EFL teachers’ online teaching in rural schools during the COVID-19 pandemic: Stories from Indonesia

The implementation of online English instruction in remote areas during the COVID-19 pandemic, which mandates school closures, remains unknown, especially given these areas’ reputation for inadequate educational facilities. Additionally, the preparations, implementation, and challenges experienced by English as a Foreign Language (henceforth, EFL) teachers in rural areas remain unclear. This study therefore aimed at exploring the experiences of EFL teachers in rural areas on (1) their readiness for conducting online teaching, (2) their implementation of online teaching, and (3) the challenges during the implementation of online teaching due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The research was conducted in Indonesia with eight English teachers in rural schools. This study was a qualitative study that employed a phenomenological study approach and used semi-structured interviews to collect the data. The findings indicate that EFL teachers, during this pandemic time, were able to conduct fully online English teaching because they possessed sufficient knowledge of English instruction using technology. Additionally, these teachers might leverage various technologies and adapt those tools to transform their usual face-to-face English instruction into online instruction. Nonetheless, these teachers in rural schools frequently encountered challenges with internet connectivity, student-owned technology devices, student enthusiasm, and student netiquette when enrolling in online English teaching. Additionally, this article discusses some practical considerations for implementing online English teaching during a pandemic.

Saliva-Based, COVID-19 RT-PCR Pooled Screening Strategy to Keep Schools Open

Background: As of March 2020, governments throughout the world implemented business closures, work from home policies, and school closures due to exponential increase of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases, leaving only essential workers being able to work on site. For most of the children and adolescent school closures during the first lockdown had significant physical and psychosocial consequences. Here, we describe a comprehensive Return to School program based on a behavior safety protocol combined with the use of saliva-based reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) pooled screening technique to keep schools opened. Methods: The program had 2 phases: before school (safety and preparation protocols) and once at school (disease control program: saliva-based RT-PCR pooled screening protocol and contact tracing). Pooling: Aliquots of saliva from 24 individuals were pooled and 1 RT-PCR test was performed. If positive, the initial 24-pool was then retested (12 pools of 2). Individual RT-PCR tests from saliva samples from positive pools of 2 were performed to get an individual diagnosis. Results: From August 31 until December 20, 2020 (16-wk period) a total of 3 pools, and subsequent 3 individual diagnosis of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) disease were reported (2 teachers and 1 staff). Conclusion: Until COVID-19 vaccine can be administered broadly to all-age children, saliva-based RT-PCR pooling testing is the missing piece we were searching for to keep schools opened.

Meeting the Needs of Students With Emotional and Behavioral Disorders During the COVID-19 School Closures

The COVID-19 global pandemic left many educators making an emergency transition to remote instruction when schools were initially closed. Although this transition was likely difficult for most students, it may have been particularly difficult for students with emotional or behavioral disorders who have complex and resource-intensive social, emotional, and behavioral needs. The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which special educators and related service providers felt they were able to meet those needs in the context of the pandemic occurring in the Spring of 2020. Results indicated respondents’ perceptions of their ability to meet students’ needs and implement their students’ individualized education programs (IEPs) were moderated by policies on remote instruction and students’ access to technology. In addition, respondents suggested district- and school-level response strategies, professional development on remote instruction, access to the internet at home, and additional technology would be helpful in future school closures. Implications and limitations are discussed.

Can Acting Out Online Improve Adolescents’ Well-Being During Contact Restrictions? A First Insight Into the Dysfunctional Role of Cyberbullying and the Need to Belong in Well-Being During COVID-19 Pandemic-Related Contact Restrictions

Connecting with peers online to overcome social isolation has become particularly important during the pandemic-related school closures across many countries. In the context of contact restrictions, feelings of isolation and loneliness are more prevalent and the regulation of these negative emotions to maintain a positive well-being challenges adolescents. This is especially the case for those individuals who might have a high need to belong and difficulties in emotional competences. The difficult social situation during contact restrictions, more time for online communication and maladaptive emotion regulation might lead to aggressive communication patterns in the form of cyberbullying perpetration. In an online study with N = 205 adolescents aged 14–19 (M = 15.83, SD = 1.44; 57% girls), we assessed the frequency of online and offline contacts, need to belong, emotion regulation problems, feelings of loneliness, and cyberbullying perpetration as predictors of adolescents’ well-being. In particular, we explored whether cyberbullying perpetration might function as a maladaptive strategy to deal with feelings of loneliness and therefore predicts well-being. This effect was expected to be stronger for those with a higher need to belong and with higher emotion regulation problems. Results of a hierarchical regression analysis revealed that well-being was significantly predicted by less emotion regulation difficulties, less feeling isolated and more cyberbullying perpetration. We also tested whether the need to belong or emotion regulation problems moderated the association between cyberbullying and well-being. While the results for emotion regulation problems were not significant, the moderation effect for the need to belong was significant: For students with a high need to belong, well-being was more strongly related to cyberbullying perpetration than for students with a medium need to belong. For students with a low need to belong, cyberbullying was not significantly associated with well-being. That cyberbullying perpetration predicted well-being positively is rather surprising in the light of previous research showing negative psychosocial outcomes also for cyberbullying perpetrators. The moderation analysis provides a hint at underlying processes: In times of distance learning and contact restrictions, cyberbullying may be a way of coming into contact with others and to regulate loneliness maladaptively.

COVID-19-related school disruptions and well-being of children and adolescents in Geneva

Background Various studies showed the negative impact of COVID-19-related lockdowns and school closures on the well-being of children and adolescents. However, the prevalence and consequences of occasional short-term school disruptions due to COVID-19-related quarantine or isolation remain unknown. This study evaluated their impact on the well-being and stress level of children and adolescents. Methods In June/July 2021, we conducted a survey selecting a representative sample of children and adolescents of a Swiss canton population. Parents of school-aged children reported information about them missing school because of COVID-19, from August 2020 to June 2021, as well as about their health-related quality of life (HRQoL) measured with the KINDL® scale and their stress level. Results Among the 538 participants, 216/538 (40.1%) pupils missed school at least once for COVID-19-related causes, with a total of 272 absences. We observed no relationship between the frequency of COVID-19-related absences and the HRQoL or stress level, even when stratifying by the type of absence or socio-demographic factors. Discussion Overall, these findings are reassuring in that quarantines and related school disruptions, which we know are a common and effective way of controlling SARS-CoV-2 transmission, did not seem to meaningfully impact children and adolescent's wellbeing and stress. Finding the right balance between SARS-CoV-2 control and young populations' well-being is challenging, and the current results provide additional information for decision makers.

Point of care SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid testing in schools improves school attendance

Background: National lockdowns have led to significant interruption to children’s education globally. In the Autumn term in 2020, school absence in England and Wales was almost five times higher than the same period in 2019. Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in schools and ongoing interruption to education remains a concern. However, evaluation of rapid point of care (POC) polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing in British schools has not been undertaken. Methods: This is a survey of secondary schools in England that implemented PCR-based rapid POC testing. The study aims to measure the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in schools, to assess the impact of this testing on school attendance and closures, and to describe schools experiences with testing. All schools utilised the SAMBA II SARS-CoV-2 testing platform. Results: 12 fee-paying secondary schools in England were included. Between September 1st 2020 and December 16th 2020, 697 on site rapid POC PCR tests were performed and 6.7% of these were positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection. There were five outbreaks in three schools during this time which were contained. Seven groups of close contacts within the school known as bubbles had to quarantine but there were no school closures. 84% of those tested were absent from school for less than one day whilst awaiting their test result. This potentially saved between 1047 and 1570 days off school in those testing negative compared to the NHS PCR laboratory test. Schools reported a positive impact of having a rapid testing platform as it allowed them to function as fully as possible during this pandemic. Conclusions: Rapid POC PCR testing platforms should be widely available and utilised in school settings. Reliable positive tests will prevent outbreaks and uncontrolled spread of infection within school settings. Reliable negative test results will reassure students, parents and staff and prevent disruption to education.

Advancing child health and educational equity during the COVID-19 pandemic through science and advocacy

The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the changing role of scientists, clinicians, ethicists, and educators in advocacy as they rapidly translate their findings to inform practice and policy. Critical efforts have been directed towards understanding child well-being, especially with pandemic-related educational disruptions. While school closures were part of early widespread public health measures to curb the spread of COVID-19, they have not been without consequences for all children, and especially for children from disadvantaged backgrounds. In a recent Isr J Health Policy Res perspective, Paltiel and colleagues demonstrate the integral role of academic activism to promote child well-being during the pandemic by highlighting work of the multidisciplinary academic group on children and coronavirus (MACC). In this commentary, we explore parallels to MACC’s work in an international context by describing the efforts of a multidisciplinary team at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, to aggregate data, conduct analyses, and offer training tools intended to minimize health and educational inequities for children throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. As both MACC and our work collectively demonstrates, multidisciplinary partnerships and public-facing data-driven initiatives are crucial to advocating for children's equitable access to quality health and education. This will likely not be the last pandemic that children experience in their lifetime. As such, efforts should be made to apply the lessons learned during the current pandemic to strengthen multidisciplinary academic-public partnerships which will continue to play a critical role in the future.

Learning Loss: A Real Threat in Education for Underprivileged Students and Remote Regions during the Covid-19 Pandemic

This study aims to describe the real threat of learning loss for underprivileged students and remote areas, due to school closures and distance learning in Riau Province, Indonesia. On the other hand, keeping students safe from the dangers of the COVID-19 virus is the main factor. Distance learning is a solution to this dilemma, but it is very difficult for underprivileged students and remote regions to implement, because: 1) Students have never used various educational technology platforms in distance learning 2) Do not have a smartphone and mobile data plans 3) Internet signal in remote areas is not good for distance learning. The results of this study describe, when distance learning was first implemented, as many as 75 % of 206 underprivileged students and ten schools experienced difficulties when using educational technology platforms for distance learning. However, after two years, there has been an increase in the participation of underprivileged students in distance learning. In addition, it has become a habit, subsidized mobile data plans from the government, adaptive curricula and variations in learning methods when distance learning, have become important factor in increasing the participation of underprivileged students and remote regions.