The Impact of Plagues and Epidemics on the Management of Public and Higher Education
(An Analytical Study)
Keywords:
Crisis management, COVID-19 pandemic, distance learning, school closures, educational leadership
Abstract
This study aimed to analyze the impact of pandemics and plagues throughout history on the management of general and higher education institutions and to identify the major transformations these health crises have brought to educational systems. The study adopted a descriptive-analytical approach by reviewing and analyzing a range of historical sources and scholarly studies on major pandemics, including the Plague of Athens, the Justinian Plague, the Black Death in the Middle Ages, the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918, and the recent COVID-19 pandemic. The study investigated the effects of these pandemics on educational continuity and organizational structure. The findings showed that pandemics frequently led to suspensions of classes, closures of schools and universities, and interruptions of academic and administrative operations. The study also demonstrated that these crises prompted substantial changes in educational management, including diversification of instructional modes, innovation in teaching methods, greater adoption of educational technologies, and reformulation of educational policies to accommodate emergency conditions. The study further showed that pandemics exposed several challenges facing educational institutions, such as learning loss, the widening digital divide among students, increased administrative pressure on educational leaders, and financial challenges faced by some universities. At the same time, the findings suggested that such crises may also create opportunities to develop educational systems and enhance their flexibility and resilience. The study concluded that there is a pressing need for proactive crisis management planning in educational institutions, enhanced digital infrastructure, closer collaboration between the health and education sectors, diversified funding sources in higher education institutions, and the development of leadership competencies in crisis management.
References
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14. الفقي ع , & الغفيلي ص. (2021). أثر الوباء على صلاة الجمعة والجماعة في المسجد (دراسـة مقارنـة في الفقه الإسلامي). مجلة کلية الدراسات الإسلامية والعربية للبنات بدمنهور, 6(2), 635-704.
15. Ager, P., Eriksson, K., Karger, E., Nencka, P., & Thomasson, M. A. (2024). School closures during the 1918 flu pandemic. Review of Economics and Statistics, 106(1), 266-276.
16. Akbaba Altun, S., & Bulut, M. (2021). The Roles and Responsibilities of School Administrators during the Emergency Remote Teaching Process in COVID-19 Pandemic. Research in Educational Administration & Leadership, 6(4), 870-901.
17. Augustus, J. (2021, May). The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women working in higher education. In Frontiers in Education (Vol. 6, p. 648365). Frontiers Media SA.
18. Brown, B., & Jones, C. (2025). Adaptive leadership of schools in Australia during the Covid-19 pandemic: lessons for future crises. School Leadership & Management, 45(2), 153-173.
19. Cheshmehzangi, A., Zou, T., Su, Z., & Tang, T. (2023). The growing digital divide in education among primary and secondary children during the COVID-19 pandemic: An overview of social exclusion and education equality issues. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 33(3), 434-449.
20. Courtenay, W. J. (1980). The effect of the Black Death on English higher education. Speculum, 55(4), 696-714.
21. Crawford, J., & Cifuentes-Faura, J. (2022). Sustainability in higher education during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review. Sustainability, 14(3), 1879.
22. Crawford, J., & Cifuentes-Faura, J. (2022). Sustainability in higher education during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review. Sustainability, 14(3), 1879.
23. Cruz, N. A. D., Adona, A. J., Molato-Gayares, R., & Park, A. (2025). Learning loss and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review of evidence. International journal of educational development, 115, 103271.
24. Dalekou, S., Michaleas, S. N., Tsitsika, A. K., & Karamanou, M. (2023). Comparative study of pandemics and their impact on children and adolescents: COVID-19 and Spanish Flu. Le Infezioni in Medicina, 31(2), 131.
25. de Ridder-Symoens, H. (Ed.). (1991). A history of the university in Europe: Universities in the Middle Ages . Cambridge University Press.
26. Domingo, P., Prieto, P., & Pons, L. (2025). A plague like no other: beyond the buboes in Thucydides' account of the Plague of Athens. Clinical Microbiology and Infection.
27. Edwards, M. A. (2025). The Influence of COVID-19 on College Admissions Policies and Student Application Behavior in Public and Private Institutions. Hampton University.
28. Feuerlicht, G., Beránek, M., & Kovář, V. (2021, December). Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on Higher Education. In 2021 International Conference on Computational Science and Computational Intelligence (CSCI) (pp. 1095-1098). IEEE.
29. Hottenstein, K. N., & Hargraves, R. H. (2022). Admissions and Enrollment. In Acute Crisis Leadership in Higher Education (pp. 179-194). Routledge.
30. Hume, S., Brown, S. R., & Mahtani, K. R. (2023). School closures during COVID-19: an overview of systematic reviews. BMJ evidence-based medicine, 28(3), 164-174.
31. Jedwab, R., Johnson, N. D., & Koyama, M. (2022). The economic impact of the Black Death. Journal of Economic Literature, 60(1), 132-178.
32. Kelly, M. J. (2000). The encounter between HIV/AIDS and education. Harare,, Zimbabwe: UNESCO.
33. Li, K., & Malmendier, U. (2022). School Closures, Inequality, and Politics—Evidence from the 1918 Spanish Flu.
34. Littman, R. J. (2009). The plague of Athens: epidemiology and paleopathology. Mount Sinai Journal of Medicine: A Journal of Translational and Personalized Medicine: A Journal of Translational and Personalized Medicine, 76(5), 456-467.
35. Liu, J. (2021). Bridging digital divide amidst educational change for socially inclusive learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sage Open, 11(4), 21582440211060810.
36. Marshall, J., Roache, D., & Moody-Marshall, R. (2020). Crisis leadership: A critical examination of educational leadership in higher education in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. International Studies in Educational Administration, 48(3), 30-37.
37. Mgiba, P. J. (2021). The Impact of Covid-19 on Female School Leadership in the Tshwane South District. University of Johannesburg (South Africa).
38. Wong, M.(2020).How Harvard Handled the 1918 Flu Pandemic.Harvard Magazine
39.
40. Mok, K. H. (2022). Impact of COVID-19 on higher education. UNESCO. World Conference on Higher Education
41. Piret, J., & Boivin, G. (2021). Pandemics throughout history. Frontiers in microbiology, 11, 631736.
42. Pokhrel, S., & Chhetri, R. (2021). A literature review on impact of COVID-19 pandemic on teaching and learning. Higher education for the future, 8(1), 133-141.
43. Rathnayaka, I. W., Khanam, R., & Rahman, M. M. (2023). The economics of COVID-19: a systematic literature review. Journal of Economic Studies, 50(1), 49-72.
44. Spielman, A. I., & Sunavala‐Dossabhoy, G. (2021). Pandemics and education: A historical review. Journal of dental education, 85(6), 741-746.
45. Striepe, M., & Kafa, A. (2025). School leadership during the COVID-19 crisis: a scoping review of empirical research. Journal of Educational Administration, 63(1), 48-62.
46. Tan, C. Y., Jang, S. T., Lam, S. M., An, A. Q., & Lo, U. K. V. (2025). Teaching and learning challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review. Educational Research Review, 47, 100667.
47. Tilak, J. B., & Kumar, A. G. (2022). Policy changes in global higher education: What lessons do we learn from the COVID-19 pandemic?. Higher education policy, 35(3), 610.
48. Torrance, D., Mifsud, D., Niesche, R., & Fertig, M. (2023). Headteachers and the pandemic: Themes from a review of literature on leadership for professional learning in complex times. Professional development in education, 49(6), 1103-1116.
49. Unicef. (2021, March). COVID-19: Schools for more than 168 million children globally have been completely closed for almost a full year, says UNICEF.
50. Wharton-Beck, A., Chou, C. C., Gilbert, C., Johnson, B., & Beck, M. A. (2024). K-12 school leadership perspectives from the COVID-19 pandemic. Policy Futures in Education, 22(1), 21-42.
51. Wong, M.(2020).How Harvard Handled the 1918 Flu Pandemic.Harvard Magazine
52. Zhang, T. (2025). The impact of the Black Death on medieval universities and the aftermath. Paedagogica Historica, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1080/00309230.2025.2538198
2. البشر, سعود. (2023). تاريخ الجامعات الأوروبية منذ النشأة وحتى نهاية العصور الوسطى. Journal of Educational and Human Sciences, (27), 138-156.
3. البشر, سعود. (2025). دراسات علمية عن الطلاب الدوليين في مؤسسات التعليم العالي. كتاب مطبوع. الرياض, السعودية
4. البشر، سعود غسان أحمد & العبيد، ايمن عبد الله & العنزي، سعود بن لافي & الضفيان، سعود محمد & الغدير، صابر موسى. (2024). الطلاب الدوليون في الولايات المتحدة: الواقع والتحديات والأثر الاقتصادي. مجلة الفنون و الأدب و علوم الإنسانيات و الاجتماع، مج. 2024، ع. 103، ص ص. 223-245.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-1603537
5. الجابري، سامية سليمان. (2023). سنة الرحمة وآثارها الاجتماعية والاقتصادية في نجد (۱۳۳۷ ه_۱۹۱۸م). مجلة الجمعية التاريخية السعودية، مج. 23، ع. 46، ص ص. 89-123.
6. حناني، فردوس. (2023). الطاعون في صدر الإسلام والعهد الأموي. الشهاب، مج. 9، ع. 3، ص ص. 485-498.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-1570431
7. الخطيب ي. م. (2021). الاستعداد الرقمي لدى مدراء المدارس بلواء الأغوار الشمالية في ظل جائحة كورونا وأثره في إدارة المهام الإدارية من وجهة نظر المعلمين. مجلة العلوم التربوية و النفسية, 5(38), 82-66. https://doi.org/10.26389/AJSRP.K020521
8. الدسوقي, محمود. (2020).أغلقت فيه المساجد وتوقفت الزراعة.. كيف قاوم الصعايدة "الطاعون" في رمضان قبل 220 عاما؟ صحيفة الأهرام
9. عبد الحي م. ر. ع. ا. (2021). طاعون جستنيان (541-543م) وآثاره على الدولة والمجتمع في الإمبراطورية البيزنطية. المجلة العربية للعلوم الإنسانية, 39, 143–175. https://doi.org/10.34120/ajh.v39i.2937
10. عبد الرحيم, سمير . (2022). طاعون عام 749هـ/1348م وأثره على مصر خلال عصر السلطان الناصر حسن. مجلة العمارة والفنون والعلوم الإنسانية, 7(32), 695-709.
11. العتيبي, م. ن., محمد نجر, العبدلي, عبدالله محمد, البارقي, & أحمد علي. (2022). دراسة تقويمية لمنصة مدرستي من وجهة نظر الطلاب والمعلمين وقادة المدارس. المجلة العربية للعلوم التربوية والنفسية, 6(27), 385-424.
12. عطية, اشرف. (2022). تداعيات أزمة كورونا على الاقتصاد العالمي وانعكاساتها على الاقتصاد المصري. المجلة الدولية للفقه والقضاء والتشريع, 3(3), 784-835.
13. العواجي, حسين. (2021). شهداء الصحابة في طاعون عمواس. مجلة کلية اللغة العربية بإتاى البارود, 34(3), 2801-2871.
14. الفقي ع , & الغفيلي ص. (2021). أثر الوباء على صلاة الجمعة والجماعة في المسجد (دراسـة مقارنـة في الفقه الإسلامي). مجلة کلية الدراسات الإسلامية والعربية للبنات بدمنهور, 6(2), 635-704.
15. Ager, P., Eriksson, K., Karger, E., Nencka, P., & Thomasson, M. A. (2024). School closures during the 1918 flu pandemic. Review of Economics and Statistics, 106(1), 266-276.
16. Akbaba Altun, S., & Bulut, M. (2021). The Roles and Responsibilities of School Administrators during the Emergency Remote Teaching Process in COVID-19 Pandemic. Research in Educational Administration & Leadership, 6(4), 870-901.
17. Augustus, J. (2021, May). The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women working in higher education. In Frontiers in Education (Vol. 6, p. 648365). Frontiers Media SA.
18. Brown, B., & Jones, C. (2025). Adaptive leadership of schools in Australia during the Covid-19 pandemic: lessons for future crises. School Leadership & Management, 45(2), 153-173.
19. Cheshmehzangi, A., Zou, T., Su, Z., & Tang, T. (2023). The growing digital divide in education among primary and secondary children during the COVID-19 pandemic: An overview of social exclusion and education equality issues. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 33(3), 434-449.
20. Courtenay, W. J. (1980). The effect of the Black Death on English higher education. Speculum, 55(4), 696-714.
21. Crawford, J., & Cifuentes-Faura, J. (2022). Sustainability in higher education during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review. Sustainability, 14(3), 1879.
22. Crawford, J., & Cifuentes-Faura, J. (2022). Sustainability in higher education during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review. Sustainability, 14(3), 1879.
23. Cruz, N. A. D., Adona, A. J., Molato-Gayares, R., & Park, A. (2025). Learning loss and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review of evidence. International journal of educational development, 115, 103271.
24. Dalekou, S., Michaleas, S. N., Tsitsika, A. K., & Karamanou, M. (2023). Comparative study of pandemics and their impact on children and adolescents: COVID-19 and Spanish Flu. Le Infezioni in Medicina, 31(2), 131.
25. de Ridder-Symoens, H. (Ed.). (1991). A history of the university in Europe: Universities in the Middle Ages . Cambridge University Press.
26. Domingo, P., Prieto, P., & Pons, L. (2025). A plague like no other: beyond the buboes in Thucydides' account of the Plague of Athens. Clinical Microbiology and Infection.
27. Edwards, M. A. (2025). The Influence of COVID-19 on College Admissions Policies and Student Application Behavior in Public and Private Institutions. Hampton University.
28. Feuerlicht, G., Beránek, M., & Kovář, V. (2021, December). Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on Higher Education. In 2021 International Conference on Computational Science and Computational Intelligence (CSCI) (pp. 1095-1098). IEEE.
29. Hottenstein, K. N., & Hargraves, R. H. (2022). Admissions and Enrollment. In Acute Crisis Leadership in Higher Education (pp. 179-194). Routledge.
30. Hume, S., Brown, S. R., & Mahtani, K. R. (2023). School closures during COVID-19: an overview of systematic reviews. BMJ evidence-based medicine, 28(3), 164-174.
31. Jedwab, R., Johnson, N. D., & Koyama, M. (2022). The economic impact of the Black Death. Journal of Economic Literature, 60(1), 132-178.
32. Kelly, M. J. (2000). The encounter between HIV/AIDS and education. Harare,, Zimbabwe: UNESCO.
33. Li, K., & Malmendier, U. (2022). School Closures, Inequality, and Politics—Evidence from the 1918 Spanish Flu.
34. Littman, R. J. (2009). The plague of Athens: epidemiology and paleopathology. Mount Sinai Journal of Medicine: A Journal of Translational and Personalized Medicine: A Journal of Translational and Personalized Medicine, 76(5), 456-467.
35. Liu, J. (2021). Bridging digital divide amidst educational change for socially inclusive learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sage Open, 11(4), 21582440211060810.
36. Marshall, J., Roache, D., & Moody-Marshall, R. (2020). Crisis leadership: A critical examination of educational leadership in higher education in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. International Studies in Educational Administration, 48(3), 30-37.
37. Mgiba, P. J. (2021). The Impact of Covid-19 on Female School Leadership in the Tshwane South District. University of Johannesburg (South Africa).
38. Wong, M.(2020).How Harvard Handled the 1918 Flu Pandemic.Harvard Magazine
39.
40. Mok, K. H. (2022). Impact of COVID-19 on higher education. UNESCO. World Conference on Higher Education
41. Piret, J., & Boivin, G. (2021). Pandemics throughout history. Frontiers in microbiology, 11, 631736.
42. Pokhrel, S., & Chhetri, R. (2021). A literature review on impact of COVID-19 pandemic on teaching and learning. Higher education for the future, 8(1), 133-141.
43. Rathnayaka, I. W., Khanam, R., & Rahman, M. M. (2023). The economics of COVID-19: a systematic literature review. Journal of Economic Studies, 50(1), 49-72.
44. Spielman, A. I., & Sunavala‐Dossabhoy, G. (2021). Pandemics and education: A historical review. Journal of dental education, 85(6), 741-746.
45. Striepe, M., & Kafa, A. (2025). School leadership during the COVID-19 crisis: a scoping review of empirical research. Journal of Educational Administration, 63(1), 48-62.
46. Tan, C. Y., Jang, S. T., Lam, S. M., An, A. Q., & Lo, U. K. V. (2025). Teaching and learning challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review. Educational Research Review, 47, 100667.
47. Tilak, J. B., & Kumar, A. G. (2022). Policy changes in global higher education: What lessons do we learn from the COVID-19 pandemic?. Higher education policy, 35(3), 610.
48. Torrance, D., Mifsud, D., Niesche, R., & Fertig, M. (2023). Headteachers and the pandemic: Themes from a review of literature on leadership for professional learning in complex times. Professional development in education, 49(6), 1103-1116.
49. Unicef. (2021, March). COVID-19: Schools for more than 168 million children globally have been completely closed for almost a full year, says UNICEF.
50. Wharton-Beck, A., Chou, C. C., Gilbert, C., Johnson, B., & Beck, M. A. (2024). K-12 school leadership perspectives from the COVID-19 pandemic. Policy Futures in Education, 22(1), 21-42.
51. Wong, M.(2020).How Harvard Handled the 1918 Flu Pandemic.Harvard Magazine
52. Zhang, T. (2025). The impact of the Black Death on medieval universities and the aftermath. Paedagogica Historica, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1080/00309230.2025.2538198
Published
2026-04-17
How to Cite
Dr. Dr. Saud G. Albeshir. (2026). The Impact of Plagues and Epidemics on the Management of Public and Higher Education : (An Analytical Study). International Journal on Humanities and Social Sciences, (71), 28-53. https://doi.org/10.33193/IJoHSS.71.2026.919
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Copyright (c) 2026 د. سعود غسان البشر
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