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Background The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the lifestyle and health of children and adolescents. This study aimed to assess the lifestyle changes brought about by COVID-19-related school closures and their impact on the Body Mass Index for Age Z (BAZ) scores of governmental school students in Qatar. Methods An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted between June and August 2022 targeting students aged 8–15 years. Data on lifestyle behaviors were gathered through telephone interviews with parents of selected students. The BAZ scores before and after school closures that were automatically calculated by the electronic health records system were extracted. Results We completed 1546 interviews. We found a significant increase in unhealthy food categories, a reduction in physical activity and an increase in the screen time over the period of schools' closure. The BAZ increased significantly by 0.30 (95% CI 0.26–0.35). The increase in BAZ scores was significantly higher among male students and the younger age group compared to females and older counterparts, respectively. The student's age group, sex, nationality and change in physical activity were significant predictors of the change in BAZ scores. Conclusions School closures during the COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted the lifestyle of students in Qatar and resulted in a significant increase in the BAZ scores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: To determine the associations between COVID‐19 school closures and school readiness skills for Chinese kindergarteners. Design: We utilized the natural experimental condition created by local COVID‐19 outbreaks in 2022 (Study 1) to compare school readiness skills of children whose kindergartens were closed for 5 months (Group 1) with children whose kindergartens stayed open (Group 2). We further compared the school readiness skills of one pre‐COVID‐19 cohort (Cohort 2019) with one COVID‐19 cohort (Cohort 2021) from a fifth kindergarten (Study 2). Samples: For Study 1, Group 1 included 445 children and Group 2 included 584 children aged 4–6 years. For Study 2, Cohort 2019 included 156 children and Cohort 2021 included 228 children aged 3–6 years. Measures: For both studies, survey data on four school readiness skills were collected from parents. Additionally, Study 1 collected parental locus of control data from parents. Results: Controlling for covariates, Study 1 revealed that Group 1 and Group 2 did not differ in terms of language and emergent literacy or approaches to learning. However, Group 1 scored lower than Group 2 on health and well‐being and arts and imagination. Study 2 revealed that Cohort 2021 scored higher than Cohort 2019 on language and emergent literacy but lower on the other three skills. Conclusions: The associations of COVID‐19 school closures with Chinese children's school readiness skills were not uniform, with a positive relation with language and emergent literacy and negative associations with health and well‐being, approaches to learning, as well as arts and imagination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines changes in parental labor supply in response to the unanticipated closure of schools following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. The authors collect detailed daily information on school closures at the school-district level, which they merge to individual-level data on labor supply and sociodemographic characteristics from the monthly Current Population Survey spanning from January 2019 through May 2020. Using a difference-in-differences estimation approach, the authors find evidence of non-negligible labor supply reductions. Having a partner at home helped offset the negative effect of school closures, particularly for maternal employment, although respondents' job traits played a more significant role in shaping labor supply responses to school closures. Overall, the labor supply impacts of school closures prove robust to identification checks and to controlling for other coexistent social distancing measures. In addition, these early school closures seem to have had a long-lasting negative impact on parental labor supply. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The increase in inequalities during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has been the topic of intense scholarly and public debate. School closures are one of the containment measures that have been debated most critically in this regard. What drives support for closures of schools and pre-school services (daycare/kindergarten) during a public health crisis such as the current COVID-19 pandemic? More specifically, does inequality awareness affect this support? Theoretically, we assume that providing information on current levels of inequality can change policy preferences, as it increases awareness of their consequences for inequality. Moreover, we assume that the strength of the association between information provision and policy support varies across individuals—depending on their exposure to these policies, and the political attitudes that they hold. To identify causal linkages between awareness of inequalities and support for school and daycare/kindergarten closures, we use a survey experiment with information treatment, in which we randomly assign information designed to prime the respondents to think about either education inequality, gender inequality, or both. The experiment, involving more than 3,000 respondents, was conducted in the spring of 2021 at the end of a prolonged lockdown in Germany when a new piece of legislation was enacted, enabling or restricting school reopenings based on local infection rates. Using Probit Regression models for dichotomous dependent variables, we show that raising awareness of education inequality and gender inequality via an information treatment is associated with decreasing support for preschool and primary school closures. We also find that past exposure to school-closure policies strengthens the effects of information treatments, whereas previous political attitudes do not moderate the association between information treatments and support for preschool and school closures.

The increase in inequalities during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has been the topic of intense scholarly and public debate. School closures are one of the containment measures that have been debated most critically in this regard. What drives support for closures of schools and pre-school services (daycare/kindergarten) during a public health crisis such as the current COVID-19 pandemic? More specifically, does inequality awareness affect this support? Theoretically, we assume that providing information on current levels of inequality can change policy preferences, as it increases awareness of their consequences for inequality. Moreover, we assume that the strength of the association between information provision and policy support varies across individuals—depending on their exposure to these policies, and the political attitudes that they hold. To identify causal linkages between awareness of inequalities and support for school and daycare/kindergarten closures, we use a survey experiment with information treatment, in which we randomly assign information designed to prime the respondents to think about either education inequality, gender inequality, or both. The experiment, involving more than 3,000 respondents, was conducted in the spring of 2021 at the end of a prolonged lockdown in Germany when a new piece of legislation was enacted, enabling or restricting school reopenings based on local infection rates. Using Probit Regression models for dichotomous dependent variables, we show that raising awareness of education inequality and gender inequality via an information treatment is associated with decreasing support for preschool and primary school closures. We also find that past exposure to school-closure policies strengthens the effects of information treatments, whereas previous political attitudes do not moderate the association between information treatments and support for preschool and school closures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The complex value of schoolmeals for children and families is well documented. In Italy, school cafeterias have been an instrument of social policy since the end of the Second World War. Thereafter, school cafeterias have acquired several functions in the areas of children's health and wellbeing, education, social inclusion, support to local and quality agriculture, and environmental sustainability. In particular, the goal of a nutritious and balanced diet has been emphasized in recent decades, since malnutrition and food insecurity have been increasing in Italian society. During the pandemic, Italy was the first European country to implement a nationwide lockdown and one of the high-income countries where schools closed for the longest period. In this work, we use in-depth interviews with representatives of the school catering service, both from the major catering companies and the biggest municipalities, to analyze what happened in the management of the Italian school catering service during the pandemic crisis. In addition, a review of public recommendations issued during the pandemic has made it possible to analyze their compliance with the state guidelines for school catering and food education. The results highlight how the system reacted extremely slowly to the crisis and how the measures taken led to a deterioration of the value that has always been attributed to state school cafeterias, especially in terms of children's food security and environmental sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We show that the development of abstract reasoning and cognitive empathy (theory of mind) is severely hindered when children are deprived of the stimulation of a school environment. We document significantly lower abstract reasoning and cognitive empathy scores in elementary school children who returned from an extended school closure caused by the Covid-19 pandemic relative to proximate pre-pandemic cohorts. This developmental delay has a significant socioeconomic gradient, with underprivileged children experiencing more substantial delays. We also document a significant disruption in the development of socioemotional skills: 0.24 sd lower grit, 0.43 sd lower emotional empathy, 0.06 sd lower epistemic curiosity, and 0.24 sd higher impulsivity. About eight months of school exposure results in a remarkable recovery in abstract reasoning and theory of mind for all socioeconomic groups. However, the measured levels still indicate significant delays relative to the expected developmental trajectories. No notable improvements are observed in socioemotional skills except for curiosity. These findings reveal that the damage school closures inflicted on children goes beyond well-documented academic losses and highlight the crucial role of the school environment in fostering fundamental cognition and socioemotional development in children. • Extended COVID-19 school closures lower abstract reasoning and cognitive empathy in elementary school children. • Underprivileged children experience greater developmental delays in abstract reasoning and theory of mind. • Children were also measured to have lower curiosity, lower grit, reduced emotional empathy and higher impulsivity. • Eight months of school exposure improves abstract reasoning and theory of mind, but recovery falls short of expectations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Children's educational experiences worldwide have been significantly impacted as a result of global school closures during the COVID‐19 pandemic of Spring 2020. A growing number of studies aim to analyse impacts of these changes on social well‐being, with limited studies placing an emphasis on the experiences of students with special educational needs (SENs). This article focusses on parent perspectives regarding impacts of school closures on social well‐being in Canadian children with SEN. Methods: This study uses a mixed‐methods approach, drawing from both qualitative and quantitative survey data from Spring/Summer 2020. Participants (n = 263) were eligible for participation if they were a parent/guardian of a child or adolescent with an SEN. We first conducted a descriptive analysis of the key variables, namely, social well‐being, grade level of the child, internet and device availability, and the presence of other school‐aged children in the home (single child vs. multiple children). Next, we explored the relationship between these using a bivariate correlation. Finally, open‐ended responses were analysed using an inductive approach to qualitative thematic analysis. Results: The majority of parents expressed concern for their child's social well‐being during the Spring 2020 school closures, with increased concerns for younger children. According to parents, children experienced communication barriers to peer interaction and many experienced emotional difficulties as a result. Technology was described as critical for some in maintaining social connections. Parents raised concerns about the impact of limited peer interaction on broader social skill development, in the short and long term. A small number of participants noted feelings of relief and reduced anxiety among their children with SEN. Conclusions: Findings highlight parent views of the negative impact of the pandemic on social well‐being and the critical role in‐person schooling plays in supporting peer relationships for children with SEN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research examining the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on students' learning indicates that educational inequities have increased. To strengthen the provision of support for students going forward, and contribute to efforts to reduce inequity, there is a need to deepen understanding of how emergency remote teaching (ERT) is experienced by learners. This study sought to explore the lived experiences of junior secondary students in China during the COVID-19 pandemic through the lens of three different groups: teachers, students and parents. It aimed to investigate how factors around schools, teachers, parents and students might relate to matters of educational equity. Participants were eight students with a mean age of 15.5 years, the students' mothers, and ten teachers from different schools across three different provinces in China. They took part in semi-structured interviews in which they discussed their ERT experiences and perspectives. Interview data were analysed using a qualitative, thematic approach. According to the analysis of participants' perceptions, differences in access to school learning resources, and extent of support and guidance from schools were noteworthy factors in relation to educational equity. In addition to parental support, encouragement and individualised feedback from teachers mattered for students' wellbeing and their studies. Furthermore, students' motivation, self-discipline and capacity for self-regulated learning were considered to influence learning outcomes during ERT. Our study underscores the need to provide additional targeted support to disadvantaged schools and students in times of educational disruption. It also highlights the importance of pedagogical support and guidance for all teachers, parents and students. Such provision might enhance students' capacity for self-regulated learning, and equip teachers and parents with the skills needed to support children's learning and wellbeing in challenging circumstances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Summary: Background: While numerous studies explore pandemic-associated school closures, literature is scant regarding seasonal influenza-associated closures. We previously reported summaries on COVID-19 pandemic-related school closures in the United States (US), which affected virtually all schools in the nation. The current prospective study aims to address the knowledge gap for seasonal influenza-related closures in the United States. Methods: We conducted systematic daily online searches from August 1, 2011 to June 30, 2022, to identify public announcements of unplanned school closures in the US lasting ≥1 day, selecting those that mentioned influenza and influenza-like illness (ILI) as reason for school closure (ILI-SCs). We studied ILI-SC temporal patterns and compared them with reported outpatient ILI-related healthcare visits. Findings: We documented that ILI-SCs occurred annually, with yearly totals ranging from 11 ILI-SCs in both the 2013–2014 and 2020–2021 school years to 2886 ILI-SCs in the 2019–2020 school year among more than 100,000 kindergarten through twelfth grade schools in the US. ILI-SCs occurred concurrently with widespread illness and the strongest correlations were observed during influenza A (H3N2)-dominant seasons, most notably in the 2016–2017 (Spearman rank correlation (rs) = 0.83) and the 2017–2018 (rs = 0.84) school years. ILI-SCs were heavily centered in U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Region 4 (states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee) [60% (6040/9166, Region 4/Total school closures)] and disproportionately impacted rural and lower-income communities. Interpretation: Outside of a pandemic, disease-related school closures are extreme and generally rare events for US schools and communities. Timely compilation of publicly available ILI-SC announcements could enhance influenza surveillance, particularly in severe influenza seasons or pandemics when ILI-SCs are prevalent. Funding: This work was supported by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Co-authors (NZ, YZ, HG, AU) were or are US CDC employees, and FJ was a contractor through Cherokee Nation Operational Solutions, LLC, which supported FJ’s salary, but had no additional role in the study.

BackgroundThe San Francisco Bay Area was the first region in the United States to enact school closures to mitigate SARS-CoV-2 transmission. The effects of closures on contact patterns for schoolchildren and their household members remain poorly understood.MethodsWe conducted serial cross-sectional surveys (May 2020, September 2020, February 2021) of Bay Area households with children to estimate age-structured daily contact rates for children and their adult household members. We examined changes in contact rates over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, including after vaccination of household members, and compared contact patterns by household demographics using generalized estimating equations clustered by household.ResultsWe captured contact histories for 1,967 households on behalf of 2,674 children, comprising 15,087 non-household contacts over the three waves of data collection. Shortly after the start of shelter-in-place orders in May 2020, daily contact rates were higher among children from Hispanic families (1.52 more contacts per child per day; [95% CI: 1.14-2.04]), households whose parents were unable to work from home (1.82; [1.40-2.40]), and households with income

As part of a multiyear project that monitored illness-related school closures, we conducted systematic daily online searches during July 27, 2020–June 30, 2022, to identify public announcements of COVID-19–related school closures (COVID-SCs) in the United States lasting >1 day. We explored the temporospatial patterns of COVID-SCs and analyzed associations between COVID-SCs and national COVID-19 surveillance data. COVID-SCs reflected national surveillance data: correlation was highest between COVID-SCs and both new PCR test positivity (correlation coefficient [r] = 0.73, 95% CI 0.56–0.84) and new cases (r = 0.72, 95% CI 0.54–0.83) during 2020–21 and with hospitalization rates among all ages (r = 0.81, 95% CI 0.67–0.89) during 2021–22. The numbers of reactive COVID-SCs during 2020–21 and 2021–22 greatly exceeded previously observed numbers of illness-related reactive school closures in the United States, notably being nearly 5-fold greater than reactive closures observed during the 2009 influenza (H1N1) pandemic.

Introduction: Investigating the epidemiology of mental health disorders resulting from COVID-19 intervention measures, primary school closures, and social isolation in children and adolescents needs to be prioritized over adults at the post-pandemic stage. Most preliminary psychosocial studies conducted during the pandemic have demonstrated that younger age groups are the most vulnerable to such implications. Thus, this study aims to estimate the probable prevalence of specific anxiety disorders in children and quantify their relationships with relevant demographic risk factors. Methods: We used a cross-sectional study comprising 430 children aged between 8- and 18 years old living in Kuwait during the period of school closures as well as full and partial lockdowns. The survey included questions about participants' characteristics, children's anxiety using the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders Questionnaire (SCARED) scale, and children's emotions and behaviours using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to summarize the demographic and characteristics of the participants and their association with general, social, and generalized anxieties, as well as behavioural and emotional difficulties. Results: We inferred that 24.83% of our participants had at least one anxiety disorder, while 20.19% were classified as abnormal on the SDQ scale. Our multivariate analysis revealed that lockdown duration and sex of the child were consistently significant predictors (p-values < 0.05) of the broad spectrum of selected mental disorders. Additionally, we inferred notable increases in the likelihood of mental disorders associated with the increased duration of lockdowns. Conclusions: Our findings revealed preliminary insights into the vulnerability of young populations to the indirect negative impacts of strict public health measures during pandemic emergencies. Thus, authorities should consider such implications when planning and implementing similar interventions in future pandemics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes a study designed to better understand the fallout of extended school closures and staggered re-openings for one group heavily impacted by the pandemic, mothers of children with disabilities. Using feminist ways of knowing as the backdrop, we explored how a small group of mothers experienced pandemic-related educational shifts. We aimed to provide solidarity and a space of care. We employed narrative methods to support the storying of their individual and collective experiences. Data were synthesized vis-à-vis participants' ethic of care, particularly in relationship to the power structures they traversed. Taking a deep dive into the experiences of a small group of mothers allowed us to contribute to the field's understanding of mothers' multiple identities and underscores the importance of including them in discussions around educational supports for children with disabilities, particularly in times of crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic resulted in worldwide school closures, moving children's education to the home setting, with parents taking over the responsibility of supporting their child's learning while managing other aspects of living with the pandemic. The impact of emergency remote learning has increased significance for children with disabilities who, abruptly, no longer had access to the specialized instruction and expertise of educators and service providers in the school setting. Employing an ecological systems framework, this study sought to examine the impact of emergency remote learning on the families of school-aged children with a range of disabilities in Singapore. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 42 parents of children with disabilities from primary and special schools. Findings revealed parents took on multiple roles while balancing several responsibilities in supporting their child's emergency remote learning, with the additional or intensified demands heightening challenges. Several factors were found to either facilitate or challenge parents' ability to engage in supporting their child's emergency remote learning such as flexibility in meeting schoolwork deadlines, having regular check-ins with the child and family, technological familiarity, and, at a macro-level, having supportive employers. Implications for practice and policy include the need to equip students with technology and self-management skills, providing more coordinated supports for students and their families across government and educational bodies to reduce learning loss while alleviating pressure on parents. Highlights: Parents of children with disabilities across primary schools and special schools in Singapore participated in semi-structured interviews regarding their experience of emergency remote learning. Key parental challenges during the pandemic lay in new or abruptly intensified work and family responsibilities. Coordinated supports at the various levels of the ecological systems framework are needed to support families through large-scale school closures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to extensive and unprecedented periods of school closures across the world, causing students to engage in learning remotely. The current study aimed to (a) explore adolescents' experiences of remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, (b) identify psychosocial factors associated with school-related stressors, and (c) examine the relationship between adolescents' perceived school-related stressors and mental health difficulties during the pandemic. A sub-study of the Australian 18-year longitudinal Mothers' and Young People's Study was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic between July and September 2020. A total of 264 adolescents (aged 14–17 years) and their mothers completed an online survey about remote learning, psychosocial stressors, and their mental health during the pandemic. Four in five adolescents reported school-related stressors during the pandemic, with the majority feeling overwhelmed and in need of more support from teachers. Factors associated with adolescents' perceptions of school-related stressors included financial hardship, stress in the family home (conflict and crowdedness), and few protective or resilience factors. Adolescents experiencing school related stressors were more likely to report depressive and anxiety symptoms. Adolescents with co-occurring family stress perceived more school-related stressors, reinforcing the notion that children experiencing social and economic disadvantage were disproportionately affected by school closures during the pandemic. These findings underscore the need to investigate the long-term impacts of school closures during the pandemic on adolescents' academic and mental health outcomes. Highlights: A sample of 264 adolescents reported on their experiences of remote schooling, family life, and their mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Four in five adolescents reported high school-related stress, with the majority feeling overwhelmed and in need of more support from teachers. Adolescents experiencing family conflict, crowdness at home, and financial hardship reported more school-related stressors. School-related stressors were associated with high depressive and anxiety symptoms [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the impact of COVID-19 school closures on differences in online learning usage by regional academic performance. Using data from Google Trends in Italy, we find that during the first lockdown, regions with a previously lower academic performance increased their searches for e-learning tools more than higher-performing regions. Analysing school administrative and survey data before the pandemic, we find that both teachers and students in lower performing regions were using no less e-learning tools than higher performing ones. These two findings suggest that the COVID-19 shock widened the e-learning usage gap between academically lower and higher-performing regions. Exploiting the regional variation in school closure mandates during the 2020–2021 academic year, we report that the patterns detected after the first lockdown were no longer present. Regions with different previous academic performance had the same response in terms of online learning usage when faced with stricter school closures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Considerable debate centered on the impact of school closures and shifts to virtual learning on adolescent mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. We evaluated whether mental health changes differed by school learning modes during the pandemic response among Canadian adolescents and whether associations varied by gender and perceived home life. Methods: We used prospective survey data from 7270 adolescents attending 41 Canadian secondary schools. Conditional change linear mixed effects models were used to examine learning mode (virtual optional, virtual mandated, in-person, and blended) as a predictor of change in mental health scores (depression [Centre for Epidemiologic Studies – Depression], anxiety [Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7], and psychosocial well-being [Flourishing scale]), adjusting for baseline mental health and covariates. Gender and home life happiness were tested as moderators. Least square means were calculated across interaction groups. Results: Students learning in a blended learning mode had greater anxiety increases relative to their peers in other learning modes. Females learning fully in-person and males learning virtually when optional reported less of an increase in depression scores relative to their gender counterparts in other learning modes. Learning virtually when optional was associated with greater declines in psychosocial well-being in students without happy home lives relative to other learning modes. Conclusion: Findings demonstrate the importance of considering gender and home environments as determinants of mental health over the pandemic response and when considering alternative learning modes. Further research is advised before implementing virtual and blended learning modes. Potential risks and benefits must be weighed in the context of a pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to cast light on the negative but silent effects of the COVID‐19 pandemic on girls' education and welfare in Ghana. Since the pandemic emerged in 2019, unprecedented changes have occurred in ordinary people's health, education and social life. As a response to the pandemic, governments globally implemented social distancing regimes, lockdowns and school closures to curtail the spread of the virus. While this approach did help in curtailing the spread of the pandemic, implementing lockdowns and school closures in Ghana had unintended consequences: they amplified gendered inequalities in access to education. Drawing on one‐on‐one semi‐structured interviews with (i) 10 teachers and one head teacher, 13 parents of child brides, and 11 child brides (aged 15–19), and (ii) Focus group discussions (FGDs) with 15 community leaders in a rural Ghanaian setting (Mion), this article provides empirical evidence to show how the pandemic has disrupted the lives and education of 11 girls. In particular, school closures and rising poverty due to the pandemic led to increased child marriage. These 11 schoolgirls were seen as a burden by their parents, and, consequently, married off to older men as an adverse coping strategy. Furthermore, some of the girls themselves requested to be married, due to rising household chores occasioned by the school closures. Finally, the school closures also offered the community the justification to reactivate deeply held notions about the value of a girl's education as a basis for marrying them off. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

School closures were part of a larger COVID-19 mitigation effort. However, policymakers over-weighted concerns about the virus to the neglect of other aspects of pediatric health, including mental health. This narrative review summarizes findings from 40 studies. School closures appear to have been an ineffective mitigation strategy, yet children and adolescents experienced increased anxiety, depression, and loneliness, as well as an overall reduction of wellbeing. Suicidal ideation and incidence increased as well. Connecting with family and friends, even if virtually, improved these outcomes. Females and those living in poverty experienced worse mental health outcomes compared to their peers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article deals with the learning experiences that we can take away from the corona period with its restrictions. In particular, this time is examined from the perspective of relationship and basic needs in relation to youth welfare and school. What do the contrasting experiences of closeness (youth welfare) and alienation (school) mean and what can we take away or develop positively from them? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Covid-19 pandemic and mitigation approaches, including lockdowns and school closures, are thought to have negatively impacted children and young people's (CYP) mental health. However, the impact for clinically referred CYP is less clear. We investigated differences in the mental health of CYP referred to specialist Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) before and since the onset of the pandemic. Using baseline data (self- and parent- completed Mood and Feelings Questionnaire and Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire) from an ongoing RCT (STADIA; ISRCTN: 15748675) in England involving 5–17-year-olds with emotional difficulties recently referred to CAMHS (non-urgent referrals), with repeated cross-sectional comparisons of CYP (n = 1028) recruited during 5 different time periods: (1) Before schools were closed (Group 1 (pre-pandemic); n = 308; 27.08.2019–20.03.2020). (2) Early pandemic period until schools fully re-opened, which included the first national lockdown, its easing and the summer holidays (Group 2 (in-pandemic); n = 183; 21.03.2020–31.08.2020). (3) The following school-term—schools fully re-opened and remained open, including during the second national lockdown (Group 3 (in-pandemic); n = 204; 01.09.2020–18.12.2020). (4) Schools closed as part of the third national lockdown (Group 4 (in-pandemic); n = 101; 05.01.2021–07.03.2021). (5) Schools re-opened and remained open, until the school summer holidays (Group 5 (in-pandemic); n = 232; 08.03.2021–16.07.2021). Most CYP scored above cutoff for emotional problems and depression, with three-quarters meeting criteria for a probable disorder ('caseness'). The groups did not differ on parent-rated mental health measures. However, self-rated emotional problems, depression, functional impairment and caseness appeared to be higher amongst participants recruited in the two periods following school re-openings. In particular, functional impairment and caseness were greater in Group 5 compared with Group 2. Although symptom severity or impairment did not change in the initial pandemic period, self-reported difficulties were greater during the periods after schools re-opened. This suggests possible greater stresses in the adjustment to re-starting school following recurrent lockdowns and school closures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From 2007 to 2019, over 650 public schools closed in Puerto Rico. School closures not only affect students and teachers; these spaces serve as anchor institutions providing social infrastructure for the sustained health of communities. While closed schools remove a critical community asset, these vacant buildings provide adaptive reuse opportunities for alternative social infrastructure and community resources. This article explores how abandoned schools are repurposed in Puerto Rico, focusing on "rescued schools"—that is, grassroots, voluntary initiatives that repurpose schools to support community development. Through a multi-method approach, we categorized and mapped 161 repurposed schools throughout Puerto Rico—38 were rescued schools—and conducted twelve interviews and two focus groups on rescued school initiatives. Our results describe how abandoned schools offer a galvanizing opportunity for motivated community members to meet emerging, localized needs, and the challenges in gaining school ownership and attracting sustained financial and volunteer support, the lack of which impedes their potential impact. We demonstrate how rescued schools embody alternative regional political visions within Puerto Rico and argue that government authorities can minimize the harm from school closures by forging new partnerships between community-based organizations, municipal governments, and other supportive actors to repurpose schools and reproduce their role as community anchor institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent school closures have had profound impacts on learners and their families globally, affecting their psychosocial wellbeing. However, the extent and nature of these effects, particularly in diverse socioeconomic contexts, remain largely under-explored. Aim: This study aimed to investigate the effects of school closures on the psychosocial wellbeing of children and parents in South Africa’s Gauteng province. Setting: The research included families from various socioeconomic backgrounds in Gauteng province, South Africa. Methods: Using an ethnographic research approach, diary-style entries via the WhatsApp mobile app were collected from 43 families, and semi-structured telephonic interviews were conducted with 21 families. Results: The study found that children experienced adverse emotions, including loneliness, boredom, anxiety and isolation during school closures. Parents reported elevated stress levels and increased caregiving burden. The severity of impact was influenced by access to resources for online or home-schooling. Conclusion: The findings highlight the multi-dimensional implications of school closures on families and underscore the importance of providing adequate support during such disruptions, taking into account the varying effects across socioeconomic backgrounds. Contribution: This study fills a crucial gap in understanding the psychosocial impacts of school closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic on children and parents within diverse socioeconomic contexts. The findings call for equitable access to educational resources, evidence-based remediation efforts, and integrated mental health support services.

The complex value of school meals for children and families is well documented. In Italy, school cafeterias have been an instrument of social policy since the end of the Second World War. Thereafter, school cafeterias have acquired several functions in the areas of children's health and wellbeing, education, social inclusion, support to local and quality agriculture, and environmental sustainability. In particular, the goal of a nutritious and balanced diet has been emphasized in recent decades, since malnutrition and food insecurity have been increasing in Italian society. During the pandemic, Italy was the first European country to implement a nationwide lockdown and one of the high-income countries where schools closed for the longest period. In this work, we use in-depth interviews with representatives of the school catering service, both from the major catering companies and the biggest municipalities, to analyze what happened in the management of the Italian school catering service during the pandemic crisis. In addition, a review of public recommendations issued during the pandemic has made it possible to analyze their compliance with the state guidelines for school catering and food education. The results highlight how the system reacted extremely slowly to the crisis and how the measures taken led to a deterioration of the value that has always been attributed to state school cafeterias, especially in terms of children's food security and environmental sustainability.

In this study, we utilised multi-layer perceptron neural networks (MLPNNs) to assess the issue of school closures. Specifically, this study uses the MLPNN model to conduct learning assessments to identify schools that may suffer from poor management. The empirical findings are briefly summarised as follows: (1) The research shows that more than half of the private schools in this study will face bankruptcy. In Taipei City, out of the 23 existing private schools, only four operate normally, while the remaining 19 private vocational high schools require assistance. About 12 schools face severe problems in terms of poor management, accounting for 63% of the total, while seven schools had a prediction value below 50, indicating a severe problem. These schools have expressed an immediate need for government assistance. (2) According to the MLPNN model in this study, reducing the number of full-time teachers is a primary factor contributing to school closures. First, since full-time teachers are a fixed cost, the dismissal of teachers tends to be prioritised to bring down school management costs. This, in turn, reduces the teacher-student ratio. Other factors that contribute to school bankruptcy are dismissing staff and part-time teachers, reducing expenditure, and poor operational maintenance. When the above policies are implemented in schools with poor management, a vicious cycle is created, leading to the bankruptcy of schools.

Abstract Background We present a dashboard for the evaluation of the impact of school closures on children and parents during the first wave of the COVID pandemic in 2020 on the various components of wellbeing. Methods Starting from an explorative literature search by a team of experts from diverse fields (e.g., epidemiology, virology, psychology, education, sociology), we developed a dashboard that allows for the quick evaluation of the general effect of school closures on various indicators of well-being in different groups and for the quality of the available research, at a time where a crisis is ongoing. Results It is concluded that there is evidence that the school closures reduced the transmission of COVID in the first wave in springtime 2020. Nevertheless, a multitude of studies show that the school closures also had a negative impact on different components of wellbeing such as academic achievement, time spent on learning and mental health. Furthermore, the school closures affected not only the children and adolescents, but also the parents that were forced to provide more childcare and help with schoolwork. Longitudinal studies on large representative samples with repeated assessments of wellbeing are necessary to understand the long-term effects of the school closures. Conclusions The dashboard provides a first visual overview of the effects of school closures on wellbeing, and can serve as the basis for a future more systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of school closures on wellbeing. It can be considered as a paradigm for rapid obtention of scientific evidence, during a quickly unfolding crisis, also in view of underpinning policy advice.

This paper examines the unintended consequences of emergency school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic and explores the impact of these closures on children and young people's United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and wider physical health rights. It addresses how States Parties should address and balance these rights during a crisis. It then contextualises the school closures, using global data mainly collated by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH), exploring the direct health risk to children and young people from COVID-19 and the risk they posed to the wider community, finding both low. It then draws on findings from the Children and Young People's Commissioner, Scotland's COVID-19 Independent Children and Young People's Rights Assessment (ICRA) and wider literature identifying numerous unintended rights breaches, focusing on the rights breaches experienced by three particularly vulnerable groups of children and young people, namely those (i) at risk of physical or sexual violence; (ii) with additional support needs; and (iii) experiencing poverty and deprivation. Recommendations are made as to how to avoid breaching children and young peoples' physical health rights in future emergency school closures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted education worldwide as educational systems made the decision to close schools to contain the spread of the virus. The duration of school closures varied greatly internationally. In this study, we use international variation in school closure policies to examine the effects of school closures on student achievement. Specifically, we use representative trend data from more than 300,000 students in 29 countries to examine whether the length of school closures is related to changes in student achievement before and after the outbreak of COVID-19. We observe a significant and substantial negative effect of school closures on student reading achievement. This school closure effect remains even after controlling for measures of pandemic severity such as infection rates, vaccination policies, and a measure of lockdown stringency. The estimated effect implies that a year of school closures corresponds roughly to the loss of a little more than half a school year of learning. This effect is even more pronounced for socioeconomically disadvantaged students and those without home computer access. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the gendered impact of school closures on paid work hours during the COVID-19 pandemic in Austria. Using data from the Austrian Corona Panel Project (ACPP) covering generalized school closures from March 2020 to April 2021, the study examines adjustments in work hours by gender and parental status. The descriptive data show general reductions in work time, especially in the first months. From July 2020 onward, however, mothers reduced work hours more than fathers when schools were closed – and they increased time spent on childcare, while fathers reduced theirs. Using OLS and fixed effects models, the study confirms that mothers reduced their work hours during school closures more than any other group. In contrast, fathers reduced their work hours the least – even less than individuals without children. Finally, there is some evidence that school closures capture policy stringency in high-incidence phases of the COVID-19 pandemic. In Austria, mothers reduced paid work time more than fathers in response to pandemic school closures. In contrast, fathers reduced their work time even less than individuals without children. School closures thus triggered a gendered labor market response among parents. The additional unpaid care work burden on women is a potential mechanism for these effects. COVID-19 policy responses may have exacerbated existing gender differences in the labor market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policymakers mainly close schools due to low performance or to austerity mandates. There is evidence about the consequences of closures due to low performance with respect to academic achievement. The literature is thinner regarding closures due to austerity pressures, however. Seeking fiscal economies, Puerto Rico closed 34% of its schools in two years, which would thus be one of the most intense school closings reported. Drawing from the availability of data at student level, we found that this broad consolidation had negative effects on the academic achievement of displaced students, especially at the primary school level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic and school closures highlighted the need for research examining the effects of socio-economic status and digital learning on educational performance. Based on a panel dataset from a Chinese high school during school closures in 2020, our study explored whether the digital divide widened during the pandemic. The results showed that digital learning significantly mediates the association of socio-economic status with educational performance. In contrast, the indirect effects of digital learning were not significant before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, these effects immediately became significant during school closures and remote education instruction during the pandemic. After the schools reopened, the indirect effects of digital learning declined or even disappeared. Our findings provide new evidence for a widening digital divide during the COVID-19 pandemic school closures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: We present a dashboard for the evaluation of the impact of school closures on children and parents during the first wave of the COVID pandemic in 2020 on the various components of wellbeing. Methods: Starting from an explorative literature search by a team of experts from diverse fields (e.g., epidemiology, virology, psychology, education, sociology), we developed a dashboard that allows for the quick evaluation of the general effect of school closures on various indicators of well-being in different groups and for the quality of the available research, at a time where a crisis is ongoing. Results: It is concluded that there is evidence that the school closures reduced the transmission of COVID in the first wave in springtime 2020. Nevertheless, a multitude of studies show that the school closures also had a negative impact on different components of wellbeing such as academic achievement, time spent on learning and mental health. Furthermore, the school closures affected not only the children and adolescents, but also the parents that were forced to provide more childcare and help with schoolwork. Longitudinal studies on large representative samples with repeated assessments of wellbeing are necessary to understand the long-term effects of the school closures. Conclusions: The dashboard provides a first visual overview of the effects of school closures on wellbeing, and can serve as the basis for a future more systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of school closures on wellbeing. It can be considered as a paradigm for rapid obtention of scientific evidence, during a quickly unfolding crisis, also in view of underpinning policy advice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Social distancing strategies during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic have left families facing a variety of different constraints. Especially in this stressful time, children need a stable parental home to prevent developmental consequences. Additional risk factors such as maternal childhood maltreatment (CM) may affect mother's psychosomatic health and children's physical well-being in this period. Objective: It was aimed to analyze the associations between maternal CM, mother's mental health, and children's physical complaints during the SARS-CoV-2-pandemic. Method: Mothers of a well-documented birth cohort from a longitudinal study were included in this study. Psychosomatic health was assessed with the PHQ-D and children's physical health with the GBB-KJ during the pandemic. N = 159 mothers completed the online survey. To describe the maternal CM, data from a longitudinal survey were used. Results: The calculation of three mediation analyses demonstrate that maternal depression symptoms (c-path: β = 0.10, p =.02; c'-path: β = 0.07, p =.13), somatic symptoms (c-path: β = 0.10, p =.02; c'-path: β = 0.07, p =.13) and psychosomatic symptoms (c-path: β = 0.10, p =.02; c'-path: β = 0.06, p =.19) fully mediate the relationship between CM and children's physical health complaints. Conclusions: Maternal CM experiences seem to be one relevant risk factor during the pandemic and seem to influence the way in which parents deal with stressful situations and increase the risk for depressive symptoms. The present results highlight the importance to provide individually adjusted assistance to help the families to get through the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The closure of schools linked to COVID-19 led to various problems, such as educational lag. In Latin America, nine of its countries, including Mexico, extended the closure period for more than one school year, which generated emerging strategies linked to the use of technology and the internet to continue the teaching processes. This situation increased inequalities, mainly in rural regions with high degrees of marginalization where connectivity is scarce or nonexistent. This work offers a qualitative approach, through a semi-structured interview, to teaching practice in Mexican multigrade primary schools during the return to in-person attendance after confinement, also called the new normal. The results show that in the face of the conditions imposed by COVID-19, multigrade teaching takes on the challenges from its own resources, since it was identified that teachers maintain teaching forms that they used before the pandemic and incorporate actions whose purpose is to compensate educational lag; a phenomenon to which they dedicate a significant amount of time during the school day. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a radically changed and still changing world, parents, schools and pupils have had to adapt to a new teaching and learning modality. Working parents have faced the competing demands of employment and home-schooling, and schools provided support to pupils through online platforms and other resources. A qualitative approach elicited the views and experiences of working parents through a social media parents' group in Northern Ireland (NI). Only well-educated mothers responded revealing their extreme lack of confidence and pedagogical skills, complete exhaustion, frayed family relationships, and acute concern about children's educational loss and its future implications, particularly those for whom public examinations were imminent. Communication between teachers and both pupils and parents was deemed crucial, as were greater clarity from teachers on tasks set, less screen time, daily live interaction, feedback on work done, and more printed resources from schools to avoid undue expense for parents, especially those with children of different ages in different education sectors. Much more effective home-schooling could be facilitated if government required employers to arrange flexible working hours, at least for one parent. However, the creation of a daily structure that included lessons and leisure, the latter both indoors and outdoors, was beneficial and therapeutic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is unique because it fills a significant gap among Covid-19 related educational research in three ways. First, it analyses data from face-to-face interviews with 23 children, whilst most Covid-19 related research has been based on online data collection methods. Second, it involves 'lower-attaining' children who were already part of an ongoing five-year research project set in England, UK. Third, it captures a 'before' and 'after' picture of the children's experiences during schooling-as-normal and after the two periods of school closures, in relation to their well-being. Within the context of Seligman's PERMA theory, we found that the absence-of-schooling-as-normal had adversely affected their well-being, but in so doing, the children's perspective on schooling had altered, as they had missed being part of something bigger than themselves, in a setting which offered socialisation, structure and purpose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic necessitated widespread school closures, however little is known about the preparedness of countries’ educational system in adapting to the pandemic. This study aimed to report initial estimates of school closures by country in comparison to actual length of school closures during the 2019–20 academic year using World Bank and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization data. Among 169 countries analyzed, 63 (37.3%) countries estimated 1–2 weeks and 47 (27.8%) countries estimated 3–4 weeks of school closures, with statistically significant differences between World Bank regions (p = 0.001) but not income groups (p = 0.133). One hundred and four of 120 (86.7%) countries experienced longer school closures than estimated. With prolonged closures, countries may not have been adequately prepared to support alternative learning modalities for extended periods of time. Pandemic preparedness planning is needed to establish plans to deliver educational instructions during prolonged school closures and should be supported with adequate resources. Our findings provide evidence to inform future planning to minimize pandemic-related disruptions in education.

To understand the experiences of educators during the 2020 extended school closures, we interviewed 40 teachers from across the country in public, charter, and private schools, at different grade levels, and in different subject areas. Teachers articulated three main concerns about emergency remote schooling: 1.) student motivation; 2.) professional loss and burnout; and 3.) exacerbated inequities. As the climate emergency makes school disruptions more common, school systems must learn from the tragic school closings under COVID-19 to prepare for an uncertain future. We propose five design considerations to build school systems with greater resilience for the long-term: center equity, focus on relationship-building, address student motivation, address staff motivation and burnout, and mitigate uncertainty.

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in widespread school closures, reducing access to school meals for millions of students previously participating in the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) National School Lunch Program (NSLP). School-prepared meals are, on average, more nutritious than home-prepared meals. In the absence of recent data measuring changes in children's diets during the pandemic, this article aims to provide conservative, back-of-the-envelope estimates of the nutritional impacts of the pandemic for school-aged children in the United States. We used administrative data from the USDA on the number of NSLP lunches served in 2019 and 2020 and nationally representative data from the USDA School Nutrition and Meal Cost Study on the quality of school-prepared and home-prepared lunches. We estimate changes in lunchtime calories and nutrients consumed by NSLP participants from March to November 2020, compared to the same months in 2019. We estimate that an NSLP participant receiving no school meals would increase their caloric consumption by 640 calories per week and reduce their consumption of nutrients such as calcium and vitamin D. Because 27 to 78 million fewer lunches were served per week in March-November 2020 compared to the previous year, nationally, students may have consumed 3 to 10 billion additional calories per week. As students return to school, it is vital to increase school meal participation and update nutrition policies to address potentially widening nutrition disparities.

AbstractFree school meals (FSM) are a well-recognized intervention for tackling food insecurity among school children. National school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic meant that there was a need to rapidly adapt the delivery of FSM. A range of food-assistance policies were implemented, but it is not clear if they were evidence-based. This study aimed to determine the transparency of evidence use and identify other competing influences in the UK’s FSM policy decisions. Thematic content analysis was used to review 50 publicly available policy documents and debate transcripts on FSM policy published between March 2020 and 2021. This period covered the first national school closures (March 2020–July 2020), school holidays, and the second national school closures (January 2021–March 2021). The Evidence Transparency Framework (ETF) was used to assess the transparency of evidence use in policy documents. We found that overall transparency of evidence use was poor but was better for the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) program. The Government showed preference for replacing FSM with food parcels, rather than more agentic modes of food assistance, such as cash-vouchers. This preference appeared to be closely aligned with ideological views on the welfare state. With an absence of evidence, value-based reasoning took precedent and was polarized by social media. This article highlights the need for a formal review into FSM, one which includes a comparison of low and high agentic food assistance policies. Such a review would address the evidence gap, improve food assistance policy, and aid policymakers in future periods of uncertainty.

Abstract Background Following the outbreak of the 2020 coronavirus, governments adopted non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) to save lives. The NPIs have been deemed to have unintended consequences on mental health and well-being. This study aimed to estimate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic-induced school closures on the relative search volumes (RSVs) of well-being-relevant topics in 30 low and lower- middle income countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Methods Google Trends search data, difference-in-differences and event study methods were used to evaluate the impact on the related search volume (RSV) of well-being related topic queries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Results The results suggest positive and significant increases in the search intensity for anger, boredom, fear, sleep, exercise, and prayer. Contrary to other studies, we find no discernible effects on the relative search volumes (RSVs) on loneliness, sadness, and suicide. Conclusion Our findings suggest that the pandemic and the associated restrictions had a mixed effect on well-being-related searches. We recommend increased vigilance and proactive communication from the government and policy makers with the general population in times of emergencies when social policies that restrict lives and liberties need to be adopted.