Child development and distance learning in the age of COVID-19

Abstract

School closures, forcibly brought about by the COVID-19 crisis in many countries, have impacted children’s lives and their learning processes. The heterogeneous implementation of distance learning solutions is likely to bring a substantial increase in education inequality, with long term consequences. The present study uses data from a survey collected during Spring 2020 lockdown in France and Italy to analyze parents’ evaluations of their children’s home schooling process and emotional well-being at time of school closure, and the role played by different distance learning methods in shaping these perceptions. While Italian parents have a generally worse judgment of the effects of the lockdown on their children, the use of interactive distance learning methods appears to significantly attenuate their negative perception. This is particularly true for older pupils. French parents rather perceive that interactive methods are effective in mitigating learning losses and psychological distress only for their secondary school children. In both countries, further heterogeneity analysis reveal that parents perceive younger children and boys to suffer more during this period.

Remote Learning Experience and Adolescents’ Well-Being during the COVID-19 Pandemic: What Does the Future Hold?

“…Surprisingly, we found that children in lower grades had more favorable attitudes toward remote learning compared to older students. This finding somewhat contradicts other studies reporting greater difficulties with remote learning among younger children [ 14 , 31 ].…”

“…Socioeconomic Background: Students from higher socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds are more likely to have acquired the necessary critical thinking skills associated with selectively accessing and assessing technology content, as well as having the financial means to gain help [ 13 , 14 , 15 ]. Moreover, studies indicated that financially disadvantaged groups were less likely to engage in remote learning, and thus students from low-income families naturally struggled more with the sudden shift to remote learning [ 16 , 17 ].…”

“…Adaptation and Regulation Skills: children with better adaptive coping and emotion regulation skills may be better equipped to navigate the challenges of remote learning [ 14 , 16 ].…”

“…As should be clear from this list, there are many possible disadvantages in the remote learning environment, and every child’s experience is different. Regardless of the initial cause, any of the factors above can trigger psychological distress such as anxiety and depression, which may increase as students start to lose school connectedness, including a loss or lessening of the belief that both adults and peers in their school care about their learning as well as about them as an individual [ 14 , 21 , 22 , 23 ]. In response, the obvious remedy is emotional support for both learners and their families during crises.…”

The COVID-19 pandemic, well-being, and transitions to post-secondary education

“…The COVID-19 pandemic and the related policies to stop the spread of the coronavirus, particularly school closures, present a severe shock to mental and physical well-being for millions of young individuals worldwide. Distancing measures may affect the mental and physical health and life satisfaction of young individuals, as these measures massively change the schooling, learning processes and leisure activities of students, such as physical activity, time spent in front of screens, social contacts, substance use, and sleep time (Belot et al, 2021 ; Champeaux et al, 2020 ; Davis, 2021 ; Hisler & Twenge, 2021 ; Orgilés et al, 2020 ; Shanahan et al, 2020 ). Families with younger kids suffered from decreased well-being (Pisano et al, 2020 ; Stassart et al, 2021 ) but pandemic policies may especially impact the well-being of young individuals who are close to graduation because the measures not only affected schooling and leisure but also strongly reduced students’ perceived career security and job and educational opportunities.…”