4. Youth’s Educational Experiences Before, During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic

Authors

Iva Odak
Institute for Social Research in Zagreb
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4249-4964
Sandra Antulić Majcen
Institute for Social Research in Zagreb
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2584-2373
Suzana Košir
University of Maribor, Faculty of Arts
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7112-8990
DOI: https://doi.org/10.18690/um.ff.7.2025.4

Synopsis

This chapter explores shifts in educational trajectories and student well-being in Croatia and Slovenia before (2018), during, and after (2023) the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings indicate that participation in formal education remains high, particularly in Slovenia, with girls more often enrolled in graduate studies. However, students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds were disproportionately excluded from higher levels of education, with inequalities especially evident in Croatia at the primary and secondary levels. The pandemic negatively affected subjective well-being, most severely among girls and young people in lower levels of education. Stress levels were consistently high, with differing patterns across countries and education levels, and were strongly linked to diminished well-being and academic performance. During the pandemic, schools and universities acted as crucial support structures, partly mitigating adverse outcomes, yet disparities persisted post-pandemic. Educational aspirations remained generally strong, though shaped by gender and socioeconomic status, revealing both resilience and entrenched inequalities in youth education pathways.

Author Biographies

Iva Odak, Institute for Social Research in Zagreb

Dr. Iva Odak, holds a doctorate in sociology from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb. She is a Research Associate at the Centre for Educational Research and Development, Institute for Social Research in Zagreb, and an External Associate and lecturer at the Academy of Fine Arts, University of Zagreb, teaching Sociology of Education and Art, Society, and Education. Her research focuses on the sociology of education, especially educational inequalities and the social dimension of education. She has led and participated in numerous national and international projects and actively publishes and presents at academic conferences.

Zagreb, Croatia. E-mail:

Sandra Antulić Majcen, Institute for Social Research in Zagreb

Dr. Sandra Antulić Majcen, is a Senior Research Assistant at the Institute for Social Research in Zagreb, where she has worked since 2023 on the YO-VID22 project: Youth Wellbeing and Support Structures before, during and after the COVID-19 Pandemic (CSF). She holds the rank of Assistant Professor and Scientific Associate in educational science. Her work spans national and international projects in education, focusing on self-evaluation and quality of the educational system. She conducts research on children and youth, with particular attention to vulnerable social groups, combining expertise in educational research and youth studies.

Zagreb, Croatia. E-mail: sandra@idi.hr 

Suzana Košir, University of Maribor, Faculty of Arts

Dr. Suzana Košir, is an Assistant Professor of Sociology and Researcher at the Faculty of Arts, University of Maribor, Slovenia. With more than two decades of experience in higher education, her research focuses on human rights education, women’s rights, gender studies, quality assurance in education, curriculum studies, educational training, and the study of ageing. She has held various academic roles and actively contributes to advancing sociological and educational research. She is a member of the American Sociological Association and serves on the international editorial board of the International Journal of Management, Knowledge and Learning.

Maribor, Slovenia. E-mail: suzana.kosir@um.si

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Volume

Two Countries, One Crisis: The YO-VID22 Pandemic Study

Pages

73-102

Published

September 3, 2025

Categories

Copyright (c) 2025 University of Maribor, University of Maribor Press

License

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

Odak, I., Antulić Majcen, S., & Košir, S. (2025). 4. Youth’s Educational Experiences Before, During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic. In A. Naterer & D. Potočnik (Eds.), Two Countries, One Crisis: The YO-VID22 Pandemic Study (pp. 73-102). University of Maribor Press. https://doi.org/10.18690/um.ff.7.2025.4