88 COVID-19’s Lasting Impact on Educational Advancements

Introduction

Extraordinary transformation has been brought about in the world, especially in the field of education, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Students and educators alike had to adjust to new teaching modes as a result of the significant disruption to traditional learning approaches (Chilton et al., 2024). This disruption has hindered children’s development of critical motor abilities, in addition to affecting academic learning. Additionally, as students dealt with the difficulties of fewer in-person encounters, the move to remote learning brought attention to the growing need for assistance in the field of social development. In this chapter, I will discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly transformed the learning environment, disrupting traditional learning methods, hindering motor skill development in children, and creating an increased need for support in social and speech development.

Connection to sts

The rapid shift to digital learning and decline in in-person interactions illustrates how technology-mediated settings might unintentionally impact key milestones such as language acquisition, motor abilities, and sociability. As young learners need multi-sensory involvement for complete development, the pandemic accelerated the adoption of internet platforms, highlighting their advantages and disadvantages. Lastly, STS framework emphasizes the need for inclusive technology in education by examining how technical solutions that lack flexibility for varying developmental requirements worsen social differences. Both science and technology played a major role in society during the COVID-19 pandemic, forever altering how we live our lives.

COVID-19’s impact today

Traditional learning methods were forgone as soon as the pandemic hit, and our world became digital. Classroom environments, once full of lively learning were replaced by virtual platforms, leaving students with little peer engagement. It was rapidly seen that online learning had many positive and negative aspects. Yes, students lost in-person engagement and the advantages of being in the classroom, but students were also found to be enjoying more time outside and understanding material almost better than before. Flipped learning was quickly put together and introduced when the pandemic hit. Students began doing the easier work individually, such as worksheets and homework. Then, the hard stuff was done in the presence of faculty and staff, so they could quickly aid the students through technology. With this flipped-learning method, it was found that students spent the majority of their time analyzing and applying their new knowledge, rather than simply remembering, as pictured below (Bergman et al., 2023). Ultimately, this shift placed new demands on both students and teachers, reshaping the role of the classroom, and redefining traditional methods of learning.

On the other hand, many negative consequences were seen as a result of online learning, specifically in younger kids. For the development of fine and gross motor skills, traditional classroom activities like handwriting, physical object manipulation, and interactive play are crucial. Many kids were confined to screens as a result of the transition to digital learning, where typing and clicking took the place of hands-on exercises that are essential for motor coordination. Skills that are normally developed through in-person instruction, like precise handwriting, cutting with scissors, and coordinated movement during play, were delayed by this decrease in physical connection (Rigó et al., 2024). Furthermore, a study by Lin et al. (2021) highlighted that children ages 3–6 exhibited significantly delayed gross motor skill development during lockdowns, especially in urban environments where space and physical activity were restricted. Given that motor skills are fundamental to cognitive and social development, educators now have the difficult task of assisting kids in catching up on these missed milestones.

Lastly, the pandemic’s transition to virtual learning has raised the need for assistance with children’s speech and social development. Kids missed vital opportunities to practice social cues, conversational flow, and interactive play, all of which are vital for developing communication skills when they were deprived of face-to-face encounters (Evans et al., 2024). Despite being helpful for continuity, video conversations frequently lack the spontaneity of face-to-face conversation and restrict nonverbal communication, which is crucial for social growth. Speech development is made more difficult by digital environments because audio distortion can limit exposure to distinct speech patterns that are essential for language learning in young children. Research by Deoni et al. (2021) found that pandemic-born toddlers had lower verbal, motor, and cognitive performance scores, suggesting that even passive digital exposure could have lasting developmental effects. To close these developmental gaps and aid in children’s recovery in these vital areas, there is an increasing need for treatments such as social skills workshops and speech therapy (Bivins-Hudson, 2024). In the end, there are many mixed opinions on whether or not education in the United States is on the decline after the pandemic, or just the same.

HOW SCHOOL COUNSELORS CAN BENEFIT STUDENTS

The COVID-19 pandemic ensured that school counselors would be of great benefit to students experiencing the adverse effects of the pandemic.  As the pandemic introduced widespread social isolation, adverse childhood experiences, and a plethora of other stressors impacting student mental health, school counselors were central in helping students cope with these effects (Pincus et al., 2020).

The effects of COVID-19 lockdowns include depression, substance abuse, PTSD, and suicide risks among students.  Many reentering schools post-lockdown endured adverse childhood experiences, impacting brain development, sociability, and their academic performance (Pincus et al., 2020).  School counselors are noted for their ability in assessing students’ needs, providing short-term support where they are able while referring families to mental health experts (therapists, psychiatrists, etc.).  Counselors thus help ensure a safer school environment, extremely necessary especially for those enduring the adverse effects resulting from the pandemic.

There are many different early intervention and preventive measures to help address student psychological distress: ACE questionnaires, Generalized Anxiety Disorder scales, SBIRT substance abuse assessments, and School Refusal Assessment Scales (Pincus et al., 2020).  Administered by school counselors, these measures can help reduce anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideations, while improving academic performance.  A prime focus on student mental health can help create a systemic approach to social and emotional student support, ensuring a positive and healthy environment free of the stressors inhabited by COVID-19.

While especially in times of great distraught counselors can be of great benefit to students and their academic performance, there are barriers that inhibit them performing at their greatest potential.  School counselors are burdened with duties such as test coordination, substitute teaching, and data entry, all of which take up time that otherwise would be spent aiding students.  The ASCA National Model depicts that counselors should dedicate 80 percent of their time to direct and indirect student services: mental health counseling, classroom lessons on mental health coping skills, and consultations with a variety of stakeholders in order to address students’ comprehensive needs (Pincus et al., 2020).

With all the negative that has come as a result of the COVID-19 lockdown, with regard to students, school counselors are present not only to help combat these adverse effects, but also to allow students to propel in their academics as they were prior to the pandemic.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the COVID-19 pandemic has drastically impacted the world of education, which will have a lasting impact on children’s development. While providing consistency in education, the use of digital platforms exposed serious deficiencies in the conventional learning support that young kids require, especially in the areas of speech, social, and motor development (Mulkey et al., 2023). This time of change emphasizes how crucial it is to create flexible educational systems that take into consideration the many developmental requirements of young learners. To promote well-rounded growth, educators and legislators must aid in developing hybrid learning settings that combine technology with practical and social skills. By recognizing these difficulties, and incorporating these lessons, schools can better equip children with the skills and support they need in an increasingly digital world, bridging the gaps that became evident during the pandemic, and ensuring more inclusive, effective learning opportunities for all young children.

Chapter questions

• What long-term measures can educators and legislators take to address the gaps in social and emotional development brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic?
• How might technology be incorporated into educational institutions of the future to provide more flexible and robust learning environments in the event of disruptions?
• What part can communities and parents play in helping kids bounce back from the pandemic’s effects on their education and development?
• What is one way school counselors can be an asset to students who are experiencing adverse mental health effects?

Sources

Bergmann, J., Dacey, C., & de los Reyes, J. M. (2023). The Emergence of Flipped Learning Teaching Practices During the (COVID)-19 Pandemic and Its Impact on Active Learning, Engagement, and Motivation of Students and Faculty. The Journal of Faculty Development, 37(3), 76–83.

Bivins-Hudson, P. (2024, September 2). The effects of covid-19 pandemic on our 2024 kindergartners. RLS Media. https://www.rlsmedia.com/article/effects-covid-19-pandemic-our-2024-kindergartners

Chilton, J. K., Hanks, S., & Watson, H. R. (2024). A blended future? A cross-sectional study demonstrating the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on student experiences of well-being, teaching and learning. European Journal of Dental Education, 28(1), 170–183. https://doi.org/10.1111/eje.12934

Deoni, S. C. L., Beauchemin, J., Volpe, A., D’Souza, D., & RESONANCE Consortium. (2021). Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Early Child Cognitive Development: Initial Findings in a Longitudinal Observational Study of Child Health. medRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.08.10.21261846

Evans, W. N., Muchnick, K., & Rosenlund, O. (2024). Virtual Learning in Kindergarten Through Grade 12 During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Chronic Absenteeism. JAMA Network Open, 7(8), e2429569-e2429569.

Is Education in Decline? (2024). Statista. Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/chart/33184/current-and-future-quality-of-the-public-k-12-education-system-in-the-us/.

Lin, Y., Wang, R., & Li, H. (2021). Impact of COVID-19 Lockdown on Children’s Motor Development: A Comparative Study in Urban China. Early Child Development and Care. https://doi.org/10.1080/03004430.2021.1975723

Mulkey, S. B., Bearer, C. F., & Molloy, E. J. (2023). Indirect effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on children relate to the child’s age and experience. Pediatric research, 94(5), 1586–1587. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-023-02681-4

Pincus, R., Hannor-Walker, T., Wright, L., & Justice, J. (2020). COVID-19’s Effect on Students: How School Counselors Rise to the Rescue. NASSP Bulletin, 104(4), 241-256. https://doi-org.libproxy.clemson.edu/10.1177/0192636520975866 (Original work published 2020)

Rigó, M., & Weyers, S. (2024). Child Motor Development before and after the COVID-19 Pandemic: Are There Social Inequalities?. Children, 11(8), 936.

ai use disclosure

I used ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot to help me find information about the impact of Covid-19 on educatuon and related information that fits the goals of this textbook chapter. ChatGPT provided me with reliable sources in order to aid the development of this chapter. Other sources were also gathered and incorporated into this chapter.  ChatGPT provided grammatical corrections, paragraph enhancements, and citations. https://chatgpt.com/ https://copilot.cloud.microsoft/?fromcode=cmc&redirectid=74E21AC379DA4CE299398FAEE1C01430&auth=2