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Children and COVID-19 Research Library

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

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1966 - 1980 of 6640
The COVID-19 pandemic: health impact on unaccompanied migrant children.

AUTHOR(S)
Jennifer L Siegel

Published: May 2022   Journal: Social Work
From the point of apprehension by U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the U.S.–Mexican border to their reunification with sponsors in U.S. communities, unaccompanied children (UC) face political, social, and economic conditions, heightening their risk for mental and physical health burdens that may be exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Such risk underscores the importance of social work practice and advocacy for the improved treatment and experiences of UC. This article uses a structural vulnerability conceptual lens to summarize the existing literature regarding UC and argues that UC’s liminal immigration status, economic precarity, and lack of healthcare access place this group at high structural vulnerability during the pandemic. Further, this article identifies and describes three contexts of structural vulnerability of UC that are important points of social work intervention: (1) at the border, where migrant children are denied their legal right to seek protection; (2) in detention and shelter facilities; and (3) during reunification with sponsors. This article concludes with important practice and policy opportunities for social workers to pursue to obtain social justice for an important and highly vulnerable migrant child population.
Prior home learning environment is associated with adaptation to homeschooling during COVID lockdown.

AUTHOR(S)
Cléa Girard; Jérôme Prado

Published: May 2022   Journal: Heliyon
The COVID-19 crisis in 2020 led to exceptional measures to contain the spread of the virus. In France as in many countries around the world, the government ordered a lockdown with school closure for several weeks. A growing number of studies suggest that family socio-economic status might be an important predictor of how families adapted to homeschooling during lockdown. However, socio-economic status is a distal factor that does not necessarily inform on the specific characteristics of the home learning environment that may more directly influence parental adaptation to homeschooling during lockdown. Here we aimed to examine how parental adaptation to homeschooling during lockdown was influenced by prior parental attitudes and expectations towards academic learning, as well as prior familiarity with literacy and numeracy activities at home. The present study involves 52 families who participated in a study about the home learning environment in 2018. At that time, parents completed an extensive questionnaire assessing their beliefs and attitudes towards academic learning and the frequency of literacy and numeracy activities are home. At the end of the first 2020 French lockdown, the same parents were asked to complete a questionnaire, this time assessing homeschooling conditions during lockdown as well as parental confidence towards academic domains.
Early adolescents' experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic and changes in their well-being

AUTHOR(S)
Anne Gadermann; Kimberly Thomson; Randip Gill (et al.)

Published: May 2022   Journal: Frontiers in Public Health

Early adolescence is a time of psychological and social change that can coincide with declines in mental health and well-being. This study investigated the psychological and social impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic from the perspective of students who responded to a survey in Grades 7 and 8 (ages 12–14) in British Columbia (BC), Canada. The objectives of this study were (i) to provide an overview on early adolescents' experiences and social-emotional well-being during the pandemic; and (ii) to examine whether changes in social experiences as well as feeling safe from getting COVID-19 at school were associated with changes in well-being outcomes over the course of a year. A sample of n = 1,755 students from a large public school district self-reported on their life satisfaction, optimism, and symptoms of sadness across two time points: First, in their Grade 7 year (pre-pandemic; January to March, 2020) and then 1 year later in their Grade 8 year (during the pandemic; January to March, 2021). In Grade 8, students also reported on pandemic-specific experiences, including changes in mental health, social relationships, and activities, as well as coping strategies and positive changes since the pandemic. Data were collected online using the Middle Years Development Instrument (MDI), a population-based self-report tool that assesses children's social-emotional development and well-being in the context of their home, school, and neighborhood. Multivariable linear regression analyses were used to examine associations between pandemic-related changes in relationships and perceived safety from getting COVID-19 at school with changes in well-being outcomes.

The types and determinants of child abuse in Sri Lanka

AUTHOR(S)
T. H. A. S. De Silva; K. A. P. Siddhisena; M. Vidanapathirana (et al.)

Published: May 2022   Journal: Asian Review of Social Sciences

This study examines types and determinants of child abuse    in    Sri    Lanka.    Further,    the    study    provides    the    demographic and social characteristics of victims who are aged below  18  years  as  well  as  their  family  background  in  Sri  Lanka. There is an increasing trend of different types of child abuses  globally  as  well  as  nationally.  In  Sri  Lankan  context,  child sexual abuse reveals study mainly based on the secondary data  and  the  main  source  of  data  was  the  National  Child  Protection Authority of Sri Lanka. Sample size includes all the complaints  on  child  abuse  from  2015-2020  to  the  NCPA  Sri  Lanka.  The  analysis  of  determinants  of  child  abuse  in  Sri  Lanka  reveals  as  to  who  are  the  most  vulnerable  group  for  child abuse in Sri Lanka and what are the associated factors to be   a   child   victim.   Reporting   child   abuses   have   highly   determined   with   the   school   vacation   period   and   seasonal   variation   has   affected   by   Covid-19 pandemic   in   2020.   Migration  of  parents  has  a  negative  impact  on  a  child  victim  for  abuse.  Especially,  the  family  background  is  a  primarily  determined factor to be a child victim. The nearest relatives to the  family  have  been  the  major  abuser  of  the  children.

Rapid retooling and adaptation of EIE data processes and programming: Pashe Achhi Model in early childhood education in emergencies in the Rohingya camps of Bangladesh

In March 2020, after the coronavirus cases in Bangladesh were confirmed, both Humanitarian Play Labs (HPL) and mainstream Play Labs temporarily stopped their face-to-face operations according to the government mandate. The pandemic endangered people’s physical health and highly impacted their socio-economic and mental health conditions. Hence, BRAC explored alternative approaches and designed a telecommunication model, Pashe Achhi, to support all the direct beneficiaries during the pandemic. The objective of the intervention was to be connected with the beneficiaries and promote children’s wellbeing and development through play-based learning, positive parenting, and self-care practices of caregivers. Since caregivers are the core agent for children’s learning and development during the pandemic, the model provides psychosocial support and learning support to them. To facilitate the calls, the model trained facilitators on ECD, learning through play, playfulness, and mental health. Pashe Achhi is a telecommunication model consisting of tele-counseling and tele-learning components. After receiving the training, the Play Leaders started to call the families every week to conduct a 20 minutes phone session (10 minutes with the mother and 10 minutes with the child) based on the scripts delivered. In the first 10 minutes, Play Leaders give mothers and caregivers basic psychosocial support, tips on engaging with children and discuss health and hygiene issues.

Closing the gap 2: delivering safe and sustainable solutions for girls’ education in crises

AUTHOR(S)
Ruth Naylor

Institution: Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies
Published: May 2022

This paper summarizes the findings of the monitoring report: Mind the Gap 2: Seeking Safe and Sustainable Solutions for Girls’ Education in Crises, which was commissioned by the Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE) in collaboration with the INEE Reference Group on Girls’ Education in Emergencies. It recommends actions for governments, donors, civil society, collectors and collators of data, and teachers and other education personnel to address the gaps identified in the delivery, planning, funding, and monitoring of girls’ and women’s education in crisis contexts.

Mind the gap 2: seeking safe and sustainable solutions for girls’ education in crises
Institution: Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies
Published: May 2022

This report summarizes progress, gaps, challenges and opportunities in improving education and training for girls and women affected by conflict and crisis. This report monitors progress since the first Mind the Gap report and highlights the following thematic areas: distance education and the digital divide, school-related gender-based violence, and girls’ education during climate crisis.  The report aims to support the Charlevoix Declaration on Quality Education’s commitment to enhance the evidence base and monitor progress toward gender-equitable education in crises. The report draws from data on 44 crisis-affected countries, from recent research, and from a set of case studies of interventions in a range of crisis-affected contexts.

Girls’ education and women’s equality: how to get more out of the world’s most promising investment

AUTHOR(S)
Shelby Carvalho; David Evans

Institution: Center for Global Development
Published: May 2022

To hear talk of it, you might think educating girls is a silver bullet to solve all the world’s ills. A large and still growing collection of research demonstrates the wide-ranging benefits of girls’ education. Recent research has nuanced some of those findings, but the fundamental result stands: Educating girls is good for girls and good for the people around them. This report goes beyond what works to get girls in school and learning—still very important questions—to probe how education can work together with other societal systems and structures to provide better lifetime opportunities for women.

Women at the last mile: how investments in gender equality have kept health systems running during COVID-19

AUTHOR(S)
Anushka Kalyanpur; Ihlas Altinci; Emmanuel Ojwang (et al.)

Institution: CARE
Published: May 2022
Even before COVID-19, investments in health systems—and especially female health workers—were too low. In 2019 the world had a gap of 18 million health workers. Two years and fifteen million deaths later, we have at least 26 million fewer health workers than we need. , This leaves us severely underprepared for future pandemics and other major shocks to the health system, including conflict and climate change. We must invest in health systems that don’t just meet the needs of today, but that are also resilient in the face of future shocks. Pandemic preparedness requires gender equality: equal recognition, support, and fair pay for ALL health workers. Globally, 70% of health workers are women, but half of their work is unpaid. We must do more to support these health workers. The glimmers of success in COVID-19 built on previous investments in women health workers, their skills, and equality in health systems. Pre-existing investments in equality helped systems respond to COVID-19. Increased investments will build better resilience for the crises that come next. This report highlights case studies and lessons learned from 20 countries during COVID-19.
Resources for, and needs of vulnerable and marginalized young people on digital literacy, safety and participation
Institution: United Nations Development Programme, UNESCO
Published: May 2022
Digital citizenship is understood as an urgent educational priority in an information age. Organizations working across the sector have argued for the need for greater digital literacy and digital citizenship education of children and young people so they can harness the educational, civic and economic opportunities of an increasingly connected world, while also learning skills to protect themselves from online risks and harms. This report presents findings from the ‘Mapping and review of online resources for, and perceived needs among vulnerable and marginalized young people in the Asia-Pacific region on digital literacy, safety and participation’ commissioned by UNESCO and UNDP. This rapid assessment aims to understand the needs of LGBTI young people and Young Key Populations (YKP) in the AIDS response in the Asia-Pacific region, in their quest for more secure digital spaces and improved experiences of digital citizenship. The assessment will also act as key guidance material for Youth-led organizations (Youth Lead and Y-Peer) to develop their own tools and resources for their communities and support grassroot level organizations to build online platforms for advocacy.
Mapping of reintegration services in Nepal
Published: May 2022

International labour migration has become a crucial part of the Nepali society. The number of youths leaving the country for employment is significantly high, with around half a million people taking labour permits every year. Lack of economic opportunities within the country is cited as one of the major reasons for seeking foreign employment. The government has planned to create employment opportunities in the country so that international labour migration can become a choice than compulsion. COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on Nepali migrant workers, who have been key contributors to the socioeconomic development of Nepal. During the migration cycle and upon return, migrant workers continue to face vulnerabilities and challenges to fully reintegrate back in their home communities due to their migration experiences. This study attempts to map the services that are available and directly or indirectly contribute to sustainable reintegration of returnee migrant workers. The research has identified good practices, gaps, challenges and has recommended a way ahead that can be a departure point for addressing the gaps surfaced for a sustainable reintegration.

Socioeconomic impact of COVID-19 on migrant workers in Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar and Thailand
Institution: International Organisation for Migration (IOM/OIM)
Published: May 2022
The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically impacted labour conditions and labour migration across Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar and Thailand. This study assesses the socioeconomic impact of COVID-19 on men and women migrant workers and their families in Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar and Thailand to inform a migrant-centred approach to socioeconomic recovery from the pandemic with evidence-based recommendations. The research applied a mixed-methods approach including a quantitative survey with a total of 2,187 migrants, 156 employers, and 63 key informant interviews.
The impacts of COVID-19 on migration and migrants from a gender perspective
Institution: International Organisation for Migration (IOM/OIM)
Published: May 2022
This research report explores and critically examines the short- and longer-term gender implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on migration and the well-being of migrants worldwide. This research report aims to inform ongoing policy and programmatic responses to the pandemic and highlights best practices and challenges. The report analyses the gender impacts of COVID-19 on different “groups” of migrants, including health-care workers, agricultural and domestic migrant workers, internally displaced persons and international students, and assesses migrant vulnerabilities as well as the opportunities for gender-responsive migration governance that have been revealed by the pandemic.
Re-imagining the future of education management information systems: ways forward to transform education data systems to support inclusive, quality learning for all
Institution: UNESCO
Published: May 2022

Several factors are contributing to the ongoing evolution of Education Management Information Systems (EMIS). These include increasing digitization of education sector management and education delivery, the accompanying generation of large volumes of data, including about the learning process itself,and the availability of technologies for their analysis (big data analytics), as well as real-time. The pandemic-induced shift to distance learning and the post-pandemic new normal of hybrid learning modalities accelerated the influence of these factors on EMIS systems. In light of thesechanges, it is important to re-formulate the expectation that a modern EMIS should not only serve as a tool for national statistical reporting but rather as a tool to support digitized administrative management at all levels through the provision of timely and actionable information services, and that, furthermore, it should not only support administrative management but also directly  support learning management, including within hybrid and blended learning modalities. This paper, and the discussions during the second International EMIS Conference, stressed that to implement a modern EMIS, it will be important for policy makers to create the necessary (i) legal, policy and institutional frameworks, specifying key EMIS and data governance processes and providing sustained funding commitments to support a multi-year process, (ii) invest in upgrading and sustaining the technological infrastructure, and to (iii) heavily invest in human capacity building.The paper also explores the potential contributions that frontier technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain can make to future EMISs and discusses the role of a community of practice as well as guiding principles for the further evolution of EMISs.

 

An analysis of COVID-19 student learning loss

AUTHOR(S)
Harry Patrinos; Anthony Vegas; Emiliana Carter-Rau (et al.)

Institution: The World Bank
Published: May 2022
COVID-19 caused significant disruption to the global education system. Early reviews of the first wave of lockdowns and school closures suggested significant learning loss in a few countries. A more recent and thorough analysis of recorded learning loss evidence documented since the beginning of the school closures between March 2020 and March 2022 finds even more evidence of learning loss. Most studies observed increases in inequality where certain demographics of students experienced more significant learning losses than others. But there are also outliers, countries that managed to limit the amount of loss. This review aims to consolidate all the available evidence and documents the empirical findings. Thirty-six robust studies were identified, the majority of which find learning losses on average amounting to 0.17 of a standard deviation, equivalent to roughly a one-half year’s worth of learning. These findings confirm that learning loss is real and significant, even compared to the first year of the pandemic. Further work is needed to increase the quantity of studies produced, and to ascertain the reasons for learning loss and in a few cases mitigation of loss.
1966 - 1980 of 6640

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COVID-19 & Children: Rapid Research Response

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.