School Readiness, Learning Challenges, and Lifestyle Changes Among Children During the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Jean-Christophe Goulet-Pelletier, Ophélie A Collet, Tianna Loose and 4 others
PMID 42532839WHAT IT FOUND
Children with early school readiness vulnerability had more pandemic learning difficulties and lower teacher-rated achievement two years later, but not more negative lifestyle changes; watch learning difficulties, not lifestyle alone.
Key findings
01Children with school readiness vulnerabilities had more learning difficulties during the pandemic and lower academic achievement after the crisis.
02Parents reported widespread negative pandemic lifestyle changes, but vulnerable and non-vulnerable children differed minimally.
03Early vulnerability was linked to lower achievement partly through pandemic learning difficulties, not through lifestyle changes.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
Learning difficulties were measured with one parent-rated item, so the study cannot tell which school skills were affected. Parents reported lifestyle changes, so the results reflect parental perceptions rather than measured behaviour. Pre-pandemic lifestyle and learning difficulties were not measured, so change cannot be separated from prior differences. The design is observational, so it cannot show that vulnerability caused learning difficulties or lower achievement. Vulnerability was defined across five domains, so the study did not identify which domain drove the associations.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. Funding came from the Observatory for Children's Education and Health, Fonds de Recherche du Québec, and Quebec ministries of health, education, and higher education.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that pandemic lifestyle changes caused lower academic achievement. The study found no significant link between school readiness vulnerability and lifestyle changes, and the association between positive lifestyle changes and lower achievement was weak and observational.