SOCIAL POLICY AND SOCIAL WORK STUDENTS’ REFLECTIONS ON INTRODUCED MEASURES AND MEDIA COVERAGE DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Abstract

Introduced measures to deal with COVID-19 pandemic in Serbia affected everyday life of people. Media coverage during the pandemic played a significant role in providing verified information, protecting human health and well-being. In order to gain insight into the reactions of social work students on introduced measures and media coverage about these measures during the state of emergency in Republic of Serbia, an analysis of reflective journals is presented. Eighty reflective journals were analyzed, where students’ reactions on introduced measures and media coverage related to these measures are monitored and linked to the electronic archive of the public media service Radio Television of Serbia news. Students’ thoughts on several identified measures are presented and analyzed together with their reactions on media coverage about these measures. Findings indicate the important role of the content and ways of media repor1 Anita Burgund Isakov, professor, e.mail: anita.burgund@fpn.bg.ac.rs 2 Violeta Marković, teaching assistant, e.mail: violeta.markovic@fpn.bg.ac.rs 3 Sanja Polić Penavić, researcher , e.mail: sanja.polic@fpn.bg.ac.rs Anita Burgund Isakov1 orcid.org/0000-0002-4547-4934 Violeta Marković2 orcid.org/0000-0003-2618-0073 Sanja Polić Penavić3 orcid.org/0000-0002-4295-190X Faculty of Political Science University of Belgrade Received: December, 2021. Accepted: October, 2022. UDK: 364.62-057.87: 616-036.21 DOI: 10.3935/ljsr.v29i3.478 Keywords: reflective journals;social work; education; media coverage; COVID-19; mental health. Ljetopis socijalnog rada 2022., 29 (3), 521-544. 522 članci ting in creation of reflections, as well as the importance of using reflective journals in both education and preservation of mental health. Possible directions of mental health improvement through media coverage in crisis situations and recommendations for education of social workers are presented. Key words: reflective journals, social work, education, media coverage, COVID-19, mental health.