Children and COVID-19 Research Library

The unprecedented online learning that took place at several schools during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is predicted to continue on the same trajectory when learners return to classroom learning. Continuing with online learning implies that learners will spend most of their time learning and socialising online, which exposes them to cybersecurity risks. Hence, this study investigated strategies for securing the cybersafety of online learners at South African high schools. The study adopted an interpretivist approach, and qualitative data were collected from school teachers. Fifteen school teachers from five private high schools in Centurion, Pretoria, were interviewed, and the data were thematically analysed. All the schools were multiracial and English-medium schools. The teachers from the schools were selected to participate in the study because they had experienced online learning during the times of COVID-19. The study proposed cybersafety strategies that are centred around providing cybersafety policies, conscientising learners about cybersecurity risks (awareness), preventing cyberbullying, discouraging the consumption or production of inappropriate content and protecting learners from Internet addiction.

One of the tasks of physical education in the different grades of the Bulgarian school is the purposeful development of motor skills and achieving an optimal level of physical activity for every age group. The COVID-19 pandemic forced a change in the way students are taught and the conduct of their physical education classes. In this regard, the aim of this research is to reveal the impact of one year of training in an online environment on the physical fitness of high school students. To achieve this goal, this research was conducted twice (at the beginning and end of the 2021/2022 school year) and tested 39 students (boys) from the “Peter Beron” high school for foreign language teaching - the city of Montana. It conducted the research through the national system for evaluating the physical fitness of students, which includes the tests of running 30 meters, long jump from a place with both feet, throwing a solid ball, running 200 meters shuttle run, and T-test. It applied a variation and comparative analysis to the data from the two tests.

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted almost all aspects of life, including education. This unprecedented shift to online learning has forced schools to implement distance learning through online-based learning. To keep the students engaged and motivated through online learning, many teachers changed their learning method from traditional learning to game-based learning (GBL) by incorporating games into learning. This study investigated primary school teachers' perceptions of game-based learning advantages and challenges in Science Learning on online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. The data were collected through observation and semi-structured interviews of five primary school teachers and analyzed using thematic analysis of qualitative data. The results revealed that the teachers found a positive association between GBL and students' performance. GBL is a learning media that could engage students' participation and learning motivation in class. However, some teachers were also concerned about the declines in students' grades and several obstacles teachers encountered while implementing GBL. Some recommendations for future research and practice are proposed in the current study.

The ubiquity of online classes during the COVID-19 pandemic induced the widespread use of videoconferencing applications. However, the prolonged use of these applications can lead to videoconferencing fatigue. Drawing from an online survey sample of 215 senior high school students from a selected private university in Manila, Philippines, this mixed methods study examines videoconferencing fatigue and its relationship with online student engagement (OSE) during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study utilized a convergent triangulation research design. The quantitative strand was cross-sectional in nature. The constructs were measured using the Zoom Exhaustion and Fatigue Scale and Online Student Engagement Scale. Bivariate and multivariate statistical tests were used to determine the significance of the relationships between variables. The qualitative strand utilized a descriptive design. Narrative data were collected through an open-ended survey question and analyzed using content analysis.

Under the COVID-19 prevention and control policy, online learning has been widely used. The current study aimed to identify latent profiles of self-regulated learning in the context of online mathematics learning during the recurrent outbreak of COVID-19, and examine the mechanisms underlying the relationship between self-regulated learning and online mathematics learning engagement among Chinese junior high school students using variable-and person-centered approaches. A sample of 428 Chinese junior high school students (47.66% female) completed questionnaires on self-regulated learning, perceived academic control, and learning engagement. Mplus7.0 was used to analyze the latent classes of self-regulated learning. A mediation model was conducted using the software SPSS PROCESS macro.

COVID-19 restrictions have led to social isolation affecting youth’s health, particularly at-risk youth. This study examined whether an online mentoring health intervention (OMHI) would strengthen characteristics that can prevent risky behaviors: resilience, perceived social support, psychological distress, and crisis concerns. Fifty-six secondary-school students participated, 27 in the intervention group and 29 in the control group (mean age 16.18, SD 0.83 vs. 16.62, SD 0.82, respectively). The study took place between March and August 2020.

The digitization of society does not have a universal effect on all children. Even with the same internet access, digital literacy and content, children from different places and backgrounds can still have unequal experiences and outcomes. A child’s individual environment influences the extent to which they can seize digital opportunities and avoid digital risks. Unaddressed injustices and inequities based on sexism, racism, classism and other forms of discrimination, contribute to this, and technological advances reflect and amplify existing social, cultural and economic inequalities. In order to get the most out of digital technology, underlying inequalities in the lives of children need to be addressed. This report presents a future-ready, child-centred digital framework that incorporates all aspects of digital inclusion, addresses known gaps, explicitly aims to achieve digital equality, involves a broader range of stakeholders to do this, and responds to emerging technologies and trends.

During the Corona pandemic, parents of children with disabilities experienced unprecedented situations. The aim of this study was to identify the educational needs and challenges which prevented parents from providing adequate support to their children during the outbreak. An online survey was launched on June 4, 2020, to gather information from 638 parents of children with disabilities.

Empowering children to study at home with diverse parenting patterns during the Covid-19 pandemic is a challenging experience for parents of elementary school students. This study aims to determine changes in parenting patterns used by parents of elementary school students after undergoing online learning of parenting patterns with the method of sharing experiences. This study uses the concurrent embedded research method where both qualitative and quantitative data are being collected at the same time. The descriptive qualitative method is embedded within the quantitative method, with a pre-experimental one group pre-test and post-test design. Data collection techniques used questionnaires, observations, and interviews with Chi-Square non-parametric inferential statistical analysis techniques and descriptive qualitative. The research setting was online learning, which was carried out during the Covid-19 pandemic, where parents of elementary school students were more likely to accompany their children to study at home.

This study aims to determine the opinions of preschool pre-service teachers on the adequacy of online drama lessons throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. A descriptive survey model of the qualitative research methods was used and online drama lessons were run over a 12-week[1]period. Participants of the research were 64 pre-school prospective teachers who studied as senior students at a Turkish state university. In order to investigate the online applicability and effectiveness of practice-based drama lessons during this critical COVID-19 pandemic time, lesson planning has been avoided, considering that the elements that should be included in formal drama teaching should also be included in online drama. In the process of data collection, prior to online lesson, objectives and outcomes of online drama practices were designated with senior pre-service teachers in the department of pre-school education at a state university. The three researchers administered online lessons devised in accordance with the determined objectives and outcomes to eighty pre-school students. And they focused on the alignment of the dramatic structure constituents with function and the adequacy of the activities in the preparatory stage for the transition to the dramatization stage. Furthermore, activities in the dramatization stage and evaluation stage were examined in terms of adequacy in meeting the outcomes. Lesson plans were structured with the consideration that elements that are present in the formal drama instruction must be included in online drama practices, as well.

The coronavirus disease case, commonly known as Covid-19, has spread internationally since March 2020. Approximately 100 countries, including Vietnam, closed their schools due to a public health emergency, according to UNESCO. Due to the circumstance, teachers were forced to convert from in-person instruction to online instruction. In the context of Covid-19, this study investigated how EFL high school instructors felt about online English language education. A descriptive design and a mixed-methods approach were utilized in this investigation. Six EFL high school teachers in the Mekong Delta were interviewed for this study to get their perspectives.

The COVID-19 crisis presented teachers and families with the challenge of educating young children online. This study explored the experiences with virtual education of 51 parents and 53 teachers of young children.

The interpretation framework of this study is the professional development and learning: Postholm’s definition of professional development, informal learning, the continuously professional learning defined by Szivák et al., mutual and cooperative learning. The central question of this empirical investigation was to what extent the practice of homeschooling during the pandemic can be framed as professional learning and development in the case of Hungarian early childhood teachers from Romania. It hypothesized that, despite the serious challenges of the pandemic, both practicing early childhood teachers and educational experts perceive and identify the elements of homeschooling which can also be framed as professional development and learning.

As children’s use of screens increased during the COVID pandemic, their reading of traditional books was affected, a national survey of Australian parents shows. The study was conducted by researchers at the University of Melbourne to compare young people’s use of screens and books in the pandemic. Their online survey of 513 primary caregivers of children aged seven to thirteen around Australia showed that tablet use flourished during the pandemic and that COVID lockdowns influenced book buying and library borrowing in consequential ways for publishing and literature. Many parents believed their children’s use of screens had come at the expense of book reading.