The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Children’s Social and Educational Experiences

• In Event: Poster Session 04
  In Poster Session: PS 04 Topic - Solicited Content: COVID-19 Related

Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic, individuals and families in the United States and abroad have endured several unique challenges such as social isolation, financial instability, and countless other sources of stress and uncertainty. Many families with children, and especially those with young children, have had to adapt to additional stressors and transitions with childcare and education. Considering this pandemic is still relatively new, research exploring its effects on children is limited. Understandably, much of the published work is focused on health-related outcome. Studies focused on aspects of development and well-being are largely theoretical (e.g., Lancker & Parolin, 2020; Wang, Zhang, Zhao, Zhang, & Jiang, 2020). School and childcare closures (both full and partial) have added responsibilities to many parents, including providing for children’s physical care, education, and developmental needs. Further, shifting care responsibilities has likely influenced other transitions within families such as changes to work schedules or employment status. Our primary objective is to illuminate how parents are promoting children’s social development and facilitating learning during the pandemic.

The current study implemented an ecological framework to investigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on three- to six-year-old children’s social and educational experiences. More specifically, our presentation will highlight how changes in children’s exosystems (e.g., school policies; parent employment) are associated with children’s interactions with immediate and extended family members and friends as well as their opportunities to engage in various activities typically experienced in childcare or school settings (e.g., reading, art, problem solving). Additionally, we will attempt to identify individual (e.g., parent stress), family (e.g., household income), and external (e.g., school closures) characteristics that are likely to influence parents’ abilities to meet their children’s needs.

A parent survey was developed for the current study. The survey items capture parent employment, childcare/school policies and arrangements, parent- and child-initiated learning activities, and indicators of parent and child well-being (e.g., stress, sleep quality) before and during the pandemic. 45 parents are currently enrolled in the study, 18 of whom have already completed and returned the survey. We anticipate a final sample of approximately 75 parents by the end of November. Due to the exploratory nature of this study, we will primarily present descriptive and correlational analyses to illustrate the relations between COVID-19, changes in children’s care arrangements and policies, changes in parental employment, and children’s social and educational experiences.

Preliminary analyses show that 78% of parents experienced disruptions to their typical work schedule during the pandemic, including reductions in hours and being forced to work at home. Further, only 35% of parents have continued to send their children to childcare or school during the pandemic compared to 94% before the pandemic. Together, these findings demonstrate that most families in our study are experiencing at least one major transition likely to influence children’s social development and education. We are confident the study will be completed well before the SRCD 2021 Biennial Meeting and we look forward to presenting and discussing the results.

Authors

• James A. Larsen, University of Tennessee - Knoxville
  Presenting Author

• Danielle Turley, California State University - Stanislaus
  Non-Presenting Author

• Louis Manfra, University of Missouri - Columbia
  Non-Presenting Author