The role of the educational environment in implementing precautionary measures during the Corona pandemic "Activating social distancing during in-person exams as a model"

Using social distance during physical examinations, this study explores the influence of the educational environment on Corona pandemic precautions. A six-axis questionnaire was administered to 620 students from King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences in Riyadh, Jeddah, and Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia. The results showed that KSAU-HS students had high awareness of social distancing, moderate adaptation and coexistence, and a moderate level of negative effects from social divergence. The students perceived KSAU-HS's precautionary measures for social distancing during physical examinations as highly effective. A social network played a significant role in raising awareness of social distancing importance during the pandemic. The impact of social distancing on students' test performance was found to be moderate. Gender differences were observed in KSAU-HS students' perception of the impact of social distancing on test performance, favoring students. There were no statistically significant differences (at α = 0.05) in the effect of social distancing on KSAU-HS students' test performance based on their specialization. However, the results showed statistically significant differences (at α = 0.05) in the impact of social distancing on test performance between students from the university cities of Al-Ahsa and Riyadh, favoring Al-Ahsa.
Keywords: Corona pandemic, educational environment, social distancing, physical exams.