Back to school during the COVID-19 pandemic: Mitigating risks while promoting individual and community well-being among children and adolescents at school re-entry.

Authors

  • Cindy Ngov Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Occupational Health, McGill University, QC, Canada
  • Diana Miconi Division of Social and Cultural Psychiatry, McGill University, QC, Canada
  • Garine Papazian-Zohrabian Department of Psychopedagogy and Andragogy, University of Montreal, QC, Canada
  • Cécile Rousseau Division of Social and Cultural Psychiatry, McGill University, QC, Canada

Keywords:

school re-entry, pandemic, COVID-19

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has called for unplanned school closures, leaving millions of children and adolescent confined for a prolonged period of time. Although many guidelines exist for the mitigation of viral transmission upon school re-entry, school-based interventions that can help alleviate the many other potentially long-lasting consequences of the current crisis on students have yet to be documented. Acknowledging mental health difficulties, educational and socioeconomic disparities, and intercommunity tensions is an essential part of supporting students, caregivers, and educators with the transition back to school. Open communication, psychological first aid interventions, capacity-building, and a response-to-intervention approach are key to mitigating the effects of the pandemic, as they are backed by evidence and implementable even in low-resource classrooms. 

References

Baudoin, N., Dellisse, S., Lafontaine, D., Coertjens, L., Crépin, F., Baye, A., & Galand, B. (2020). Soutien des enseignants et motivation des élèves durant la pandémie de COVID-19. Formation et profession, 28(4 hors-série), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.18162/fp.2020.688

Capurso, M., Dennis, J. L., Salmi, L. P., Parrino, C., & Mazzeschi, C. (2020). Empowering children through school re-entry activities after the COVID-19 pandemic. Continuity in Education, 1(1), 64-82. https://doi.org/10.5334/cie.17

Cyrulnik, B., & Seron, C. (2013). La résilience ou comment renaître de sa souffrance? Éd. Fabert.

de Freitas Girardi, J., Miconi, D., Lyke, C., & Rousseau, C. (2020). Creative expression workshops as Psychological First Aid (PFA) for asylum-seeking children: An exploratory study in temporary shelters in Montreal. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 25(2), 483-493. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359104519891760

Gray, D. J., Kurscheid, J., Mationg, M. L., Williams, G. M., Gordon, C., Kelly, M., & McManus, D. P. (2020). Health-education to prevent COVID-19 in schoolchildren: A call to action. Infectious Diseases of Poverty, 9(1), 81. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40249-020-00695-2

Grapin, S. L., Griffin, C. B., Naser, S. C., Brown, J. M., & Proctor, S. L. (2019). School-based interventions for reducing youths’ racial and ethnic prejudice. Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 6(2), 154-161. https://doi.org/10.1177/2372732219863820

Hodes, M., Jagdev, D., Chandra, N., & Cunniff, A. (2008). Risk and resilience for psychological distress amongst unaccompanied asylum seeking adolescents. Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines, 49(7), 723–732. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.2008.01912.x

Lebigot, F. (2009). Le traumatisme psychique. Revue francophone du stress et du trauma, 9(4), 201-204.

Masonbrink, A. R., & Hurley, E. (2020). Advocating for children during the COVID-19 school closures. Pediatrics, 146(3). https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2020-1440

Papazian-Zohrabian, G., & Mamprin, C. (2020). L’école en temps de pandémie : favoriser le bien être des élèves et des enseignants. Un guide à l’intention du personnel scolaire. Faculté des sciences de l’éducation de l’Université de Montréal. https://fse.umontreal.ca/fileadmin/fse/documents/pdf/publications/Guide_pandemie_VF.pdf

Papazian-Zohrabian, G., Mamprin, C., & Lemire, V. (2019). Les groupes de parole en milieu scolaire : un espace de développement du bien-être psychologique des jeunes réfugiés. Revue québécoise de psychologie, 40(3), 87. https://doi.org/10.7202/1067550ar

Prime, H., Wade, M., & Browne, D. T. (2020). Risk and resilience in family well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. American Psychologist, 75(5), 631-643. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2020-1440

Rousseau, C., Miconi, D., Ngov, C., Horne, R., Sierra, T., Bolduc, E., & Audet, G. (2020). What if we talked about racism? A pedagogical guide to leading a respectful discussion around racism in the classroom­. Institut Universitaire SHERPA https://sherpa-recherche.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Guide-pedagogiqueEN-1.pdf

Van Lancker, W., & Parolin, Z. (2020). COVID-19, school closures, and child poverty: A social crisis in the making. The Lancet Public Health, 5(5), e243-e244. https://doi.org/10.1016/s2468-2667(20)30084-0

Viner, R. M., Russell, S. J., Croker, H., Packer, J., Ward, J., Stansfield, C., & Booy, R. (2020). School closure and management practices during coronavirus outbreaks including COVID-19: A rapid systematic review. The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, 4(5), 397-404. https://doi.org/10.1016/s2352-4642(20)30095-x

Downloads

Published

2022-12-16

How to Cite

Ngov, C., Miconi, D., Papazian-Zohrabian, G., & Rousseau, C. (2022). Back to school during the COVID-19 pandemic: Mitigating risks while promoting individual and community well-being among children and adolescents at school re-entry. McGill Journal of Education / Revue Des Sciences De l’éducation De McGill, 56(2/3). Retrieved from https://mje.mcgill.ca/article/view/9975

Issue

Section

Notes from the Field