Emergency E-Learning as a Gateway to Psychosocial Recovery Among Al-Aqsa University Students in Gaza During the War: An Explanatory Mixed-Methods Study

Abstract Background : The protracted warfare in Gaza has led to the structural collapse of higher education, demanding urgent alternative instructional frameworks for student survival. Objectives : This study aimed to examine the role of e-learning as a gateway to psychosocial recovery among Al-Aqsa University students in Gaza during the war, investigate differences across demographic and logistical variables, and qualitatively explain students' lived experiences to contextualize the statistical findings. Methodology : An explanatory sequential mixed-methods design was employed. The digital quantitative sample comprised n = 298 Education students who completed a 21-item Psychosocial Recovery Scale. The qualitative sample included n = 248 students responding to a digital open-ended interview card. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and MANOVA, while qualitative data were processed via Braun and Clarke’s inductive thematic analysis. Results : Quantitative results revealed a high overall evaluation of e-learning's role in supporting recovery (M = 3.62, SD = 0.81), with social recovery scoring 3.63 and psychological recovery scoring 3.61. Statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) were found based on gender (favoring females, (η_ρ^2 = 0.019) and residence (favoring displacement camp residents, η_ρ^2= 0.025), whereas technology type, internet, and electricity status showed no significant differences. The qualitative analysis interpreted the statistical findings through six comprehensive themes: positive distraction and psychological shield; hope sustainer and ambition driver; social cohesion and third space; resilience and technical adaptation; institutional flexibility as an incubator; and psychological challenges and digital burden. Conclusion & Implications : Emergency e-learning transcended its conventional academic function to operate as an existential lifeline, fostering Everyday Sumud and restoring human agency amidst scholasticide. Based on these integrated findings, the study introduces the Trauma-Informed Displacement Digital Pedagogy (TIDP) Model, recommending its institutionalization to adopt low-tech, flexible, and trauma-sensitive digital configurations tailored to protracted displacement contexts.