The Impact of SARS-CoV-2 Lockdowns and Virtual Learning on Thai University Students: a Qualitative Study

Although the SARS -CoV-2 pandemic has passed, and universities have returned to their pre-pandemic routines, the long-term effects of lockdowns and virtual learning continue. This study employed a qualitative research design using semi-structured interviews of 84 university students in Thailand, including national and international students in their third and fourth years of university. Purposeful sampling was used to identify students in the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities. A pre-interview focus group identified major themes related to the lockdowns and virtual learning, while inductive thematic analysis was used on interview data to identify subthemes. Attending university is an important milestone, and its disruption for students who experienced two years of online learning was a unique and almost universally negative experience. Understanding how this event affected students in Thailand provides another piece to the overall picture of how pandemic policies impacted young people globally at a critical time in their lives.