Distance Education Effectiveness and Employability during and Post-COVID-19: A Longitudinal Study among University Students

ABSTRACT The current longitudinal study investigated distance education efficiency (DEE) through two specific objectives. The first objective is to examine whether the DEE perception differs according to demographic factors and having the necessary infrastructure. The second aim is to explore the effect of DEE on employability with two different and complex models. Time one sample included students in the emerging remote education period in 2020 in Turkey. Time two had the same 382 students in the hybrid education period in 2021. Using PROCESS, we examined the mediating effect of DEE on unemployment worries and the employability relationship in the first study and the causal impact of DEE on employability, the mediating effect of environmental uncertainty, and the moderating role of courage in the second study. Providing the necessary infrastructure and educational content and the readiness of trainers and students increases DEE. Unemployment worries were negatively related to employability, and DEE mediated this relationship. DEE was especially necessary for low-courageous students to decrease environmental uncertainty and increase employability. Longitudinal analysis indicated that suitable learning materials, required resources, practice, and knowledge from previous failures improved DEE perception.