Children and COVID-19 Research Library

This study aimed to evaluate the impact of digital stories in the learning-based themes of safe schools and to examine the perceptions of special educational needs in safe school environments. Training were carried out with informative videos created through the Distance Education and Information Technology Center (UZEBIM) for principals and teachers-in-charge, and the effectiveness of this process was evaluated through reflective opinion forms. In addition to this, an evaluation form was presented to the prospective special education teachers to obtain their opinions and evaluate the effectiveness of digital stories at safe schools. A total of 100 prospective teachers participated in the evaluation of the impact of digital stories on their learning about safe school environments.

There is increasing pressure on Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) settings to align their practices and values to that of schools, with the notion that a quality education in ECEC consists of providing care whilst also ensuring strong learning outcomes. This paper employs the constructs of structural and process quality to theorise the perceived disparities between ECEC institutions and schools and between ECEC services during the COVID-19 pandemic. The experiences of 29 Australian ECEC educators provide insight into the differing constructions of quality across ECEC services during the COVID-19 lockdown periods that occurred from May to August 2020 in the state of Victoria.

A recent Nature article modelled within-country inequalities in primary, secondary, and tertiary education and forecast progress towards Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets related to education (SDG 4). However, their paper entirely overlooks inequalities in achieving Target 4.2, which aims to achieve universal access to quality early childhood development, care and preschool education by 2030. This is an important omission because of the substantial brain, cognitive and socioemotional developments that occur in early life and because of increasing evidence of early-life learning’s large impacts on subsequent education and lifetime wellbeing. This study provides an overview of this evidence and uses new analyses to illustrate medium- and long-term implications of early learning, first by presenting associations between pre-primary programme participation and adolescent mathematics and science test scores in 73 countries and secondly, by estimating the costs of inaction (not making pre-primary programmes universal) in terms of forgone lifetime earnings in 134 countries. This study finds considerable losses, comparable to or greater than current governmental expenditures on all education (as percentages of GDP), particularly in low- and lower-middle-income countries. In addition to improving primary, secondary and tertiary schooling, it concludes that to attain SDG 4 and reduce inequalities in a post-COVID era, it is essential to prioritize quality early childhood care and education, including adopting policies that support families to promote early learning and their children’s education.

As the new school year begins in the United States, school districts will be tasked with providing in-person teaching while keeping children and school staff safe, an increasingly difficult goal in the presence of the COVID-19 delta variant. This study aims to provide updated interpretations of past and newly published studies to assist in assessing risk in schools, and to add additional perspectives on addressing the social determinants of learning and on the role of race and other social factors. It advocates for the continued implementation of risk mitigation strategies in schools, including mandatory mask policies, improved ventilation, and convenient access to vaccinations for those eligible, as recommended by the CDC, and to use this opportunity to make long-term improvements to our schools as a matter of urgency.

Schoolchildren around the world have lost an estimated 1.8 trillion hours – and counting – of in-person learning since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns. As a result, young learners have been cut off from their education and the other vital benefits schools provide. Every hour in school is precious, and every child should be given the opportunity to go back to school. As countries return from academic break, no effort should be spared to reopen schools, as schools are critical for children’s learning, safety, health and well-being.

Protecting children from COVID-19 in school requires an effort from the entire community, including national and local governments, school administrators, teachers, parents/caregivers and students. To reopen schools as safely as possible and keep them open during the COVID-19 pandemic, consistent implementation of effective strategies to prevent COVID-19 transmission during all school-related activities is critical. This guide outlines practical tips to support school administrators in implementing safety measures and creating a safer learning environment for children. The decision to reopen schools should be guided by the best interests of children and the guidance of the local government and public health authorities in each country.

Substantial educational inequalities have been documented in Germany for decades. This article examines whether educational inequalities among children have increased or remained the same since the school closures of spring 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Its perspective is longitudinal: It compares the amount of time children in secondary schools spent on school-related activities at home before the pandemic, during school closures, and immediately after returning to in-person learning. This study operationalizes family socio-economic status using the highest parental educational attainment. Based on the theoretical assumption that the pandemic affected everyone equally, it formulates a hypothesis of equalization during the first period of school closures.

The outbreak of Covid-19 worldwide has presented an unprecedented challenge for the equity-in-education agenda, especially in developing countries of the Global South (e.g., the English-speaking Caribbean). This article examines the impact school closures have had in Jamaica and Barbados, and highlights the emerging disparities the global pandemic has had on education. The central organizing questions are as follows: Who was affected by school closures in Barbados and Jamaica? How did the Ministries of Education (MOEs) support curriculum and instruction during the pandemic? What challenges does Covid-19 present for MOEs? What are the implications for education after Covid-19? School closure data suggest a gender disparity, with more males than females out of school due to Covid-19 from preprimary to secondary school in Barbados and Jamaica. MOEs in the region responded to school closures primarily by increasing access to technology to facilitate remote learning. Some of the challenges with continuing education for students during Covid-19 were due to a lack of infrastructure and amenities to support remote learning. Implications for education post-Covid-19 are considered.

This booklet draws on research-based knowledge generated during the Covid-19 crisis and on previous research on germane topics, to suggest a framework that supports the development of contextually relevant educational strategies to teach during and after the pandemic. The booklet is addressed to education administrators at the school and system level. It was written with the acknowledgment that the pandemic is still ongoing in much of the world, and that interruptions to education in many parts of the world are likely to continue through 2022, and perhaps beyond.  The booklet focuses entirely on education. It does not address health or other policy responses to the pandemic—although obviously the pandemic is, at the root, a public health crisis that has triggered many economic, social, and educational consequences. An appropriate government response should be coherent and multisectoral, so that there is good coordination among various sectoral components of the response.

Modelling studies indicate that closure of schools during the COVID-19 pandemic may not be well grounded for the SARS-CoV-2 infection, as evidences indicate that children are less affected by this virus and the clinical attack rates in the 0-19 age group are low. Experts also opine that school closure might have negative effects on the scholastic abilities of a child and also an adverse impact on the economy and healthcare system, considering the responsibilities conferred upon the parents. Also, in a developing country like India, it is difficult for the rural population to afford distance online learning, which brings into importance the reopening of schools in a safe environment to avoid adversities such as increased drop-outs in the upcoming academic year, loss of in-person benefits such as mid-day meal scheme. This study highlights a field experience in relation to readiness assessment of a rural school in the Jodhpur district of Rajasthan, India, for a safe reopening to accept students in a safe and conducive atmosphere, which shall help prevent transmission of the virus in the schools among the children. In this regard, an indigenous readiness checklist has been developed to achieve the purpose, which assesses the readiness in three domains, viz, (i) Procedural readiness, (ii) Supplies, sanitation and infrastructure-related, (iii) Education and Training.

Consultation #CaminitodelaEscuela of the Mexico City Human Rights Commission is a second exercise of participation aimed at knowing the opinion of children and adolescents in the context of the SARS-CoV-2 virus pandemic. Specifically, this consultation is aimed at knowing your opinion on the return to school in person. #CaminitodelaEscuela consisted, on the one hand, of a brief questionnaire to know if the girls, boys and adolescents want to return to face-to-face classes, as well as which
they consider it to be the main fear related to it. The questionnaire was disseminated online

In December 2019, Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) emerged in Wuhan, China that culminated in a serious pandemic condition. Physical distancing restrictions were a significant component of the public health emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic. For children and youth, these restrictions included safety measures that impacted daily activities related to physical activity (PA) participation worldwide. Preliminary evidence suggests that in children with special needs such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), COVID-19 restrictions may have disproportionally led to reduced levels of PA. The aim of this study was to review the benefits of PA for children with ASD and suggest Home PA Program examples for Children with ASD during COVID-19 pandemic and the quarantine time.

Sweden received worldwide attention for its approach to managing the COVID-19 pandemic. Notably, throughout the pandemic, Sweden was one of the few countries that did not implement any lockdown measures. This meant that primary schools remained open and classes proceeded as usual, including the delivery of physical education (PE). This paper explores PE teachers’ perceptions of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on Swedish PE. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with seven PE teachers. Results suggest that teaching PE during COVID-19 has led to disparate challenges and changes for teachers, including modifications in context, content, roles and responsibilities, as well as the handling of issues concerning physical contact and proximity among students and teachers. The conclusions of this study reveal that in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the parameters of PE in Sweden are changing more rapidly now than ever before. Understanding how the pandemic has impacted the subject of PE and its delivery might create opportunities for further discussions, possible solutions and subsequent necessary adjustments in dealing with the ongoing COVID-19 situation.

To tackle the debate surrounding the tension between knowledge and power in online education for adolescents and between freedom and control at large, this study examines how disciplinary power was exercised and resisted in a Chinese setting of online compulsory education during the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020. Overall, 60 participants, including students (from Grade 7 to 12), their parents, and teachers joined in our focus groups or individual interviews in a secondary school in Xi’an, China. By following Foucault’s concepts of three techniques of disciplinary power: hierarchical observation, normalizing judgement and examination, this study identified four themes based on the data: (1) diminished discipline with the dissolving boundary, (2) reconfigured disciplinary power by teachers, (3) self-discipline as a vital skill, and (4) online compulsory education as a future trend. Interpretations from the Foucauldian perspective were presented, suggesting that most adolescents depend upon more external disciplines from schools and teachers, while only a few may achieve autonomy through self-discipline.

This study of South Korea's response to COVID-19 has three purposes. First, it uses document analysis to examine policies, strategies, and resources offered by the South Korean government and public organizations to support young children and families during the first 6 months of the pandemic. Next, it uses open-ended surveys with 30 directors of early childhood institutions to explore institutional-level supports and needs during the pandemic. Finally, it looks at the discrepancies between stated policies outlining the South Korea’s response to COVID-19 and the lived experiences of early childhood educators as a route to arriving at recommendations for education policymakers and other stakeholders.