experiencing the
inconvenience of continuing study via
alternative means (Enterkin, 2020). Due to
the lack or insufficient prior experience of
distance learning and government
response, a whole set of academic
problems have arisen (Prokopenko &
Berezhna, 2020). Underneath is a list of
some of them, which is chiefly based on an
online survey on distance learning
management in Ukrainian educational
institutions. It should be noted that the
survey was conducted a year after the strict
quarantine introduction, when all the
institutions were first transferred to
distance learning, and therefore show
problems that are still relevant and
unresolved.
The summarized findings of the
questionnaire survey show that 18.4% of
respondents who were initially negative
about distance learning changed their
opinion and would like to continue
teaching in the online mode after
quarantine restrictions, as such a format
proved to be a convenient tool, especially
in the context of the development of digital
technologies.
73.7% of the teachers are
categorically against online learning and
prefer only face-to-face classes. However,
according to Ida PANEV (2021) teacher’s
favorable attitude is one of the key
elements in the process of transforming
classical onsite teaching into an online
teaching.
7.9% of respondents consider
blended type of education to be optimal
nowadays, as the transition to online
learning has granted broader autonomy,
enough freedom for self-development and
self-improvement, and has culminated in
the emergence of innovative technical
solutions in the teaching activities.
Nenko, Y., Orendarchuk, O., Rudenko, L., & Lytvyn, A. (2021). Anti-crisis management in Higher Education institutions of Ukraine during the Covid-19
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Lack of teachers’ prior experience of
distance teaching
According to the survey, the rapid
transition to distance learning has been a
problem in most universities as teachers
previously had no experience of such
educational activities, so they lack
awareness and training for developing
“engaging digital educational content,
which can exaggerate the problem”
(Hammond et al., 2020). 68.4% of teachers
(260 respondents) reported that they did
not formerly use distance learning
technologies in their teaching activities.
With the advent of the pandemic, rapid
shift to remote education “would challenge
even the well-prepared, stable, and
experienced teacher workforce”, therefore,
it is critically beneficial that educators be
“well supported in confronting the
challenges that they face” (Darling-
Hammond & Hyler, 2020). It would be
valuable for teachers to receive advice on
how to “move teaching content and
materials into the online space” (Allen et
al., 2020), give feedback, train skills,
assess progress and determine the duration
of educational activities in distance
learning. We may assume that teachers
faced the problem of lack of experience
and skills of distance learning, absence of
recommendations on distance teaching
during quarantine and were forced to
master online teaching skills on their own,
which was noted by 92.1% of faculty
members (350 respondents). The list of the
most popular resources for self-education
of teachers is presented in Fig. 3.
Figure 3 - Resources for self-education.
Source: authors’ calculations based on the conducted survey.
Nenko, Y., Orendarchuk, O., Rudenko, L., & Lytvyn, A. (2021). Anti-crisis management in Higher Education institutions of Ukraine during the Covid-19
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In addition to the experience of
distance learning, personal qualities are
important, such as the desire (ability) for
self-education and self-development,
digital literacy, creativity, diligence,
motivation, responsibility, activity,
communication, ability to adapt, self-
demand, flexibility.
At the same time, teachers openly
pointed out the lack of such qualities as
creativity, patience, perseverance,
flexibility.
Lack of access to high-speed Internet and
equipment needed for training
This problem has affected both
teachers and students. According to the
survey, 94.7% of teachers (360
respondents) had a computer, laptop, tablet
or Smartphone and properly functioning
WIFI prior to the introduction of distance
learning at home. 2.6% (10 respondents)
use computer at a work place and almost
equivalent number of teachers use their
cell phones as means of distance teaching.
18.4% (70 respondents) complained
about the lack of sufficient technical means
for quality teaching of their disciplines,
and 2.6% indicated a low-speed Internet
connection.
29.4% of teachers (106 respondents)
shared distance learning gadgets with their
children or other family members.
Diversity of educational platforms
Much of the material is left for self-
study. In many educational institutions,
distance learning initially looked like
delivering material for self-study from
textbooks, written assignments to assess
knowledge and evaluate results without
discussion, feedback and explanations. The
results of the survey on the most
commonly used tools for the interaction
between teachers and students also confirm
the attempts of some teachers to pass self-
study as distance learning due to lack of
previous experience.
57.9% (220) of faculty members use
Viber during their teaching activities.
Accordingly, they regularly send
educational tasks for self-study through the
messenger, which is actually independent
learning, not distance learning. Some
teachers replaced distance learning with
written works, which led to the excessive
workload of students. Such methods are
unconducive to high-quality mastering the
material, but rather cause additional stress.
Moreover, the situation within one
educational institution could be
contradictory, as some teachers demanded
written work, while others provided remote
classes via diverse educational platforms
(Fig. 4). Simultaneously, there could be no
coordination between the teachers
themselves and control by the management
Nenko, Y., Orendarchuk, O., Rudenko, L., & Lytvyn, A. (2021). Anti-crisis management in Higher Education institutions of Ukraine during the Covid-19
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of the educational institution over the
workload on students. This problem is still
relevant today, as most higher education
institutions continue distance learning.
Figure 4 - Resources for remote education.
5,30%
65,80%
15,80%
15,80%
57,90%
2,60%
68,50%
39,50%
2,60%
63,20%
Resources for remote education
Edmodo
GoogleClassroom
Moodle
Teams
Viber
Blackboard
GoogleMeet
Skype
Schoology
Zoom
Source: authors’ calculations based on the conducted survey.
Diverse demands of teachers
50% of teachers indicate that not all
students attend their classes, which can
lead to “decline in academic success”
(Huang, 2020). For online education to be
successful, it is necessary to provide a
clear two-way communication channel
between teachers and students (Panev,
2021).
As tools for diagnosing and
measuring students’ knowledge during
online learning, some teachers use oral
questioning without preparation time,
while others use online testing, individual
assignments, option tests, written answers
to questions, etc.
55.3% of respondents set a time limit
for performing independent tasks. 39.5%
do this only for certain types of tasks. 5.3%
never set time limits.
39.4% of teachers always allow
students to turn off the camera during
online classes. 18.4% do not allow turning
off the camera during control activities.
5.3% of teachers noted that after
identifying a student attending a lecture
from a mobile phone, students are allowed
to turn off the camera.
Nenko, Y., Orendarchuk, O., Rudenko, L., & Lytvyn, A. (2021). Anti-crisis management in Higher Education institutions of Ukraine during the Covid-19
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34.2% of respondents do not inspect
students’ work for plagiarism. 44.7% of
teachers constantly check for plagiarism
and return for revision those works that do
not meet the requirements. 10.5% of
teachers are happy that in terms of distance
learning students somehow complete the
tasks.
While most faculty staff (84.2%)
claim that there is internal control over the
quality of distance learning in their higher
education institution, 10.5% have not heard
of such control activities or claim their
absence (5.3%).
No increased payments to teachers
Despite different training formats
and excessive workload during quarantine,
teachers did not receive any increased
payment or bonuses. Left alone with
distance education in spring 2020, teachers
were forced to spend more time and
financial resources to master and
implement distance learning techniques on
their own.
The survey showed that only 13.2%
of teachers use exclusively own learning
materials for training students online. 2.6%
use materials from the public domain on
the Internet. 84.2% combine their personal
learning materials with materials found in
the Internet.
Other difficulties
Other aspects of distance learning
that cause essential difficulties to educators
are shown in Fig. 5.
Figure 5 - Major difficulties.
31,60%
15,80%
23,70%
21,10%
10,50%
68,40%
18,40%
13,20%
31,60%
28,90%
Major difficulties
distance learning itself
lack of theoretical knowledge
about online teaching
student assessment
adaptation of educational
material to the distance format
physical fatigue
lack of live communication
lack of technical means of
training
insufficient computer literacy
lack of e-teaching skills
Source: authors’ calculations based on the conducted survey.
Nenko, Y., Orendarchuk, O., Rudenko, L., & Lytvyn, A. (2021). Anti-crisis management in Higher Education institutions of Ukraine during the Covid-19
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The questionnaire revealed other
shortcomings of online education during
quarantine, in particular: insufficient
control over the students’ learning
outcomes; problems with student
identification due to the use of a mobile
phone or computer without a camera or
interruptions in the Internet connection;
lack of students’ motivation; unwillingness
of teachers to readjust to a new teaching
format; the inability to see the
psychological mood of students; poor
internet connection and attempts of
students to deceive the teacher; lack of
experience and regulatory framework;
inadequate practical skills; fatigue from
constant use of gadgets; increase in
financial costs for Internet use; students’
reluctance to study; unavailability of many
tools used in face-to-face training; lack of
feedback from students; complexity of
laboratory work, etc.
Recommendations
Ukraine’s education system is
encountering global challenges caused by
the pandemic, the announcement of
quarantine in the country and a mass
transition of Ukrainian educational
institutions to remote education. Taking
into consideration unprecedented
uncertainty that was caused by the
COVID-19 pandemic and its likely
continuation for a lengthy period of time
(Prokopenko & Berezhna, 2020),
educational authorities are forced to
perform a number of new management
actions to support educators in their social,
emotional and academic needs (Darling-
Hammond & Hyler, 2020). These
strategies include investing in high-quality
educator training to match current needs,
socio-psychological support, technical
provision and training, coordination and
control, academic integrity.
The survey of the teaching staff
revealed certain areas that require urgent
management decisions.
Appropriate training of faculty
members
50% of surveyed teachers believe the
age of the teacher significantly affects the
effectiveness of distance education.
However, only 5.2% of them indicate they
are ready to learn and want to be familiar
with modern educational technologies. At
the same time, most respondents pointed to
the primary role of teaching experience in
the effectiveness in distance education,
claiming that “an experienced teacher is
flexible enough to tune in to quality
distance work, which, however, does not
deny the apparent advantage of offline
learning” (Respondent 119); “an
experienced teacher selects more optimally
Nenko, Y., Orendarchuk, O., Rudenko, L., & Lytvyn, A. (2021). Anti-crisis management in Higher Education institutions of Ukraine during the Covid-19
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methods, forms and means of work”
(Respondent 93); “if a person is an expert,
then what difference does it make how to
teach” (Respondent 286); “the acquired
skills come to the rescue in unforeseen
circumstances” (Respondent 54).
Current researches prove that poor
faculty acceptance of e-learning
technologies, insufficient technical
infrastructure and low computer literacy
are barriers towards implementation of e-
learning. In this perspective, faculties and
students should be proficient in
IT/Computer skills to respond to academic
challenges of the time (Kakepoto et al.,
2021).
Socio-psychological support
Nowadays most young people
actively utilize the Internet, social
networks, forums, chats, etc., so the remote
way of perceiving information is common
for most students, which in some way
explains their motivation for remote
learning. However, a significant proportion
of teachers are not ready to produce
academic content that would be familiar
and convenient for students, taking into
account the psychological characteristics
of remote learning communication, the
ability to self-organize and the physical
characteristics of perception and
assimilation of e-learning content. At the
same time, prolonged stay in quarantine in
an environment devoid of close social
contacts affected both the general
psychological state of students and
teachers, and the degree of their motivation
to perform educational functions.
Educators are transitioning through a
particularly uncertain time in terms of their
profession and private lives. The move to
the online space is presenting considerable
hardship as teachers struggle to adapt to
what might well be the “new normal” for
quite a period of time (Allen et al., 2020).
Given this concern, teachers require
support during this unprecedented time.
Administrators need to provide supportive
environments and instructional guidance to
teachers to ease anxiety. Support might
include instructional, technology, or
emotional support (Pressley, 2021).
Special trainings and workshops for
teachers may prevent burnout, stress
development, promote self-regulation and
development of time management skills
and support their positive emotional state.
Technical provision and training
Efficient distance learning requires
considering two urgent problems. The first
is that not all students and/or teachers have
computers at home (or they are not enough
for all family members) and high-speed
Internet access. The reality has shown that
Nenko, Y., Orendarchuk, O., Rudenko, L., & Lytvyn, A. (2021). Anti-crisis management in Higher Education institutions of Ukraine during the Covid-19
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not all higher education institutions have
been technically prepared (Prokopenko &
Berezhna, 2020) and educators were forced
to start utilizing their personal computers,
laptops, buy other necessary equipment at
their own expense, install additional
software products, etc. A year after the
introduction of quarantine, many
classrooms are still unequipped with the
necessary equipment (Hmurova &
Hrashhenko, 2020), do not have internet,
video cameras, microphones, etc.,
therefore, teachers use their own
equipment to broadcast lectures or classes
online.
The second problem is caused by
insufficient faculty staff training for
proving distance education, arranging
video conferences, webinars and other
educative activities. Only 2.6% of
respondents indicated that they received
appropriate training for distance education
at their university, therefore, prompt
training should be provided in all the
universities for all faculty members “to
become sufficiently adept in navigating the
requisite software” (Allen et al., 2020); to
arrange the development of e-courses and
learning materials. It is immensely
beneficial to establish the system of
corporate consulting support for teachers to
ensure a high quality of education.
Coordination and control
Educational authorities should
promptly introduce clear regulations for
the functioning of the educational
institution and current approaches to the
organization of the educational process.
While most educators attempted to
maintain the quality of the educational
process during the quarantine and invested
increased time to prepare for online
classes, some teachers transferred
communication with students into a written
format – sending them written assignments
and actually refusing to conduct classes;
others did not communicate with students
at all. At the same time, the degree of
involvement of teachers in distance
learning does not affect their salaries.
The situation prioritizes the need for
distinct coordination and control of the
educational process, monitoring of
students’ participation in the educational
process “to enable the high level of student
engagement” (Allen et al., 2020),
maintaining control of the online
environment (Bhupathy & Nausheen,
2020) and observance of the schedule by
teachers.
The number of different digital
environments and resources for online and
hybrid modes of course delivery need to be
unified within one educational institution
and be kept to a minimum (Lepp et al.,
Nenko, Y., Orendarchuk, O., Rudenko, L., & Lytvyn, A. (2021). Anti-crisis management in Higher Education institutions of Ukraine during the Covid-19
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2021). Regarding anxiety, educational
institutions should provide “clear
communication and protocols to help
teachers and students feel safe during this
outbreak” (Pressley, 2021). It is
recommended to gather systematic
feedback from the students and faculty
members and take it into account while
planning and conducting the educational
activities and setting up goals (Lepp et al.,
2021).
Academic integrity
Despite the fact that in 2017 the
concept of academic integrity finally
appeared in Ukrainian legislation, and
universities were obliged to establish a
system for its provision, this issue is still
not given enough attention. The findings of
the questionnaire are concerning, since less
than half of the surveyed educators check
students’ works for plagiarism. Many
teachers are unfamiliar with assessment
methods that would make it impossible for
students to practice dishonesty. It is
imperative that universities work
systematically to develop an effective
system that will ensure academic integrity.
Conclusions
The education policies and response
to COVID-19 must acquire a long-term
perspective (Wan, 2020) and, therefore,
need to be “strengthened, funded and
improved” (Cunha De Araujo, 2020). In
this article we described the major
challenges and concern in the transition to
distance learning. The current results are
understandable and prove the urgency of
anti-crisis management decisions amed at
teachers’ support during this
unprecedented time. Support might include
educational, technology, socio-
psychological, financial support, etc. This
paper provides recommendations to higher
education authorities in Ukraine: provision
of supportive environment and
instructional guidance, technical provision
and training of the faculty members,
introduction of clear regulations for the
functioning of the educational institution,
ensuring academic integrity. Given this,
recommendations are applicable to all
levels of education system in other
countries. These actions are vital for
navigating teaching and learning during the
pandemic and beyond (Darling-Hammond
& Hyler, 2020).
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Nenko, Y., Orendarchuk, O., Rudenko, L., & Lytvyn, A. (2021). Anti-crisis management in Higher Education institutions of Ukraine during the Covid-19
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Article Information
Received on August 09th, 2021
Accepted on August 25th, 2021
Published on September, 07th, 2021
Author Contributions: Oksana Orendarchuk, Larysa
Rudenko and Andrii Lytvyn were responsible for the data
acquisition, data analysis and interpretation. Yuliia Nenko
was responsible for the study design, writing the content of
the manuscript, its editing and review. All Authors
approved the final published version.
Conflict of Interest: None reported.
Article Peer Review
Double review.
Funding
No funding.
How to cite this article
APA
Nenko, Y., Orendarchuk, O., Rudenko, L., & Lytvyn, A.
(2021). Anti-crisis management in Higher Education
institutions of Ukraine during the Covid-19 Pandemic. Rev.
Bras. Educ. Camp., 6, e12838.
http://dx.doi.org/10.20873/uft.rbec.e12838
ABNT
NENKO, Y.; ORENDARCHUK, O.; RUDENKO, L.;
LYTVYN, A. Anti-crisis management in Higher Education
institutions of Ukraine during the Covid-19 Pandemic. Rev.
Bras. Educ. Camp., Tocantinópolis, v. 6, e12838, 2021.
http://dx.doi.org/10.20873/uft.rbec.e12838