scholarly journals School Performance among Children and Adolescents during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review

Children ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. 1134
Author(s):  
Eleni Panagouli ◽  
Androniki Stavridou ◽  
Christina Savvidi ◽  
Anastasia Kourti ◽  
Theodora Psaltopoulou ◽  
...  

As a result of COVID-19 restrictions, conventional ways of schooling were not possible, and in order to continue the educational process new digital resources, such as online learning platforms, were imposed. Although virtual courses provided high-quality educational material, the efficiency in children’s and adolescents’ academic performance in general is yet to be known. The purpose of this systematic review is to examine whether the academic performance of school-aged students was impacted or not through online learning and modified educational methods during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. According to the studies, either students suffered from learning losses comparing to pre-pandemic years or, in some cases, they benefited from online learning, especially in mathematics. Younger students and students with neurodevelopmental disorders or special education needs seemed to suffer more. Parents/caregivers reported that their children’s performance deteriorated, while others thought that online learning was beneficial. Teachers also reported that students presented academic gaps and difficulties in mathematics and reading compared to typical years. Consequently, the new ways of schooling imposed by the restrictions have not been fully tested and the impact cannot be described thoroughly. The investment in technological equipment in schools for the majority of students, along with the training of teachers in digital competence, should be a priority.

Author(s):  
Zi-Yu Liu ◽  
Natalya Lomovtseva ◽  
Elena Korobeynikova

Online learning platforms play an important role in modern education. However, they may not be sufficiently represented in educational institutions. In this regard, the research objectives are set, namely: organize a comparative analysis of several popular distance learning platforms (Moodle, Open edX and NEO LMS) in accordance with the criteria (system features, content support, content creation, user management, reporting system; conduct consultation with university teachers, during which they will highlight the benefits of distance education systems from the point of view of the teacher; and test students, who use the online platform for learning in order to clarify its impact on academic performance. While consulting with 40 teachers of Russian and Chinese universities (Moscow State University, Higher School of Economics, Peking University, Tsinghua University), the following advantages of distance platforms have been highlighted: greater freedom of access, lower education prices, the possibility of dividing the content of the e-course into modules, flexibility of education, the ability to keep up with modern pace of life, and the ability to define criteria for assessing knowledge. According to the results of testing, after working with the Moodle platform, students (300 people in total) with different academic performance have improved their results. The most significant improvement has occurred among students with “unsatisfactory” grades; more than 50% have improved their results. Analysis of distance learning systems, testing of students and consultation with teachers allow saying that such platforms help to make education more accessible and convenient. Besides, information technologies are introduced in the educational process. That is why it is important to implement such platforms in higher education.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 2247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Manzano-León ◽  
Pablo Camacho-Lazarraga ◽  
Miguel A. Guerrero ◽  
Laura Guerrero-Puerta ◽  
José M. Aguilar-Parra ◽  
...  

Educational gamification consists of the use of game elements and game design techniques in the educational context. The objective of this study is to examine the existing evidence on the impact of educational gamification on student motivation and academic performance in the last five years in order to analyze its distribution over time, educational level, variables, and most used game elements, and know the advantages of its implementation in the classroom. For this, a systematic review is proposed through the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) methodology in three multidisciplinary databases, through an exhaustive search with inclusion and exclusion criteria on quantitative experimental studies that explore gamification in educational centers, which provide information about the most current lines of research. Fourteen studies were included in this review. These used experimental or quasi-experimental designs. Most of them report gamification as a valid learning strategy. The results support the conclusion that educational gamification has a potential impact on the academic performance, commitment, and motivation of students. Therefore, this study implies the need to expand research on the needs and challenges of students when learning with gamified techniques.


2017 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 198-205 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Trimmer ◽  
Roselyn Dixon

In Australia and Europe, government agencies and not-for-profit organisations (NFPOs) have had long involvement in the funding and provision of community disability services. Significant change has occurred in Australia over the past two decades in the way government funds are expended, with marketplace mechanisms increasingly being used. As a consequence of economic and governance imperatives, funding of services via NFPOs has changed significantly with a move away from the provision of grants to the contracting of these organisations for the provision of services. In 2013, a new national policy, the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), was introduced that has impacts for the provision of disability services for children and their families. In particular, Indigenous families are likely to experience barriers in accessing services. This paper reviews the impact of international changes in policy and associated funding models and considers the impacts and research implications of Australia's initial experience of implementation of the NDIS.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ummi Mukarromah ◽  
Wiwik Wijayanti

Vocational schools are no exception to implementing the online learning policy during the covid-19 pandemic, including students majoring in hotel accommodation. This study aims to describe how the school develops its readiness to implement the policy, particularly its challenges. This study also aims to determine the constraints and impacts of implementing the policy. Using a qualitative method, this study involved two vocational schools in Yogyakarta that have Hotel Accommodation major. The heads of the departments, the productive teachers, and some students were invited to several interviews. Documentation was also used to obtain detailed information. The results were categorized into two aspects: hard-skills and soft-skills. From the first aspect, challenges that are faced as the impact of the policy are (1) online learning at vocational schools majoring in hotel accommodation requires facilities and infrastructure that do not include internet quota, (2) teacher digital competence and teacher creativity in carrying out learning need to be improved, (3) students feel bored with online learning, so motivation needs to be grown, (4) skills/ practice-based learning implemented in school alternately with a limited number of students. The second aspect indicated that the policy makes it difficult to develop students' soft skills that are also measured as the learning objective. These constraints are important to note for the implementation of the online learning policy to be successful.


2021 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 185-204
Author(s):  
Olesia Vlasii ◽  
Olha Dudka ◽  
Nadiia Ivanochko

In the article, the impact of digitalization of education on the transformation of the professional competence of a social educators is analyzed; the need of the formation of digital competence of social educators in the context of the widespread implementation of information and communication technologies in the educational process is substantiated; the state of using educational Internet resources in the professional activities of social educators is analyzed; the importance of improving the level of digital competence as a component of the professional competence of social educators is substantiated; the use of digital tools as a practical toolkit for social educators is proposed; a brief overview of digital tools that will be useful in the work of a social educator is provided; a training course "Using Internet resources in the work of a social educator" developed by authors is presented; the course consists of four modules in accordance with the main directions of the social educator's activities, in particular, diagnostic, developmental, educational and preventive work; the course has a practical focus, for the implementation of practical tasks, adapted to the professional activity of a social educator, instructional and methodological materials are developed that make it possible to conduct the course both offline and online; the course is developed on the principles of accessibility, comprehensibility, professional orientation and motivation; to implement the developed course, it is recommended to use the Google Classroom platform, which makes it possible to combine traditional and innovative forms and methods of teaching, which is especially important in the context of the introduction of distance and blended learning; the results of approbation of the developed course, which was conducted for social educators of the Nadvirnyansky district of Ivano-Frankivsk region are presented; taking into account the results of approbation, the conclusion is given about the advisability of using the course for the professional growth of social educators, including for the formation of the readiness of a social educator for the implementation of digital tools into professional activities.


2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. e000341 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andy J Daly-Smith ◽  
Stephen Zwolinsky ◽  
Jim McKenna ◽  
Phillip D Tomporowski ◽  
Margaret Anne Defeyter ◽  
...  

ObjectiveTo examine the impact of acute classroom movement break (CMB) and physically active learning (PAL) interventions on physical activity (PA), cognition, academic performance and classroom behaviour.DesignSystematic review.Data sourcesPubMed, EBSCO, Academic Search Complete, Education Resources Information Center, PsycINFO, SPORTDiscus, SCOPUS and Web of Science.Eligibility criteria for selecting studiesStudies investigating school-based acute bouts of CMB or PAL on (PA), cognition, academic performance and classroom behaviour. The Downs and Black checklist assessed risk of bias.ResultsTen PAL and eight CMB studies were identified from 2929 potentially relevant articles. Risk of bias scores ranged from 33% to 64.3%. Variation in study designs drove specific, but differing, outcomes. Three studies assessed PA using objective measures. Interventions replaced sedentary time with either light PA or moderate-to-vigorous PA dependent on design characteristics (mode, duration and intensity). Only one study factored individual PA outcomes into analyses. Classroom behaviour improved after longer moderate-to-vigorous (>10 min), or shorter more intense (5 min), CMB/PAL bouts (9 out of 11 interventions). There was no support for enhanced cognition or academic performance due to limited repeated studies.ConclusionLow-to-medium quality designs predominate in investigations of the acute impacts of CMB and PAL on PA, cognition, academic performance and classroom behaviour. Variable quality in experimental designs, outcome measures and intervention characteristics impact outcomes making conclusions problematic. CMB and PAL increased PA and enhanced time on task. To improve confidence in study outcomes, future investigations should combine examples of good practice observed in current studies.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42017070981.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (24) ◽  
pp. 10367
Author(s):  
Claudiu Coman ◽  
Laurențiu Gabriel Țîru ◽  
Luiza Meseșan-Schmitz ◽  
Carmen Stanciu ◽  
Maria Cristina Bularca

The research focuses on identifying the way in which Romanian universities managed to provide knowledge during the Coronavirus pandemic, when, in a very short time, universities had to adapt the educational process for exclusively online teaching and learning. In this regard, we analyzed students’ perception regarding online learning, their capacity to assimilate information, and the use of E-learning platforms. An online survey based on a semi-structured questionnaire was conducted. Data was collected from 762 students from two of the largest Romanian universities. The results of the research revealed that higher education institutions in Romania were not prepared for exclusively online learning. Thus, the advantages of online learning identified in other studies seem to diminish in value, while disadvantages become more prominent. The hierarchy of problems that arise in online learning changes in the context of the crisis caused by the pandemic. Technical issues are the most important, followed by teachers’ lack of technical skills and their teaching style improperly adapted to the online environment. However, the last place was assigned by students to the lack of interaction with teachers or poor communication with them. Based on these findings, research implications for universities and researchers are discussed.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joy Xu ◽  
Jeffrey Ong ◽  
Tam Tran ◽  
Yasmine Kollar ◽  
Alyssa Wu ◽  
...  

BACKGROUNDWithin academic development, it is important for students to use effective study strategies to facilitate learning. Techniques used for long-term information retention include note taking strategies, time management, methods of self-testing and active recall. These strategies are explored to help students learn more effectively to attain their academic goals.METHODA mixed-methods systematic review of peer-review articles and grey literature was conducted with a predetermined criteria for a convergent integrated synthesis approach. PsychInfo (Ovid), Web of Science, and ProQuest databases were searched with guidance of a PICO-P logic grid and search strategy using keywords of student, study strategies, and achievement alongside filters. Initial studies were screened and reconciled by two independent authors with the use of a piloted screening tool. Using the Mixed Methods Assessment Tool (MMAT), included studies were assessed for quality. Two authors independently performed data extraction. Heterogeneity in study designs, outcomes, and measurements precluded meta and statistical analyses; thus, a qualitative analysis of studies was provided.RESULTSFour major themes contributing to academic performance were identified among the appraised articles. These themes were self-testing, scheduling/time management, concept maps, and learning styles. Self-testing, scheduling, and concept maps were positively correlated with increased academic performance, while no correlation was found with learning styles and academic performance.CONCLUSIONIncluded studies provided evidence for significant differences in study strategies implemented by high and low achieving students, such as areas of motivation for learning, efficiency, active recall, retrieval practices, and concept maps. Understanding the effectiveness of certain study strategies is critical for students and educational facilitators to maximize learning.


Author(s):  
Kseniia Sinenko ◽  

The article is devoted to the actual problem of the professional training of future primary school teachers for the formation information-digital competence of primary school age students from the point of view of the competence-based approach. The urgency of the problem under study has been proved, taking into account the transformation processes taking place in society, in particular: digitalization, updating the content of education, the impact of the consequences of a global pandemic, etc. The essence of the concepts «competence», «competence-based approach», «information-digital competence» has been determined. The priority of the competence-based approach to the problem of professional training of future primary school teachers, including the formation of various competencies of primary school age students, is noted. The leading competencies that make up the information-digital competence of a primary school teacher have been determined (the ability to: navigate the information space, search and critically evaluate information, operate it in professional activities; effectively use existing and create (if necessary) new electronic (digital) educational resources, use digital technologies in the educational process) and a primary school age students (the ability: to understand the essence of information, analyze it, search in different sources and critically reflect on it; to use media for educational purposes; to effective communication on the Internet; to create and distribute various content on the network Internet).


2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 1010-1020
Author(s):  
Mohammad Abed Sakarneh

The Covid-19 pandemic has been one of the most significant events affecting the largest number of countries at the same time around the globe. Governments instituted the closure of schools and lockdown of cities and other areas to prevent the spread of the virus. Students had to learn through online platforms meant to enhance continued learning. The current study aimed to explore the extent to which Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdown impact families of students with special education needs. Qualitative approach was used; semi-structured interviews were undertaken using online communication tools via Google Meet platform and for data analysis Atlas.ti program was used for coding and categorizing. The findings revolved around main themes in the study include; behavior problems in the children, psychological distress for the parents, and difficulty of delivering the rigid content and schedules. Implications for school and social support are discussed for policymakers in Jordan.   Keywords: COVID 19, families, lockdown, students with special education needs.


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