{"id":67876,"date":"2020-09-08T16:25:29","date_gmt":"2020-09-08T20:25:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/?p=67876"},"modified":"2020-09-09T09:58:55","modified_gmt":"2020-09-09T13:58:55","slug":"children-headed-back-to-school-fearful-of-covid-19-research-finds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/2020\/09\/children-headed-back-to-school-fearful-of-covid-19-research-finds\/","title":{"rendered":"Children headed back to school fearful of COVID-19, research finds"},"content":{"rendered":"

Most children participating in an ongoing Brock University study on COVID-19 say they\u2019ve missed certain aspects of school, especially seeing friends, and are open to returning to class.<\/p>\n

But many are also worried about becoming sick or bringing the virus home to their families, says Professor of Child and Youth Studies Rebecca Raby.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs families and teachers prepare for children to go back to school, either in-person or online, we have generally not heard from children themselves about their views of the pandemic, their experiences of online schooling in the spring, and their thoughts about going back to school,\u201d says Raby.<\/p>\n

Raby is leading a research team that began a study in early April<\/a> consisting of regular online interviews with 30 children and youth about their experiences at home during the pandemic, including online schooling.<\/p>\n

Details began to emerge in May<\/a> as the children opened up about their lives during a pandemic. In the early summer, the children shared with the team their back-to-school hopes and fears.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs well as missing friends, they missed their peers: interacting with kids who aren\u2019t necessarily their close friends, but just being able to have fun together,\u201d says Raby. \u201cSchool is a place where they get to hang out and see each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

One 11-year-old girl told the research team she can\u2019t do much during the day because she lives with just her mother, who is often at work.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s hard because \u2026 I don’t have anybody to talk to throughout the day, so I’m kind of alone,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Like with parents and teachers, the children had mixed feelings about returning to school, with concerns over safety, logistics, class sizes and other uncertainties.<\/p>\n

Unlike some commentators\u2019 views that children wouldn\u2019t be able or willing to physically distance or wear masks, Raby\u2019s research shows a high level of awareness around the pandemic.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of the children we talked to were really aware of the pandemic and of what you need to do to stay safe, and they were worried about other people not following the rules,\u201d says Raby. \u201cIt\u2019s important to recognize and honour children\u2019s knowledge and insights in their thinking right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

An eight-year-old boy was focused on what recess might look like.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo games of tag, of course,\u201d he said. \u201cMaybe you can use a stick. I think that using a stick with tag is the only way to play the game. You can also play basketball, but if someone touches our ball with their hand, with their hands on it, oh no, they won’t. So no basketball courts, so maybe there won’t be any recess.\u201d<\/p>\n

Raby says many factors \u2014 housing\/space, finances, family configurations, parents\u2019 work, dis\/ability, age and style of online schooling \u2014 have shaped children\u2019s experiences during the pandemic, including loneliness, their ability to do online schooling and their willingness to return to school.<\/p>\n

The team reports some broad trends about online learning experiences and back-to-school views, including:<\/p>\n