Written by Hannah Ellerbeck, Research Coordinator for the Chicago School Readiness Project

COVID-19 Hardships for At-Risk Youth and their Effect on Learning

Over the past few weeks most K-12 public schools in the U.S have transitioned to remote learning amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. This has caused students hardship as they grapple with the devastating impacts of the Coronavirus on their families, schools, and communities. It is only natural, district leaders have concluded, that such massive disruptions to students’ daily routines will take a toll on their academic learning.

Unfortunately, the hardships and subsequent academic toll may only deepen for students in low-income and poor families. Research has shown that poverty has a profound and predictable negative influence on child development, including language skills, physical and mental health, and academic achievement. COVID-19 will only exacerbate these problems as it magnifies economic inequality and reduces low-income families’ access to healthcare, food, jobs, and housing. Dr. Abenavoli, a Postdoctoral Research Associate at IHDSC, explains that “stressors and uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic compound the stressors low-income communities already experience on a daily basis, making this an incredibly challenging time for families and children in these communities.”

Research tells us that high quality early education, and effective school and afterschool settings, are enormously influential for children's academic and life outcomes, with magnified effects for children growing up poor. This begs the question for educators and researchers alike, how can we facilitate successful learning for children in this challenging time? Furthermore, what programs or practices are most promising for children from low-income families who may be at greatest risk for suffering COVID-19-related academic setbacks?

Social-Emotional Learning as a Buffer

One avenue with promise to enhance learning and development is social-emotional learning (SEL). According to the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), SEL is “the process through which children and adults acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions.” CASEL breaks SEL into 5 core competencies:

1. Self awareness: identifying emotions, recognizing strengths, self-confidence
2. Self-management: impulse control, organization, stress management, listening, focusing
3. Social awareness: putting yourself in others’ shoes, showing empathy, respect
4. Relationship skills: communication, teamwork, social engagement
5. Responsible decision making: ethical responsibility, solving problems, reflecting

Social-emotional learning enables children to form and maintain healthy relationships with others, work collaboratively to solve problems, and regulate their behavior and emotions. Children with strong SEL competencies perform better in school because they are able to focus on lessons and work collaboratively with peers and their teacher to facilitate learning. Dr. Abenavoli notes that “children who feel connected to their teachers and peers are more motivated to learn,” and “schools can and should support SEL because they are important life skills and facilitate academic learning.”

Young children in low-income families may especially benefit from efforts made by educators to support SEL. Travis Cramer, a former IES-PIRT fellow and doctoral student in the Psychology and Social Intervention program, explains that young children are “primed to acquire social-emotional competencies,” but “stress and lack of opportunities associated with poverty often cause children to enter school at a disadvantage in their academic and social-emotional development.” For this reason, “school-based initiatives to advance SEL can equip low-income children with foundational skills that will enable them to learn and thrive. Dr. Abenavoli adds that while all children can derive benefits from such initiatives, “they may be particularly beneficial for children experiencing poverty, trauma, and other stressors.”  

Researchers have also leveraged this knowledge to design interventions seeking to offset the negative effects of poverty on children’s development by strengthening their SEL competencies. For example, the Chicago School Readiness Project, gave teachers resources to help preschool-aged children from low-income families improve their self-regulation skills, a core component of SEL. Children in preschools randomly assigned to receive the intervention displayed stronger math and reading skills at the end of preschool. Moreover, treatment effects have been observed through adolescence, where students who received the original intervention self-selected into stronger, better performing high schools than their counterparts. 

Supporting SEL during COVID-19

It is clear that promoting SEL may be particularly important during this time, as children may struggle to understand and regulate their emotions in the face of added stress, maintain social and academic relationships in the age of social distancing, and focus on learning in an online format. SEL skills can particularly benefit low-income children, who are likely facing disproportionate levels of stress and hardship. As Dr. Abenavoli notes, “Social-emotional skills and the positive relationships they facilitate can be particularly powerful sources of resilience during times of great need.” Implementing SEL practices is not, by any means, sufficient to overcome academic setbacks during this crisis. However, an integration of SEL into academic learning may help children to cope during this extraordinary time - particularly children facing the highest risk for such setbacks.

So how can educators help support students' SEL during COVID-19? Below are ideas from IHDSC researchers and partners at Good Shepherd Services and remote resources for teachers.

• Establish a predictable routine for your remote classroom to help children manage stress and anxiety in an otherwise unpredictable time. 
• Allow students opportunities for reflection by incorporating check-ins during morning meetings. Encourage students to discuss how they are feeling and what emotions they are experiencing. 
• Implement structured SEL activities into the classroom, such as reading a book aloud and reflecting on characters’ emotions and problem-solving skills. 
• Don’t forget about your own needs! Practicing self-care is especially important for teachers during this stressful time. Looking after your own mental and physical health will allow you to better support yourself and your students.