{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,16]],"date-time":"2026-04-16T10:16:56Z","timestamp":1776334616138,"version":"3.51.2"},"reference-count":49,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,6,14]],"date-time":"2023-06-14T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1686700800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology Project","award":["FCT UIDB\/04730\/2020"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["FCT UIDB\/04730\/2020"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Sustainability"],"abstract":"<jats:p>During 2020 and 2021, the world experienced a global change in everyone\u2019s daily lives due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Students were confined in their homes but, luckily, had access to online classes. This study aims to assess the changes in self-efficacy perceived by engineering students in a school in Portugal. By helping to understand how students have changed their learning capacities, developed new strategies, and\/or need more (or different) support to learn, teachers can target their teaching methods accordingly and contribute to a more sustainable education. A questionnaire was constructed and validated to assess students\u2019 perceptions before and after the associated lockdowns. Five theoretically supported factors emerged from a statistical factor analysis: Communication and Empathy; Focus and Personal Organization; Teamwork and Individual Work Capacity; Technical and Cognitive Resources Management; and Emotional Resources Management. This work shows students\u2019 percept that they improved their teamwork and individual work capacity and their technical and cognitive resources management. In general, students seem to have been able to be more autonomous as they managed to work and develop their cognitive resources; however, their emotional state and ability to focus decreased. Perceived self-efficacy was less affected in older students than in younger ones, suggesting that this group may have adapted better to the pandemic restrictions. Students who were already at university showed less impact than those moving from high school to university. There was also a difference between those who endured these changes at only one level of education and those who endured them at both levels (high school and university), with this last group being the most negatively affected.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/su15129538","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,6,15]],"date-time":"2023-06-15T02:28:56Z","timestamp":1686796136000},"page":"9538","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":8,"title":["Engineering Students\u2019 Perception on Self-Efficacy in Pre and Post Pandemic Phase"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5769-5291","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Clara","family":"Viegas","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"CIETI\/ISEP, Polytechnic of Porto, R. Dr. Ant\u00f3nio Bernardino de Almeida, 4249-015 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2104-477X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nat\u00e9rcia","family":"Lima","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CIETI\/ISEP, Polytechnic of Porto, R. Dr. Ant\u00f3nio Bernardino de Almeida, 4249-015 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5053-536X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alexandra R.","family":"Costa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CIETI\/ISEP, Polytechnic of Porto, R. Dr. Ant\u00f3nio Bernardino de Almeida, 4249-015 Porto, Portugal"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,6,14]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"Auxier, B., and Andresen, M. (2023, March 17). As Schools Close due to the Coronavirus, Some U.S. Students Face a Digital \u2018Homework Gap\u2019. Pew Research Center. 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