The COVID-19 Pandemic: Social, Emotional, and Academic Outcomes Across Childhood and Adolescence

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Abstract

In the Spring 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted life in the United States and around the world. Shutdown and stay-at-home orders required abrupt and radical changes to educational systems, disrupting formal schooling processes for 1.2 to 1.6 billion school-aged youth worldwide (UNESCO, 2021; USAID, 2020). Emerging research suggests many youth have faced academic and social-emotional challenges resulting from COVID-19 (Bignardi et al., 2021; Magson et al., 2021). COVID-19’s impact might be especially salient for youth engaged in major educational and developmental transitions and for youth from minoritized backgrounds (Goyal et al., 2020; Lerner & Steinberg, 2009; Loades et al., 2020). Given the variation in systems in response to COVID-19, the extended shut-down of typical schooling, the starts and stops to schooling in response to changing health conditions, and the continued variability in distance learning patterns, research is needed to understand how COVID-19 impacted, and continues to influence, key developmental outcomes as children and youth navigate critical academic and developmental transitions. Only when we have this knowledge, can we adequately “reimagine educational opportunities” for all youth and lay frameworks of support that can be accessed in the event of further exacerbations of this pandemic or other natural disasters. Using a developmental perspective, each of the four papers in the proposed symposium examines the immediate and short-term impacts of COVID-19 disruptions on at least one aspect of academic, social, and emotional well-being of pre-kindergarten, elementary, or middle school youth.

Sub Unit

• Solicited Content: COVID-19 Related

Chair

• Kristen L Bub, University of Georgia

Individual Presentations

• Exploring Young Children’s Recovery Rates in Academic, Social, and Behavioral Skills Following COVID-19-initiated Disruptions to In-person Learning - Presenting Author: Emma Sorckoff; Hunter Cochran; Erica Smolinski, University of Georgia; Stacey Michelle Neuharth-Pritchett, University of Georgia; Kristen L Bub, University of Georgia

• Developmental Trajectories of Children’s Behavioral Health and Family Well-Being Prior To and Through the COVID-19 Pandemic - Presenting Author: Lily S Fritz, Harvard University; Stephanie M Jones, Harvard Graduate School of Education; Emily Hanno, MDRC (Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation) - New York City; Nonie Lesaux, Harvard Graduate School of Education; Alan Mozaffari, Harvard Graduate School of Education; Jacqueline Ramos-Draper, Harvard University

• Longitudinal Impacts of COVID-19 Disruptions on Middle School Students’ Mental Health and Well-Being: A 2-year Follow-up - Presenting Author: Kristen L Bub, University of Georgia; Stacey Michelle Neuharth-Pritchett, University of Georgia; Sycarah Fisher, University of Georgia

• Do Service Provider Ratios Matter? An Examination of Student Mental Health Outcomes Following COVID-19 Disruptions - Presenting Author: Shlon A Smith, University of Georgia; Erica Smolinski, University of Georgia; Sycarah Fisher, University of Georgia; Kristen L Bub, University of Georgia