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Children and COVID-19 Research Library

UNICEF Innocenti's curated library of COVID-19 + Children research

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31 - 45 of 60
Mental health & maltreatment risk of children with special educational needs during COVID-19

AUTHOR(S)
Winnie W. Y. Tso; Ko Ling Chan; Tatia M. C. Lee (et al.)

Published: January 2022   Journal: Child Abuse & Neglect

Children with special educational needs (SEN) are more vulnerable during the COVID-19 pandemic with risk of poor mental wellbeing and child maltreatment. To examine the impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of children with SEN and their maltreatment risk. 417 children with SEN studying at special schools and 25,427 children with typical development (TD) studying at mainstream schools completed an online survey in April 2020 in Hong Kong during school closures due to COVID-19.

Parents’ perceptions of secondary school students’ motivation and well-being before and during the COVID-19 lockdown: the moderating role of student characteristics

AUTHOR(S)
Lisette Hornstra; Linda van den Bergh; Jaap J. A. Denissen (et al.)

Published: December 2021   Journal: Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs
During the COVID-19 lockdown of spring 2020, Dutch children were being homeschooled. This study examined how parents’ (n = 470) perceptions of secondary school students’ (Mage = 14.23 years) need satisfaction, academic motivation and well-being differed before the lockdown (assessed retrospectively) and during the lockdown. Furthermore, it examined the differential impact of the lockdown for different groups of children based on parental educational level, academic track, gender and special educational needs (SEN).
The experience of SENCOs in England during the COVID-19 pandemic: the amplification and exposure of pre-existing strengths and challenges and the prioritisation of mental health and wellbeing in schools

AUTHOR(S)
Adam Boddison; Helen Curran

Published: December 2021   Journal: About this Journal Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs
A national survey of Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCOs) in England was conducted during the summer of 2020 in the midst of the global COVID-19 pandemic. The annually conducted survey typically collates demographic data about the SENCO workforce, but given the wider context, this particular survey also included nine questions about SENCOs' experiences during the pandemic. More than 1000 SENCOs participated in the survey and the findings demonstrate the critical contribution of SENCOs in supporting pupils with SEND and maintaining effective communication with their families during the pandemic. The study provides evidence of an amplification effect in relation to the strengths and challenges that SENCOs had been experiencing prior to the pandemic. The study also demonstrates the importance of prioritising mental health and wellbeing in schools for both pupils and staff in the wake of the pandemic, with this being the key priority identified by SENCOs across all types of setting and all phases of education.
An analysis of the impact of school closings on gifted services: recommendations for meeting gifted students’ needs in a post-COVID-19 world

AUTHOR(S)
Charlton Wolfgang; Daniel Snyderman

Published: November 2021   Journal: Gifted Education International
Gifted support services were directly impacted by the COVID-19 shutdown in Spring 2020. This qualitative research study consisting of parents (n = 110) and gifted support teachers (n = 53) explored the impact on gifted students’ services and instruction. Utilizing surveys, open-ended response questions, and in-depth interviews, teachers and parents shared their thoughts and perceptions about challenge, enrichment, and students’ social-emotional health throughout the shutdown. Data analysis found that gifted services were directly impacted by the COVID-19 shutdown and parents and teachers shared that challenge and enrichment were lacking. However, data collected also showed that there is much potential to meet students’ academic and social-emotional needs virtually. Utilizing the data collected, a model was created to help teachers, parents, and school districts provide challenge, enrichment, and acceleration, as well as address social-emotional concerns in a virtual environment.
Remote learning, COVID-19, and children with disabilities

AUTHOR(S)
Kate Henley Averett

Published: November 2021   Journal: AERA Open
While the COVID-19 pandemic affected the education of nearly all schoolchildren worldwide, pandemic-related school closures did not affect all children in equal ways. Between March and August, 2020, 31 parents of children with disabilities were interviewed as part of a larger interview study of U.S. parents of children in grades K–12. This article analyzes these parents’ narratives about their families’ experiences of pandemic-related remote learning to identify the particular challenges children with disabilities and their families faced with remote learning. It finds that most, but not all, families struggled with remote learning, both when children’s specific needs while learning at home differed from their needs at school, and when schools failed to provide adequate accommodations and services remotely.
Daily behaviors, worries and emotions in children and adolescents with ADHD and learning difficulties during the COVID-19 pandemic

AUTHOR(S)
Terpsichori Korpa; Theodora Pappa; Giorgos Chouliaras (et al.)

Published: November 2021   Journal: Children
The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of the coronavirus crisis on behavioral and emotional parameters in children and adolescents with ADHD and Learning Difficulties. A total of 101 children, 5–18 years old, were included in the study, 63 (44 boys) of which were diagnosed with ADHD and learning difficulties (ADHD/LD) and 38 were healthy children (19 boys). The CRISIS questionnaire for parents/caregivers was used. The questionnaire was completed during the first national lockdown in Greece and the data referred to two time-points: 3 months before, and the past 2 weeks. A significant deterioration in the “Emotion/Worries (EW)” symptoms was observed during the pandemic in the control group (2.62 ± 0.16 vs. 2.83 ± 0.18, p < 0.001). No such differences were noted in the ADHD group: 3.08 ± 0.25 vs. 3.12 ± 0.29, p = 0.12.
Online learning performances of children and adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder during the COVID-19 pandemic

AUTHOR(S)
Shan He; Lan Shuai; Zhouye Wang (et al.)

Published: October 2021   Journal: Inquiry : The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing
This study aims to investigate attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) core symptoms that impair executive function (EF), emotional state, learning motivation, and the family and parenting environment of children and adolescents with ADHD, both with and without severe difficulties. This will be explored within an online learning environment during the period of COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 183 ADHD children diagnosed using DSM-V criteria were selected and divided into 2 groups high difficulties during online learning (HDOL) and low difficulties during online learning (LDOL) according to the answer of Home Quarantine Investigation of the Pandemic (HQIP). The participants filled out a set of questionnaires to assess their emotional state and learning motivation, and their parents also filled out the questionnaires about ADHD core symptoms, EF, and family and parenting environment.
Parents’ perspectives on a smartwatch intervention for children with ADHD: Rapid deployment and feasibility evaluation of a pilot intervention to support distance learning during COVID-19

AUTHOR(S)
Franceli L. Cibrian; Elissa Monteiro; Elizabeth Ankrah (et al.)

Published: October 2021   Journal: Plos One
Distance learning in response to the COVID-19 pandemic presented tremendous challenges for many families. Parents were expected to support children’s learning, often while also working from home. Students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are at particularly high risk for setbacks due to difficulties with organization and increased risk of not participating in scheduled online learning. This paper explores how smartwatch technology, including timing notifications, can support children with ADHD during distance learning due to COVID-19. A 6-week pilot study of a Digital Health Intervention (DHI) was implemented with ten families. The DHI included a smartwatch and a smartphone. Google calendars were synchronized across devices to guide children through daily schedules.
The behavioural outcomes of children with autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disabilities as perceived by parents during the COVID-19 lockdown

AUTHOR(S)
Kathleen Franz; Michelle E. Kelly

Published: October 2021   Journal: Disabilities
The COVID-19 lockdown and closure of schools, clinics, and community-based services put children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and other developmental disabilities (DDs) at increased risk of negative outcomes. This study aimed to investigate parents’ perceptions of their children’s behavioural outcomes during the COVID-19 lockdown, parents’ satisfaction with services during this time, and willingness to engage in telehealth. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Ireland. Parents (n = 89) completed an online questionnaire that included the strengths and difficulties questionnaire (SDQ-P). Results demonstrated that children with ASD/DDs were vulnerable to negative outcomes including hyperactivity, emotional symptoms, problems with peers and fewer prosocial behaviors.
What are the challenges of teaching children with hearing loss during the COVID-19?

AUTHOR(S)
Filiz Aslan; Deniz Tuz; Esra Yücel

Published: October 2021   Journal: International Journal of Disability, Development and Education
This study aimed to determine the difficulties of teaching children with hearing loss in the special education centre during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Turkey. Sixty-three professionals who works children with hearing loss participated in this study. The demographic form included personal information about the professional’ and a checklist to determine the effects of the Pandemic on special education. Lastly, the professionals and the teachers completed ‘The Special Education Teachers’ Sense of Professional Self-Efficacy Scale’. An email or a phone message was sent to potential participants, and interested individuals were requested to complete an online questionnaire by clicking on a link that led them to a secure online data collection service (Google Forms). Statistically significant relationships were determined between professionals using virtual communication tools in the distance education, contact with their students, continuing the rehabilitation with them and providing consultancy support to their parents.
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children with special needs: a descriptive study

AUTHOR(S)
Ayse Mete Yesil; Buse Sencan; Emel Omercioglu (et al.)

Published: October 2021   Journal: Clinical Pediatrics
Amid the COVID-19 crisis, children with special needs may have challenges. To determine emotional and behavioral challenges, 116 children aged 4 to 6 years, who received special education, were evaluated. COVID-19 negatively affected the families at a rate of 94.6%; 76.5% of the children’s daily routines were worsened. Although the one-on-one time duration with the mother and father increased (73.5% and 66.7%), reading books (40.6%), play (17.2%), and overall activity durations (25.7%) decreased. The median screen time increased from 1 to 3 hours. According to the families, there was a regression in development in 18.8% of children. Special education practices at home were ceased by 17.2% of families, and a significant difference was found between the groups with and without regression in development in terms of the frequency of continuing special education at home. The development of children with special needs is an ongoing urgent situation; thus, besides protecting and promoting physical health during the pandemic, families and children should also be supported for developmental needs.
“Education cannot cease”: the experiences of parents of primary age children (age 4-11) in Northern Ireland during school closures due to COVID-19

AUTHOR(S)
Jessica Bates; Jayne Finlay; Una O’Connor Bones

Published: September 2021   Journal: Educational Review
This paper reports the research findings from an online survey of parents of primary-age pupils in Northern Ireland during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aims of the study were to explore how parents supported their child/ren’s home learning; to ascertain the communication, guidance and resources between home and school; and to learn from the experiences of parents to enable more effective practices to be established should similar circumstances arise in the future. The survey yielded 2,509 responses and highlighted the divergence of practices in relation to home-school communications across schools as well as the challenges experienced by parents, particularly those who had one or more children with special educational needs and/or those who had Free School Meal Entitlement.
Small steps and stronger relationships: parents' experiences of homeschooling children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)

AUTHOR(S)
Shannon Ludgate; Clair Mears; Carolyn Blackburn

Published: September 2021   Journal: Jorsen
During the current global pandemic, parents and carers in England and across the UK have been asked by the Government to ‘home school’ their child/ren, and a plethora of resources have been produced and made available to assist with this. The perceived detrimental effects of being absent from school have been a driver for the Government in ensuring that schools remain open for as long as possible, and the current pandemic situation is replete with narratives of ‘loss’. Little attention has been paid to any potential benefits for children and families of homeschooling or the opportunities it provides. This paper reports on a small-scale online survey that explored the experiences of parents’ homeschooling their child/ren with SEND during a global pandemic in England.
Parental involvement in homework of children with learning disabilities during distance learning: relations with fear of COVID-19 and resilience

AUTHOR(S)
Thanos Touloupis

Published: September 2021   Journal: Psychology in the Schools
The present study investigated parental involvement in the homework of children with learning disabilities, during distance learning due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Also, the role of parents' fear of COVID-19 and resilience in their involvement in homework was examined. The study involved 271 parents (140 mothers and 131 fathers) of children with learning disabilities, who studied in the fifth and sixth grade from4 schools of Thessaloniki (Greece). Parents completed a set of self-reported questionnaires, which included a scale on parental involvement in homework, a scale on fear of COVID-19, and a scale on resilience.
Brief report: A cross-sectional study of anxiety levels and concerns of Chinese families of children with special educational needs and disabilities post-first-wave of COVID-19

AUTHOR(S)
Xueyun Su; Ru Ying Cai; Mirko Uljarević (et al.)

Published: September 2021   Journal: Frontiers in Psychiatry
The COVID-19 pandemic has a multifaceted impact on mental health due to ill health, restrictions and lockdowns, and loss of employment and institutional support. COVID-19 may disproportionally impact families with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) due to the already higher prevalence of mental health conditions in children with SEND and their parents. Therefore, it is essential to determine the short-term impact of the pandemic on the mental health of families with SEND in order to identify their ongoing health support needs. The current study aims to examine the anxiety level and concerns of children with SEND and their parents living in China. The sample consisted of 271 parents of children with SEND aged between 6 and 17 years (Mage = 8.37; SDage = 2.76). Parents completed an online survey between 10 April to 8 June 2020. Both child and parental anxiety levels and various concerns increased after the initial wave of COVID-19 when compared with retrospective pre-COVID-19 levels. Parental anxiety and concern levels were significantly higher for those living in rural areas compared to urban areas. In addition, parental and child anxiety and concern levels were significantly correlated with each other. Parental anxiety at the lowest level made a unique and significant statistical contribution to children's anxiety levels. The implications of the study findings are discussed.
31 - 45 of 60

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UNICEF Innocenti is mobilizing a rapid research response in line with UNICEF’s global response to the COVID-19 crisis. The initiatives we’ve begun will provide the broad range of evidence needed to inform our work to scale up rapid assessment, develop urgent mitigating strategies in programming and advocacy, and preparation of interventions to respond to the medium and longer-term consequences of the COVID-19 crisis. The research projects cover a rapid review of evidence, education analysis, and social and economic policies.