Identifying the Challenges of COVID-19 Crisis Management in the Education System (Case Study: Khoy County)
Keywords:
Crisis management, COVID-19 pandemic, education system, challenges, Khoy CountyAbstract
Objective: This study aims to identify and analyze the key challenges of COVID-19 pandemic crisis management in the education system of Khoy County.
Methods and Materials: A mixed-methods design was employed, combining qualitative content analysis with quantitative survey analysis. In the qualitative phase, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 24 stakeholders, including education administrators, crisis management officials, school principals, teachers, students, parents, and experts, until theoretical saturation was reached. Interview data were analyzed through open, axial, and selective coding using MAXQDA software. In the quantitative phase, a researcher-developed questionnaire was administered to 384 respondents selected using Cochran’s formula. Face validity and reliability (Cronbach’s alpha) were confirmed. Quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS, with the Friedman ranking test applied to examine differences in the prioritization of crisis management challenges.
Findings: The Friedman test results indicated no statistically significant difference among the identified crisis management challenges (χ² = 5.374, df = 4, p = 0.251). Mean ranks showed minimal variation across dimensions, with educational inequality and the digital divide ranking highest (mean rank = 3.14) and psychological and social pressures ranking lowest (mean rank = 2.89). The lack of significant differences demonstrates that respondents perceived all crisis management challenges as uniformly critical, confirming the homogeneity and systemic nature of the problems rather than the dominance of any single dimension.
Conclusion: The findings indicate that crisis management failure in the education system of Khoy County is systemic and structural, arising from the simultaneous interaction of managerial incapacity, infrastructural weaknesses, educational inequality, inefficiency of online education, and psychological pressures. The absence of differentiated priorities suggests that effective improvement requires comprehensive, integrated, and simultaneous interventions across all dimensions rather than fragmented or selective approaches.
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