Thoughts Inspired By Giles, PhD regarding COVID-19 Students Entering College
Global catastrophes must be understood in a cross cultural context.
Douglas Giles, PhD, published a piece on student performance and outcomes in his classes, observing that their work is slipping and that one of the leading causes may be their formative educational experiences during the pandemic.
I am not an educator or a PhD, but the topic raised some questions for me, particularly related to how various populations across cultures responded to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Professor Giles’ story is sad. I can’t imagine how difficult it must have been for some cohorts of students in various communities across the USA who might have been traumatized by pandemic restrictions to achieve good results in their studies. It must be tough on teachers, whose work requires keeping students focused and engaged with their studies, to inspire young people who have been traumatized and adversely affected by various governmental responses to a deadly pandemic.
I was born in Denver and have lived in seven countries, and I can imagine how different cultures may have responded differently under similar stresses.
I spent the pandemic in Portugal. The general public’s response was calm compared to what I heard from bloggers and the media in the USA. The culture wars in the United States amplify everything, often to an absurd or even dangerous degree.
The COVID-19 pandemic response is an important topic. Due to many complex factors, the world will likely experience another pandemic sooner rather than later, and the world must continue to improve its response to pandemics. Children are particularly vulnerable, and education is essential to successfully navigating the challenges we face over the coming decades.
Anyone interested in this topic should look for research across cultures to better understand the nuanced and complex reasons for academic performance outcomes during and after the pandemic.
Definitive national statistics on class performance for 2024 specifically need to be comprehensively compiled and released. Data collection and analysis on this scale often lag, especially for comprehensive national studies.
The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is a US government entity that is a primary source for educational statistics. Their website might have preliminary data or relevant reports, though completing 2024 statistics will take time.
Individual states often collect and release their data on student performance, sometimes faster than national figures. Check the websites of your state’s Department of Education.
Organizations like the College Board (SAT) or ACT might release reports on score trends, which can indirectly reflect classroom performance.
Educational research databases (like JSTOR, ERIC, or Google Scholar) can help us find academic studies and articles analyzing 2024 trends or related factors. Search for keywords like “student performance,” “COVID-19 impact,” “learning loss,” and “academic achievement.”
Studies from 2023 and early 2024 generally indicate some degree of learning loss due to pandemic disruptions. This is often seen in standardized test scores and teacher assessments. Professor Giles’ article is one example.
Q: How did COVID-19 impact education in America?
A: The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted student learning and development, resulting in significant learning loss and an increase in mental health challenges. Further, the pandemic exacerbated existing racial inequities and worsened achievement gaps.
The pandemic’s effects appear to be unevenly distributed. Students from disadvantaged backgrounds, those with limited access to technology, and those with learning disabilities seem to have been more significantly affected. I am not surprised by this.
Abstract & Introduction
Disadvantaged populations were disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, both in the medical and educational settings. Lower-income families often do not have a laptop/desktop computer, adequate internet connection, or a dedicated study space. This unfortunately contributed to poorer academic performance during distance learning. To combat this, the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine (KKSOM) did not close down campus during the pandemic. This study analyzes the utilization of campus and live Zoom lectures by KKSOM students and its impact on educational outcomes.
Many researchers are actively studying the pandemic’s long-term academic and social-emotional impact on students. New findings and analyses are regularly published.
Cross-Cultural Research
Some international studies compare the impact of the pandemic and school closures on students across different countries and cultures. These can provide valuable context. UNESCO and the OECD are good sources for such reports.
Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic had a major impact on many aspects of life, perhaps most notably education. Efforts to mitigate the negative effects of the pandemic, particularly lockdowns, led to major disruptions in schools and resulted in both learning loss and increased mental health challenges for students. These deleterious impacts appear to have been felt most keenly by students from marginalized communities, including first and second generation students.
Materials and methods: This study sought to investigate the mechanisms underlying these negative effects of pandemic mitigation efforts, particularly in terms of school efforts to support teachers and parents of students not speaking the language of instruction for three nations (Denmark, Russia, and Slovenia) included in the Responses to Educational Disruption Survey (REDS) survey.
Results: Results of the study revelated that in Denmark greater school-level support to teachers of non-native language students moderated the relationship between home language status and student perceptions of their relative academic performance before and during the pandemic, but that such was not the case in Russia or Slovenia. Likewise, school-level support to teachers moderated the relationship between home language status and perceived teacher support in Denmark but not in Russia or Slovenia. Implications of these results are discussed.
Even when 2024 data becomes fully available, various factors can influence statistics, including changes in assessment methods or student populations. Beyond statistics, look for qualitative research (interviews, observations) that can provide richer insights into student experiences and challenges.
Many schools and districts are implementing interventions to address learning loss and support student well-being. Research on the effectiveness of these efforts is also crucial.
It will take time to understand the impact of the pandemic on educational outcomes in particular parts of the world. My intuition tells me that culture, a complex subject if there ever was one, is much involved in how young people respond to stressful social situations.
Wuhan China
Wuhan faced unique and intense challenges as the initial epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak. Students in Wuhan were among the first globally to experience prolonged school closures, strict lockdowns, and significant disruptions to their education and daily lives.
Wuhanese students faced a sudden and extended lockdown starting in January 2020, much earlier than most other places in the world.
Movements of residents
More than 9 million residents were isolated in Wuhan city after the epidemic control measures started on 23 January 2020. According to data from Baidu Migration, only 1.2 million people entered or left Wuhan during the period 24 January to 15 February 2020. The number of people travelling fell by 91.6% (13.0 million of 14.1 million people) compared with the same period in 2019 and by 91.6% (13.0 of 14.2 million people) in 1–23 January 2020 (Fig. 3; Supplementary Data 3 in the data repository).
This meant an abrupt shift to online learning with little preparation.
The sudden outbreak of COVID-19 occurred in China at a time when colleges and universities would begin the Spring semester, and the complete lockdown of the entire country made it impossible for campuses to open after the one-month long winter vacation. Under the guidance of the Central Government’s Ministry of Education, which is the highest authority of Chinese educational systems and is the supreme policy maker, all schools, including colleges and universities, moved classes online. Since the move was at such a short-notice and in a less prepared manner, the effectiveness of it remained a concern for administrators, teachers and students as a whole. This paper, using the quantitative and qualitative data provided by a Chinese university survey, aims to analyze the factors commonly used in academic researches to measure the effectiveness of its online classes under such an emergency circumstance, with perceptions of both students and teachers. The paper discusses the issues through its findings, by comparison of teaching vs. learning effectiveness, online vs. face-to-face classrooms. It further explores the solutions to improve online teaching and learning environment, and suggests that after the pandemic is over the online classes shall not be a new normal in Chinese higher education.
The lockdown was particularly stringent in Wuhan. Restrictions on movement and social interaction affected daily life and well-being.
Not all Wuhanese students had equal access to technology or stable internet connections, creating disparities in learning opportunities. The online format limited interaction with teachers and peers, potentially affecting engagement and motivation.
In late January 2020, mainland China postponed all educational activities and the Chinese Ministry of Education (MoE) urged schools and higher education institutions to use online delivery as an alternative to face-to-face teaching. Of significance, this marks the first time online delivery has been permitted, at great scale, as part of formal education delivery in China.
Isolation, anxiety about the pandemic, and concerns about academic progress took a toll on students’ mental health.
The Interaction Hypothesis emphasizes the significance of face-to-face interactions in language proficiency development. However, the global transition to online education prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic has posed significant challenges to education, including the teaching of Chinese as a second/foreign language (CSL/CFL). Anecdotal evidence indicates a decline in both the quality and opportunities for interactions in online classes compared to traditional face-to-face (F2F) classrooms. However, research on the differences in the perspectives of students and teachers regarding this issue is relatively limited. To fill this gap, this study compared the perceptions of students and teachers regarding teacher-student and peer-to-peer interactions in online versus F2F CFL classrooms. Participants were CFL learners and their teachers at a university in Australia. Thematic analysis of the data collected from online surveys and interviews revealed a consensus among students and teachers on the importance of promoting interactions regardless of the delivery mode. However, students expressed a preference for F2F interactions, citing reduced motivation and fewer opportunities for interaction in online classes. Notably, students indicated a preference for interacting with teachers rather than peers during synchronous online sessions. The differences were attributed to multiple factors including a sense of community, interaction opportunities, engagement strategies, individual differences, and technological constraints. The results underscore the pivotal role of building social connections in language learning. The findings provide valuable insights into technology-enhanced language education from the perspectives of both students and teachers. This study contributes to the field of interaction studies in second language education and offers practical implications for addressing the challenges posed by the transition to online learning.
Despite challenges, students gradually adapted to online learning platforms and tools. Schools and families provided support, with teachers trying to maintain connections and provide guidance remotely. A sense of shared experience and community spirit helped many students cope with the difficulties.
Long-Term Effects and Research
Studies suggest potential learning loss in some subjects, particularly among younger students.
Baseline Specification.
Fig. 3 shows our baseline estimate of learning loss in 2020 compared to the 3 previous years, using a composite score of students’ performance in math, spelling, and reading. Students lost on average 3.16 percentile points in the national distribution, equivalent to 0.08 standard deviations (SD) (SI Appendix, section 4.3). Losses are not distributed equally but concentrated among students from less-educated homes. Those in the two lowest categories of parental education — together accounting for 8% of the population (SI Appendix, section 5.1) — suffered losses 40% larger than the average student (estimates by parental education: high, −3.07; low, −4.34; lowest, −4.25). In contrast, we find little evidence that the effect differs by sex, school grade, subject, or prior performance. In SI Appendix, section 7.9, we document considerable variation by school, with some schools seeing a learning slide of 10 percentile points or more and others recording no losses or even small gains.
The pandemic’s psychological impact on Wuhanese students is an ongoing area of research.
The psychological trauma caused by COVID-19 in Wuhan increased the incidence of posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) in residents (Liu et al., 2020). However, compared with adults, adolescents were reported to be less likely to develop mental disorders and more likely to recover after exposure to negative events (Jacobs & Harville, 2015). Adolescents exhibited a strong potential to grow even around psychologically traumatic events (Berger, 2008) because their resilience reflected a dynamic growing process and more positive adaptation to trauma (Berger, 2008, Cryder et al., 2006). Resilience, as a protective mechanism, reasonably explained the mechanism mediating the psychological effects of risk on health (Fleming & Ledogar, 2008) and played a protective role in neutralizing the effects of risk on health outcome (Fleming & Ledogar, 2008). At the same time, this protective mechanism can grow because of its evolving characteristics (Berger, 2008, Fleming and Ledogar, 2008).
Researchers are also exploring how the experience fostered resilience, adaptability, and appreciation for social connections.
Consider exploring Chinese-language sources (with translation tools if needed) for more detailed local perspectives. Look for blogs, interviews, or documentaries featuring students from Wuhan sharing their experiences.
Understanding the experiences of students in Wuhan provides valuable insights into the impact of the pandemic on education and well-being in a context of early and intense disruption. It highlights students’ challenges, resilience, and long-term effects, offering lessons for other regions and future preparedness.
Culture Wars
We all know how different States and Cities in the United States reacted differently to the impacts and challenges of the pandemic. The United States is not a monolith; cultures vary in different regions. The “culture wars” in the USA hindered our ability to better respond to the deadly event.
Politicization of Public Health Measures
Mask-wearing, social distancing, and vaccination became highly politicized. Resistance was often driven by misinformation and distrust of government or scientific institutions. This led to inconsistent adherence to public health guidelines and hindered efforts to slow the spread of the virus.
One might wonder how J.F.K. Jr helped fan the flames.
The spread of false or misleading information about the virus, its origins, and effective prevention measures fueled confusion and distrust, making it difficult for people to make informed decisions about their health and contributing to resistance against public health measures.
I won’t name names here, but think of all the podcasters and YouTubers who passionately and emphatically expressed their uninformed or misinformed opinions.
I got caught up in it, and I am silly enough to think I am a skeptic with a modicum of critical thinking skills.
The politicization of the pandemic and the spread of misinformation eroded public trust in scientific and governmental institutions, making it harder to implement effective public health policies and communicate accurate information.
The emphasis on individual freedom and limited government intervention often overshadowed the importance of collective action and responsibility in controlling a pandemic, leading to resistance against measures like lockdowns or vaccine mandates, even when they were deemed necessary by public health experts.
The pandemic exacerbated existing social and political divisions. Disagreements over public health measures led to conflict and mistrust within communities, making it harder to achieve consensus and cooperation on necessary actions to address the crisis.
The hindered response contributed to a higher number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the USA compared to many other developed countries. It also led to increased social and economic disruption and long-term consequences for public health and trust in institutions.
What, one might wonder, will the healthcare system in the United States look like in the coming years?
The “culture wars” created a challenging environment for evidence-based decision-making and collective action, ultimately undermining the country’s ability to respond to the pandemic and protect its citizens effectively.
None of the above was good for young students, some of whom lost parents and loved ones to the virus.
An Aside
Most Americans don’t care to understand global events, much less other cultures in depth.
48% of Americans hold a valid passport. Great!
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, roughly 30–40 million Americans traveled abroad annually, translating to 10–13 percent of the population.
International travel significantly dipped in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic. However, it rebounded strongly in 2022, reaching 81% of pre-pandemic levels. This suggests an intense desire among Americans to resume international travel. This is a good thing. Cross-cultural experiences are essential for a more peaceful and cooperative global culture. Recent surveys suggest that roughly 76% of Americans have visited at least one other country. I’m happy to know this.
We must understand and communicate with people from other cultures to better cope with and respond to the many potential disasters that may come our way. World events will be increasingly more challenging to battle, and our immediate future will be more demanding than our recent past.
I keep thinking about the trauma and adverse effects on education in all the countries where the United States conducts its “police actions,” proxy wars, regime change machinations, wars on terror and drugs, etc. Could it be that some refugees and immigrants who desire to enter the United States and Europe might have been moved by such events? Do the actions of some countries in the fabled West produce the dangerous criminals and lunatics President-Elect Donald J. Trump alleges are dumped on our doorstep by various sovereign States in the global south? Do we bear any responsibility at all for the so-called refugee crisis?
Portugal’s Experience
Let’s return to experiences students have faced in countries other than the United States.
In my anecdotal opinion, young people in Portugal have gotten through the experience reasonably well based on talking with parents, teachers, and young people. For example, people in Portugal didn’t get up in arms over mask-wearing. They also didn’t seem to mind “lockdowns” as much as some groups in some regions of the USA. (According to my observations.)
However, I found some information about the impact on Portuguese students.
Similar to global trends, studies suggest that Portuguese students experienced learning loss due to school closures and disruptions caused by the pandemic. This is particularly evident in mathematics. This makes sense to me; students lose class time when schools close. Mathematics would be a subject one would want to stay caught up on.
Research indicates that the pandemic may have hindered the development of preschool children in Portugal, especially those from lower socio-economic backgrounds. Parental engagement in learning activities during lockdowns played a significant role. Across the world, people with low incomes do worse. “Inequality” remains a problem.
The pandemic increased stress and anxiety among Portuguese students, impacting their mental health and well-being. Stress impacts seem universal.
The shift to online learning highlighted inequalities in access to technology and digital literacy, potentially exacerbating existing disparities. (As in Wuhan.)
As one might expect, university students face challenges related to online learning, social isolation, and disruptions to internships and career plans.
PubMed Central (PMC) includes a study titled “COVID-19: Threat or Opportunity for the Portuguese Higher Education’s Attractiveness for International Students?” which examines the pandemic’s effect on higher education enrollment.
The paper analyses the influence of COVID-19 on Portuguese institutions’ intake of international students and their responses to the pandemic. Two dimensions are considered: quantitative impact on international enrolments and higher education institutions’ strategies for the recruitment and support of international students. The first dimension is analysed through national statistics and comparison of enrolments over the past five years. Then, the institutional strategies implemented to encourage recruitment of new international students and to support existing ones during the lockdown are explored. Statistics show that COVID-19 had a negative impact on international enrolments, although less severe than expected. Growth has continued, but at a much slower pace than in the past few years. The slowdown in growth was much more pronounced in polytechnics than in universities. Additionally, the measures implemented by Portuguese higher education institutions suggest that these have coped with COVID-19 as an opportunity to rethink and redefine strategies.
An article titled “Did the COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown Harm Pre-Schoolers Learning in Portugal? Yes, but with Variations Depending on Socio-Economic Status” investigates the impact on early childhood education.
The literature has shown that the COVID-19 pandemic has indelibly affected student performance. However, this deterioration is not the same for all students, with students of a lower socio-economic status (SES) being the most affected. The present study aims to understand if the pandemic lockdown in the last year of pre-school impacted the learning skills considered crucial for the transition to primary school, and whether this impact was moderated by SES or a quiet place to study (QPS). A total of 11,158 students belonging to 318 Portuguese schools underwent an assessment protocol composed of writing skills, maths, and motor-control tasks. A pandemic effect was observed for writing skills, especially during the first lockdown. Said effects were found to be potentiated by SES. Regarding maths, the fall in skills was only observed to be significant for less economically advantaged children. Motor tasks suffered; however, this was without any significant effect for SES or QPS. Thus, a detrimental effect of the pandemic lockdown was found on pre-school skills, particularly pre-literary abilities, and especially during the first lockdown. SES appeared to potentiate some inequalities. In other words, skills differences between individuals with higher and lower SES increased during the pandemic, particularly in the first lockdown, due to novelty, unpredictability, and the need for quick adaptation.
Educ@ features an article titled “Mobility in times of immobility: international students in Portugal during the COVID-19 pandemic,” which focuses on the experiences of international students.
Abstract: The aim of this article is to understand the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis on teaching and learning by international students in Portuguese higher education. It also focuses on how new student mobility projects have been re-designed and re-negotiated during the pandemic. The methodology includes analyzing the results of an online survey and individual online interviews. The former was answered by 703 international students enrolled at higher education institutions in Portugal…
DigitUMa published a study titled “The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of Portuguese university students,” exploring the effects on higher education students.
Worldwide, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a disruptive effect on daily routines, especially for university students. This study aimed to compare pre-pandemic domains of students’ mental health during the pandemic lockdown. One cross-sectional study was conducted in two waves with academic students from 20 Portuguese universities, in March 2020 before the COVID19 pandemic (n = 3579) and 2 months after the first lockdown in May 2020 (n = 1228). The Positive Mental Health Questionnaire (PMHQ), the Mental Health Knowledge Questionnaire, the Mental Health-promoting knowledge, and the Psychological Vulnerability Scale were used. Statistical analyzes were performed by bivariate associations and multiple linear regression models. Students were mostly women (79%), with an average age of 23.2 years (SD = 6.6), displaced from their family environment (43%), out-of-home (43%), and scholarship holders (37%). Higher scores found in the PVS were associated with decreased PMHQ in both moments (P < 0.01). These cross-sectional studies showed a slight variation in the mental health variables studied in the period before and during the COVID-19 outbreak. Being a woman, younger, out-of-home, and having a scholarship (P < 0.01) seem to increase susceptibility to mental health variation before and during the pandemic. Universities should develop strategies that promote students’ mental health.
The Organisation for Cooperation and Development (OECD) publishes reports on education that often include comparative data on Portugal and other countries. Their website can provide insights into broader trends and policy responses.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) also provides reports and data on the impact of COVID-19 on education globally.
We must do better.
How we respond to stress varies across cultures. America has some unique and exotic social pathologies, but global pandemics require a coordinated response. Tragically, we could do much better in cooperating compassionately and carefully across nation-states on issues like climate change, extinction, environmental degradation, war, refugees, famine, and pandemics.
“Superpowers” (all with nuclear weapons arsenals) continue to commit resources to prepare for and fight wars. Think of the impact on education and the trauma experienced in the Middle East over the past fifteen years alone. Imagine the educational setbacks in Ukraine and Russia. Look at countries ravaged by war in Africa right now. Historically, there are many examples, studies, and books about the traumatic impacts of these kinds of anthropogenic disasters. These social traumas are not good for anyone, whether you live in Sweden or Argentina. These catastrophes affect all of us. We must inform our leaders that we expect action to make peace and mitigate the suffering and destruction caused by our lack of international cooperation regarding global disasters.
