School Disruption Research Articles

Growing Up Amidst Active Warfare: Understanding the Experiences of Ukrainian Adolescents Through Chat Data

Armed conflicts violate young people’s rights by exposing them to violence and trauma, disrupting their sense of safety. This study examines how Russia’s war against Ukraine affects Ukrainian adolescents’ lives. The study utilizes data from Let’s Chat, a free, low-threshold support service for Ukrainian-speaking children and youths. We analyzed 185 chat conversations between chat workers and Ukrainian adolescents using data-driven thematic analysis. The war emerged roughly every fourth conversation, affecting discussions on forced relocation, school disruptions, and social relationships. Although youths rarely initiate war-related conversations, its effects are evident. This study highlights the complex impact of war on youth development, adding to other stressors in their lives. War often emerges as an added burden, complicating their already delicate development. Digital channels like Let’s Chat can help adolescents cope with these challenges and plan their futures in a culturally sensitive manner across borders, providing crucial support in difficult times.

The most optimal school recruitment strategies for school-based obesity prevention and health promotion research in the United States: A systematic review with Delphi study.

This systematic review with the Delphi study aimed to identify effective and resource-efficient (optimal) strategies for recruiting schools into health promotion interventions in the United States. A literature search was conducted in PubMed, Cochrane Library, and CINAHL (EBSCO). A total of 116 interventions reported in 160 articles were included. Most school-based interventions did not report data regarding school recruitment duration (81%), target school size (63%), and school recruitment strategies (78%). Further, no details were provided regarding the reasons for declining to participate despite being eligible. For the Delphi, responses from 23 researchers in school-based clinical trials were collected. A qualitative descriptive approach was used for coding responses and collapsed into higher-order categories based on school recruitment strategies. Delphi participants reported that (1) creating new or leveraging pre-existing partnerships, (2) intervention champion, (3) minimal school disruptions, (4) working with open mind/flexibility, and (5) transparent communication are the most optimal school recruitment strategies. Staff time and travel were the most frequently reported costs for implementing those strategies. The overall trend in school-based obesity prevention intervention studies illustrates the importance of a better understanding school recruitment. Improved reporting can allow researchers to budget their time and resources better and provide greater confidence in reaching their target school size.

COVID-19 Pandemic School Disruptions and Acute Mental Health in Children and Adolescents

There are suggestions that school pressure may be stressful and a factor in child and adolescent mental health disturbances, but data about this association are scarce and inconclusive. To assess whether varying degrees of school interruption were associated with changes in emergency department (ED) psychiatric visits of children and adolescents before and after the COVID-19 outbreak. A cross-sectional observational study was conducted at 9 urban university hospitals in Italy. All ED visits from January 1, 2018, to December 31, 2021, for psychiatric reasons of patients younger than 18 years were examined for demographic characteristics and type of psychopathologic factors. Data analysis was conducted from July 1 to August 31, 2023. The disruption in the usual succession of school and holiday periods brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic at different times and with various degrees of intensity. Total number of pediatric ED visits, psychiatric ED visits, and psychiatric ED visits categorized by specific reasons (eg, psychomotor agitation, suicide ideation [SI] or suicide attempt [SA], and eating disorders) on a weekly basis. A total of 13 014 psychiatric ED visits (1.3% of all pediatric ED visits) were recorded (63.2% females; mean [SD] age, 13.8 [3.8] years). The number of ED psychiatric visits increased over time (incidence rate ratio [IRR], 1.19; 95% CI, 1.16-1.22 for each year). Significant increases in ED visits were observed for eating disorders (294.8%), SI (297.8%), and SA (249.1%). School opening, but not social lockdown restriction, was associated with an increase in the number of ED psychiatric visits (IRR, 1.29; 95% CI, 1.23-1.34), which was evident for females and for SI with SA. Socioeconomic status was associated with an increase in psychiatric visits for males (IRR, 1.12; 95% CI, 1.04-1.20) but not females (IRR, 1.04; 95% CI, 0.98-1.10). In this study, school opening was associated with an increased incidence of acute psychiatric emergencies among children and adolescents, suggesting that school can be a substantial source of stress with acute mental health implications.

"Snow days are the best days." Exploring Teachers' and Administrators’ Perceptions of Weather-Related School Disruptions

Extreme weather events are becoming increasingly common and have the potential to impact the school day. This study aimed to explore teachers’ and administrators’ perspectives on weather-related school closures. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten key informants and analyzed using content analysis. Informants took a strengths-based approach and discussed the benefits of weather-related disruptions for student mental health and planning time. However, informants did mention that if these days continued to rise, it might be a cause for concern. School boards need to begin monitoring the impact of weather events. Les phénomènes météorologiques extrêmes sont de plus en plus fréquents et peuvent avoir une incidence sur la journée scolaire. Cette étude visait à explorer les perspectives des enseignants et des administrateurs sur les fermetures d'écoles liées aux conditions météorologiques. Des entrevues semi-structurées ont été menées avec dix informateurs clés et analysés à l'aide d'une analyse de contenu. Les informateurs ont adopté une approche fondée sur les points forts et ont discuté des avantages des perturbations liées aux conditions météorologiques pour la santé mentale des élèves et le temps de planification. Cependant, les informateurs ont mentionné que si ces jours continuaient à augmenter, cela pourrait être une source d'inquiétude. Les conseils scolaires doivent commencer à surveiller l'incidence des événements météorologiques.

CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS WITH CANCER UNDERGOING RADIOTHERAPY: WHAT IS THE IMPACT ON SCHOOLING?

Introduction and Aim of the Study:When a child or adolescent is diagnosed with cancer, it represents a challenging ordeal that often brings significant changes to their daily life. School is an important concern for young patients, but a cancer diagnosis usually leads to school disruptions. The aim of our study is to evaluate the impact of radiotherapy treatment on the schooling of children and adolescents affected by cancer. Materials and Methods:This is a prospective study conducted in the Radiotherapy Department of the National Institute of Oncology in Rabat from January 2022 to December 2022, including 40 children and adolescents aged between 6 and 16 years undergoing radiotherapy or concurrent radiochemotherapy treatment for cancer. Results:The median age of our patients was 10 years, with a predominance of males (sex ratio = 2). The most common neoplasms were malignant hemopathies (35%), nasopharyngeal carcinoma (20%), soft tissue sarcoma (17.5%), brain neoplasms (15%), and others (nephroblastoma , neuroblastoma 12.5%).42.5% of the patients had previously received chemotherapy alone, 30% had chemotherapy plus surgery, and 27.5% had surgery alone.During our study, all patients received either radiotherapy alone (80%) or concurrent radiochemotherapy (20%). The average number of sessions was 22, held daily from Monday to Friday.All our patients were attending school before their diagnosis. However, 96% discontinued school at the start of their treatment, with only 4% continuing to attend school. The heaviness of the treatments received and their side effects are the main cause of school discontinuation. The distance between the treatment location and the patients home was also factor for patients undergoing radiotherapy. Conclusion:The discontinuation of schooling for children and adolescents represents a significant disruption in their daily lives, potentially impacting their psychological well-being. Furthermore, feeling different from other children their age can be challenging for them. Therefore, it is important to offer an adaptation of their schooling with specialized education to enable their social development and well-being.

Playing through the pandemic and beyond: exploring the ongoing impact of COVID-19 on play-based learning in kindergarten classrooms

ABSTRACT The response to the COVID-19 pandemic impacted educational systems throughout the world. School closures, virtual schooling, and strict safety protocols for in-person learning changed instructional approaches to teaching. These changes were particularly disruptive in early childhood education which relies on play-based learning to support students’ socioemotional and academic development. This study examines the impact of school disruptions on play-based learning during the pandemic and the lasting effect on classroom practices from the perspective of kindergarten educators in Ontario, Canada. An online survey was administered to 100 kindergarten educators with open-ended questions regarding how the pandemic shaped their implementation of play, challenges they faced during this time, and how their practices have changed in the years following the pandemic. Results indicated significant impacts on play-based learning due to changes to the physical space and materials available, decreases in student choice, limits to social interaction, and masking protocols. Post-pandemic, educators indicated some lasting effects on the implementation of play in their classrooms and noted concerns regarding students’ social-emotional development and gaps in their academic skills. These findings provide insight into the continued influence of the pandemic on education and how educators are responding to these lasting impacts.

Real-world utilisation of SARS-CoV-2 rapid antigen testing to enable face-to-face learning in Australian schools, an ecological study

ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to describe the use of SARS-CoV-2 rapid antigen testing of COVID-19 contacts in New South Wales schools to determine return to in-person school attendance instead of home quarantine, between 6 November and 21 December 2021. MethodsCOVID-19 school contacts were required to quarantine for two weeks postexposure to the case. Students who opted into daily rapid antigen testing logged their results in a database, prior to school attendance, and obtained SARS-CoV-2 nucleic amplification acid testing on day 12–16. Secondary attack rates (SARs) in schools utilising rapid antigen testing (Test-to-Stay schools) and those not utilising rapid antigen testing (non–Test-to-Stay school) were calculated. ResultsWe identified 9,887 people in 293 schools who reported performing at least one rapid antigen test (RAT). The SAR in RAT schools was 3.4% (95% confidence interval: 2.7–4.1) and non-RAT schools was 2.8% (95% confidence interval: 2.4–3.3). A total of 30,535 school days were preserved through this program. ConclusionsThe use of RATs preserved in-person learning without a significant increase to SAR. Implication for public healthDisruptions in face-to-face learning have long-term detrimental impacts on children and adolescents. Rapid antigen testing has been shown to be beneficial to maintain face-to-face learning in Australian schools and may be a useful method to safeguard from school disruptions in future pandemics.

The impact of COVID-19 school disruptions on children's learning.

National health policies to stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus in the US resulted in widespread school closures and disrupted learning in Spring 2020. This study draws on unique individual-level data from n = 282 5-12 year olds enrolled in the NIH Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Research Program to investigate associations between caregiver-reported duration of Spring 2020 learning disruptions and academic achievement. Linear regression analyses estimated that children who experienced more than 4 weeks of instruction disruptions in Spring 2020 scored 4.5 points [95% CI: -8.77, -0.22] lower on age-normed math assessments compared to peers who had four or fewer weeks of disruption, adjusting for sociodemographic variables, pre-pandemic vocabulary, and COVID-19 family hardships and stress. No differences were found for reading. Children whose caregivers had higher levels of pandemic-related traumatic stress and lower educational attainment also had lower math scores, adjusting for all other covariates. Results suggest educators and schools focus additional attention on supporting math instruction for children who experienced extended learning disruptions.

Challenging Norms: The Impact of Transgender and Gender-Diverse Realities on Work and School Participation.

Disruption in school and the workplace are health concerns for transgender people. To evaluate transgender individuals' thoughts and comfort with how others perceive their gender identity (social affirmation) and its association with outness in the workplace and mistreatment at work or school. Cross-sectional survey. Survey respondents older than age 18 yr from the Study of Transition, Outcomes & Gender cohort (N = 696; n = 350 assigned male at birth, n = 346 assigned female at birth [AFAB]). Ever "out" to employer and treated unfairly at work or school or fired from job. Predictors were high social affirmation and comfort with how others perceive own gender identity. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression were used for analyses. Individuals reporting high social affirmation were less likely to experience mistreatment at work or school than those with low social affirmation (odds ratio [OR] = 0.57, 95% confidence interval [CI] [0.38, 0.86]). Individuals AFAB who felt comfortable with how others perceived their gender identity were less likely to be out to their employers than individuals AFAB who did not (OR = 0.45; 95% CI [0.20, 0.97]). Individuals with high social affirmation were less likely to experience work or school mistreatment, and feeling comfortable with how others perceive their gender identity did not signify the need to be out. Plain-Language Summary: Occupational therapy practitioners can play a pivotal role when working with transgender individuals by assisting in creating new routines for self-presentation at work or school, navigating social environments, and providing guidance in self-advocacy skills. Individuals assigned male at birth may be in greater need because they report lower levels of social affirmation and acceptance at school and work than individuals assigned female at birth.

From Oyster Reefs to Turnaround Schools: An Educational Restoration Model for the COVID-19 Era

ABSTRACT COVID-19 shocked preK-12 education systems, disrupting reform efforts and straining schools’ capacities for improvement. Yet accountability policies – in particular, school turnaround – marched on unabated, potentially exacerbating pandemic-related crisis conditions. This conceptual paper draws on the field of ecological restoration to reconstruct school turnaround as educational restoration. Mirroring best practices for restoring oyster reefs degraded by the climate crisis, we explain how educational restoration accounts for and responds to disruption and damage in turnaround schools. We propose an Educational Recovery Wheel to support policymakers and practitioners in restoring schools’ innate capacities to implement sustainable improvement and strengthen the resilience of education systems.

Post-pandemic learning trajectories in oral reading proficiency: Results from twelve Chilean schools

By drawing data from first-to sixth-grade students of 12 Chilean schools, we examined the evolution of COVID-19 pandemic-driven losses in two components of oral reading proficiency: reading decoding skills and reading speed. Our dataset spans from 2018 to 2022, enabling us to compare students’ results after the fully remote 2020, the incomplete resumption of in-person learning in 2021 and the massive return in 2022. We used multivariate regression models corrected for sample selection bias. Reading proficiency losses were more significant and persistent in reading speed, and they were higher among socially disadvantaged students entering first grade in 2020–2022. These findings uphold that school disruption affected the reading proficiency of cohorts beginning school during the pandemic more significantly and long-lastingly.

What Have We Learned? Teacher Agency for Social Justice amid the Traumatic Crisis with the COVID-19 Pandemic

The unprecedented global COVID-19 pandemic caused school disruptions by negatively affecting most students’ academic performance. However, the pandemic has taken a heavy toll on students in high-need and disadvantaged communities. Before the pandemic, some teachers who demonstrated a social justice-oriented agency chose to implement Culturally Responsive Pedagogy (CRP) in their educational practices to support the academic successes of students from underrepresented backgrounds. However, little is known about how teachers exercised their agency to use CRP during the global health crisis. This qualitative study explores how teachers who had leveraged CRP in the past have worked to sustain their efforts to implement the pedagogy during the national crisis caused by the pandemic. 28 high school teachers were interviewed, and their accounts were analyzed using a constant comparative approach based on grounded theory. Findings illustrate how the teachers practiced CRP before COVID-19, what challenges they confronted in implementing the pedagogy, and how they negotiated their agency to sustain their efforts for promoting social justice. Findings are discussed from a trauma-informed education perspective by providing scholars, educators, and policymakers with valuable theoretical and practical implications for better-supporting students from minoritized families and communities.

Middle-class parental engagement in pandemic times: developing strategies and mobilizing capitals

Despite the rhetoric of ‘we are all in this together’ during the COVID-19 pandemic, not all families experienced schooling disruption in 2020–2022 equally. middle-class parents typically enjoy significant advantage over parents in working-class occupations. To illuminate class-based differences in parental engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic, here we present data from interviews with 15 middle-class Canadian parents. We found that middle-class parents successfully mobilized their economic, social, and cultural capital to manage challenges they faced: lack of structure and routine, lack of communication with the school, perceived low quality of instruction and resources, student isolation during online learning, and parental stress about children’s schooling during the pandemic. The main implication of the study is that although middle-class parents in the study acknowledged their privilege more compared to prior research on middle-class parental engagement, ultimately, their individual solutions to pandemic challenges merely exacerbated existing social inequalities in education.

The socioeconomic burden of pediatric tuberculosis and role of child-sensitive social protection

BackgroundHouseholds of children with tuberculosis (TB) experience financial and social hardships, but TB-specific social protection initiatives primarily focus on adults.MethodsWe conducted a single-arm, pilot study of multi-component supportive benefits for children with pulmonary TB in Kampala, Uganda. At diagnosis, participants received in-kind coverage of direct medical costs, a cash transfer, and patient navigation. Caregivers were surveyed before diagnosis and 2 months into TB treatment on social and financial challenges related to their child’s illness, including estimated costs, loss of income and dissaving practices.ResultsWe included 368 children from 321 households. Pre-diagnosis, 80.1% of caregivers reported that their child’s illness negatively impacted household finances, 44.1% of caregivers missed work, and 24% engaged in dissaving practices. Catastrophic costs (> 20% annual income) were experienced by 18.4% (95% CI 13.7–24.0) of households. School disruption was common (25.6%), and 28% of caregivers were concerned their child was falling behind in development. Two months post-diagnosis, 12 households (4.8%) reported being negatively affected by their child’s TB disease (difference -75.2%, 95% CI -81.2 to -69.2, p < 0.001), with limited ongoing loss of income (1.6%) or dissavings practices (0.8%). Catastrophic costs occurred in one household (0.4%) at 2 months post-diagnosis.ConclusionsHouseholds face financial and social challenges prior to a child’s TB diagnosis, and child-sensitive social protection support may mitigate ongoing burden.

Investigating the educational experiences of students with disabilities during the COVID-19 school disruption: an international perspective

Students with disabilities generally experience educational inequities around the world. The coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic likely exacerbated these inequities in access, resources, and support as schools shut down to mitigate the spread of the disease. Although some research has explored disparities between students with and without disabilities during the pandemic, limited research has explored this issue from the perspective of students across multiple countries. Therefore, we conducted a secondary analysis of the UNESCO Responses to Educational Disruption Survey student questionnaire administered to eighth graders in five countries to investigate changes in the educational experiences of students with disabilities during COVID-19 school disruptions and differences between these experiences and the experiences of students without disabilities during these disruptions. Specifically, we aimed to understand how students with disabilities’ perceptions of their educational experiences changed during disruptions and varied from those of students without disabilities. Contrary to previous research, our findings revealed that students with disabilities generally reported positive experiences to a greater extent than students without disabilities. We discuss the implications of these findings and areas for future research beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.

Disasters and the education system: Cyclone Idai and schooling disruption in eastern Chimanimani, Zimbabwe.

We therefore recommend that a holistic integrative disaster resilience framework between school, community and stakeholders showed great potential for the future.

Did prepandemic perceptions of school climate protect students' internalizing symptoms during COVID‐19 school closures?

AbstractThe global COVID‐19 pandemic significantly disrupted educational environments for all students when the majority of schools in the United States abruptly switched to remote learning. School climate, including support and structure, has been recognized as an important construct that influences student functioning. The current study explored student perceptions of school climate before school disruptions as a potential protective factor against negative outcomes during the pandemic. Middle school students (N = 225) completed assessments of their perceptions of school climate in Fall 2019 and self‐reported internalizing symptoms in Spring 2020. Structural equation modeling was used to test both the association and directionality between school climate and internalizing symptoms. Positive perception of school climate before the pandemic was significantly associated with less internalizing symptoms during initial school closures, particularly for girls. The results highlight the importance of school climate in students' mental health, especially during periods of stress. Limitations and future directions are discussed.

1172-P: The Social Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Children with Diabetes

Aims: The aim of the study was to evaluate the social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on youth with diabetes in Northeast Ohio from March 2020 through October 2022, and assess for disparate impact on minority and socially disadvantaged groups. Methods: An email survey was distributed to 609 families of children with diabetes who met the inclusion criteria: age 7-20 years, followed by our clinic, and T1DM (duration 2+ years) or T2DM (duration 1+ years) prior to the pandemic. The survey asked several questions in 5 categories (housing, guardian's job loss, medical care disruption, schooling disruption and death of household member from COVID-19). Responding yes to any question in a category constituted an adverse social event (ASE). COVID-19 infection, hospitalization and vaccination status were collected. Between group differences were examined with a Fisher's Exact Test. Results: Sixty two parents (10%) answered the survey, of whom 33 (53%) reported no ASE, 22 (35%)reported one ASE, and 7 (11%) reported 2 or more ASEs. Six respondents were Black and five were Hispanic. Among Black participants 1 (17%) had 1 ASE and 1 (17%) had 2 or more ASE, which was not statistically different than White participants. Among Hispanic participants 2 (40%) had one ASE and2 (40%) had 2 or more ASEs, which was numerically higher than the rates seen in non-Hispanic participants and approached statistical significance, p=0.068. Rates of ASE did not differ by insurance type or income level. Rates of COVID-19 infection and hospitalization did not differ between racial and ethnic groups. COVID 19 vaccination occurred at similar rates for Black and White participants; however, only 20% of Hispanic children received a COVID-19 vaccination, compared to 70% of non-Hispanic participants, p=0.04. Conclusion: Forty six percent of children with diabetes experienced one or more ASE during theCOVID-19 pandemic. Our survey suggests that rates of ASE may have been higher in Hispanicchildren, who were also less likely to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. Disclosure R.Abdul wahed: None. S.Ronis: None. S.A.Macleish: Speaker's Bureau; Insulet Corporation. J.R.Wood: Research Support; Insulet Corporation, Boehringer-Ingelheim, MannKind Corporation. S.Malay: None. K.A.Kutney: None.

Students’ and teachers’ perceptions of students’ academic outcomes in Slovenia: evidence from REDS data

The COVID-19 pandemic brought immense challenges to global society. The entire social and work life had to be reorganized to accommodate for the restrictions imposed to limit the spread of COVID-19. These restrictions affected the eduFIGation worldwide as well. Face-to-face education was disrupted and alternatives had to be found. One of the questions raised with the disruption was the student outcomes in the times when the usual teaching and learning was disrupted by the lockdowns and remote classes took place. There are not many studies on the topic in Slovenia but, more importantly, the existing ones do not use representative data to investigate the depth of the problem. The aim of this article is to fill this gap in research through comprehensive and in-depth analyses of the Slovenian student, school and teacher data from the international Responses to Educational Disruption Survey (REDS), conducted in 2020/2021. The data analysis involves descriptive and multivariate statistical methods appropriate for the mostly categorical data available from REDS. The results show that students’ perception on their learning and academic outcomes during the school disruptions depend on their background characteristics, i.e. the disruptions did not affect all students equally. These results are also supported by the findings from school principals’ and teachers’ data. In addition, the long-lasting issue of “grade inflation” in Slovenia has become even more severe, as shown by both student and teacher data. However, students and teachers are at contrasting opinions about student learning—while most of the students think they learned more at home during the disruptions and have shown more progress, teachers are of the opposite opinion. Furthermore, teachers tended to grade students’ academic outcomes higher during the disruptions which has increased the issue of “grade inflation” in Slovenia.

Estimating long-term K-12 student homelessness after a catastrophic flood disaster

Despite efforts to end homelessness in the United States, student homelessness is gradually growing over the past decade. Homelessness creates physical and psychological disadvantages for students and often disrupts school access. Research suggests that students who experience prolonged dislocation and school disruption after a disaster are primarily from low-income households and under-resourced areas. This study develops a framework to predict post-disaster trajectories for kindergarten through high school (K-12) students faced with a major disaster; the framework includes an estimation on the households with children who recover and those who experience long-term homelessness. Using the National Center for Education Statistics school attendance boundaries, residential housing inventory, and U.S. Census data, the framework first identifies students within school boundaries and links schools to students to housing. The framework then estimates dislocation induced by the disaster scenario and tracks the stage of post-disaster housing for each dislocated student. The recovery of dislocated students is predicted using a multi-state Markov chain model, which captures the sequences that households transition through the four stages of post-disaster housing (i.e., emergency shelter, temporary shelter, temporary housing, and permanent housing) based on the social vulnerability of the household. Finally, the framework predicts the number of students experiencing long-term homelessness and maps the students back to their pre-disaster school. The proposed framework is exemplified for the case of Hurricane Matthew-induced flooding in Lumberton, North Carolina. Findings highlight the disparate outcomes households with children face after major disasters and can be used to aid decision-making to reduce future disaster impacts on students.