Study to explore impact of COVID-19 on pre-K children's school readiness skills, recovery rates
Never before have children across the nation been out of school for as long as they have been now due to COVID-19. As a result, it may take years for students, especially younger children who are still adapting to formal schooling, to recover both academically and social-emotionally in the classroom.
To assess the long-term impact of COVID-19 on young students, researchers in the College are investigating the rate at which prekindergarten children return to pre-pandemic levels of school readiness and whether the rate of recovery is similar across all children as they transition through kindergarten and first grade.
The study will also explore school and classroom practices that help explain these rates of recovery to better prepare teachers and school districts for future crises.
“Pre-K is a particularly vulnerable period for these prolonged absences,” said Kristen Bub, associate professor in the Department of Educational Psychology and principal investigator of the study. “Young children are developing their trust of adults outside of the family. With COVID-19, they go to school one day, and then suddenly they never see their teacher in person again, resulting in a relationship that could be compromised.”