COVID cost for children

Psychological effects

But economic fallout is not the only consequence of COVID-19.

The psychological effects of school closure are significant. Research from the UK shows that behavioural incidents (for example antisocial conduct, hyperactivity, expressions of negative emotions) spiked after pandemic-related school closures. This behaviour can be explained by the lack of access young people had to age-like peers and the effects of stay-at-home claustrophobia.

Studies run by universities in the U.S. also showed evidence of psychological effects. There was a palpable worsening of mental health in children due to school lockdowns and closures, due to numerous intertwined factors including social isolation, increase of abuse at home, anxiety and disorientation.

Hence, we are reminded that the role of school is not just education in the narrow sense of information transmission and skills development. It holds society together by giving young people a space to socialise, to feel a sense of belonging and to connect with other human beings.

Increased inequality

School closures will also increase inequality, within a country and across borders.

Not surprisingly, studies show that the children who have been affected the most by school closures have been those from socioeconomically deprived backgrounds.

As is so often the case in education and, as I’ve pointed out in my study `Education and Elitism’, a cruel and unfair reality is that household wealth predicts academic success or lack thereof. When deficits occur, it is the poorest who pay the heaviest price. This means that they have fallen – and may continue to fall – even further behind.

Alongside this, a small elite in well-equipped schools with access to powerful technologies and high performing, innovative pedagogies, are propelled further even more, racing into the position of future leaders.

Future prospects

However, while COVID has created educational deficits, it has unearthed a number of salient questions about learning, and many of these might well be keys to the future of learning organisations and how to keep children learning.

Accelerated use of technology for learning has morphed the educational landscape considerably, making blended and hybrid learning approaches mainstream. One simple way that this can improve learning is by increasing access, since students are able to attend lessons remotely. At my school, an online philosophy course I run is open, for free, to any student in the world. If they attend and pass a course assessment, they receive high school credit.

Another example, at university level, is the University of the People, an online university that is opening access to higher education to tens of thousands of students from across the world.

As such, the cost of COVID is heavy, but there are also opportunities to advance learning in new and innovative ways that will increase access and reduce inequity.

The collapse of examination systems has brought increased attention to alternative assessments, celebrating student achievement in a more holistic manner than high stakes testing. An example of an alternative testing system that can address educational deficits is the Learner Passport, a system we are developing at the International School of Geneva with a strong team of counsellors and instructors. The passport is designed to recognise many forms of student achievement, such as sports, arts or work affecting the community positively.

The cost of closing schools is major, for the individual, for the group and for society at large. Ultimately, the cost of COVID will best be measured in the way humans pick themselves up from the pandemic to build a new tomorrow, perhaps no longer looking at education in terms of material investment, financial prospects and economic growth (or loss), but the development of more ecological, humane and creative approaches to the major challenges facing the planet.

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Conrad Hughes is Research Associate at the University of Geneva’s department of Education and Psychology; Campus and Secondary Principal at the International School of Geneva’s La Grande Boissière, Université de Genève

Source: theconversation