Children’s Developing Knowledge of Germs Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic

• In Event: Poster Session 01
  In Poster Session: PS 01 Topic - Cognitive Processes

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused drastic changes in the lives of children worldwide, including major disruptions to schooling. As a result, children’s education on the coronavirus has largely been left to parents. Knowledge about illness transmission is important because it has been shown to predict children’s illness-avoidant behaviors (Au et al., 2008; Blacker & LoBue 2016). Although the impact of illness-relevant curricula in educational settings is well established (Au & Romo, 1996; Au et al., 2008), less is known about how informal learning experiences, such as conversations with parents, shape children’s understanding of germs and illness. The current study aims to explore this issue within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic using a sample of 5-, 7-, and 9-year-olds (15-30 children per group) and their parents.

First, we are interested in the nature of the messages that parents provide about COVID-19. Specifically, to what extent do parents discuss causal processes in their COVID-related conversations with their children? Parents will respond to a series of open-ended questions targeting these conversations (see Table 1). Using a coding scheme adapted from Au et al. (2008; see Table 2), we will provide a descriptive account of the types of explanations parents use. Chi-square tests will be used to examine whether parents’ explanations differ as a function of child age. We expect parents of older children to incorporate more sophisticated causal mechanisms than parents of younger children.

Next, we are interested in children’s knowledge about COVID-19, including the causal processes they invoke and whether their COVID-19 understanding is related to their general knowledge about germs. Children will answer a series of questions (see Table 1) about COVID-19 and its transmission, and a series of true-false questions assessing their general understanding of germs. Responses will be coded (see Table 2) for the types of causal mechanisms invoked. Age differences will be examined using Chi-square analyses. Correlational analyses will also be used to determine whether children’s understanding of COVID-19 transmission is associated with their general germ knowledge (controlling for age).

Finally, we are interested in whether parents who use more sophisticated explanations in their messages (e.g., referencing germ survival) have children who reason about COVID-19 in a more advanced manner. We will examine correlations between parents’ frequency of using each explanation type and their children’s knowledge of COVID-19 (controlling for age).

Feasibility. Recruitment and data collection are scheduled to begin in early November. Transcription and coding will happen concurrently with data collection. We will recruit participants from a database of families and social media. Most recently we were able to recruit and run 97 participants over the course of 10 weeks using these methods. We expect to conclude data collection by the end of January 2021 with ample time to process and analyze the data before April.

Overall, by identifying the nature of parental messaging about COVID-19 and its implications for children’s growing knowledge of illness, the current study will provide unique insight into the role of informal educational experiences in children’s learning.

Authors

• Eugene Rohrer, Lehigh University
  Presenting Author

• Amanda C Brandone, Lehigh University
  Non-Presenting Author