With virus exposures in schools and changing education models due to COVID-19, a university instructor in Nanaimo is interested in examining effects of the pandemic on student learning and emotional well-being.
Marla Morden, a Vancouver Island University psychology professor and developmental psychologist, received $6,000 in B.C. Ministry of Health COVID-19 research grant money and wants to hear from families, particularly with kindergarten to Grade 4 students, about impacts of home-schooling, distance learning and classroom environments during the pandemic.
Morden and her team will be asking if distance-learning students experience more isolation from their peers, and if there will be related behavioural and mental health impacts. If another suspension of in-class instruction occurs, would that disruption cause mental health issues for those students and how long would that last, researchers wonder. Morden also hopes to hear about positive experiences and unexpected benefits of education models that families have selected.
91裸聊视频淚 think we will see some behaviour and some mental health impacts for children because that91裸聊视频檚 what studies and parents are telling us, but I91裸聊视频檓 not sure how long-lasting it will be,91裸聊视频� Morden said. 91裸聊视频淚91裸聊视频檓 hoping that we91裸聊视频檒l see even as early as next fall, or the following year, that children who are resilient will be back to normal, but it91裸聊视频檚 hard to say.91裸聊视频�
Information will be gathered through 91裸聊视频渟tandard psychological-type surveys,91裸聊视频� such as ones to determine parents and caregivers91裸聊视频� stress levels, and open-ended questions to both children and caregivers.
91裸聊视频淲e91裸聊视频檙e just giving them prompts and then we91裸聊视频檙e asking them to share their experiences about going to school this year91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频� said Morden. 91裸聊视频淲e might ask, 91裸聊视频楬ow have your social relationships been? How have the teachers been? Have you found that there have been enough supports?91裸聊视频� and then just letting them share their experiences in a more open-ended way.91裸聊视频�
Nanaimo-Ladysmith school district has seen an increase of distance education enrolment in 2020-21, with K-9 registration recently halted due to demand. Denise Wood, teachers91裸聊视频� union president, said while she hasn91裸聊视频檛 heard from K-4 teachers about students expressing fears about coronavirus, that doesn91裸聊视频檛 mean it91裸聊视频檚 not happening.
91裸聊视频淭here91裸聊视频檚 high anxiety levels throughout the schools, at all levels,91裸聊视频� said Wood.
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Students might not be explicitly expressing fears about the virus, but that doesn91裸聊视频檛 mean they aren91裸聊视频檛 concerned, added Susan Riordan, junior school principal at Aspengrove School, an independent school in Lantzville.
91裸聊视频淭he age group I work with, they91裸聊视频檙e not likely to come and say, 91裸聊视频極h hi Mrs. Riordan, I91裸聊视频檓 really worried about COVID-19,91裸聊视频� but we might see anxious behaviours a little bit more91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频� said Riordan of her primary students. 91裸聊视频淭hey91裸聊视频檙e asking to wash their hands when they might not normally have been the type to do that. They might get upset if someone gets too close to them.91裸聊视频�
Subjects will be tracked for five years, and while it may be hard to isolate the effects of the coronavirus, there could be other benefits to the research, Morden said.
91裸聊视频淚t could help us to see if there91裸聊视频檚 any difference between the behaviour of mental health of children who are home-schooled and who go to [bricks-and-mortar] school,91裸聊视频� she said. 91裸聊视频淲e could see that there91裸聊视频檚 no difference there, so that would be really great, or we could see that one group has an advantage.91裸聊视频�
Anyone wanting to take part in the research can e-mail Morden at marla.morden@viu.ca. She91裸聊视频檚 hoping to get in contact with somewhere between 90 and 120 families.
91裸聊视频淚 know a lot of families are really excited about this research and think it91裸聊视频檚 really important, so I want them to be aware that it91裸聊视频檚 happening,91裸聊视频� she said.
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