Child with her head on her mother's lap showing just the mother's hand on the girl's head
Category: Discovery & Impact

Title: COVID-19 Has Harmful Effects on Children in Low-Income Families, Researchers Find

46% of teachers had children at home who were participating in their own distance learning
Only 29% of teachers reported that “nearly all” their students participated in distance learning activities.

Other findings of the study determined that:

  • Nearly one in five parents reported that their child never communicated with their teacher during distance learning.
  • Two in five children spent an hour per day or less on distance learning, as reported by their parents.
  • Teachers added time for planning for remote learning and responding to student and parent questions to their “usual” responsibilities.

Supporting Vulnerable Children

“Whether schools are in-person or virtual in the fall, the resources that schools and teachers provide in the form not only of instruction but also of food, social and emotional support and access to the internet, will have a profound effect on the academic growth, health and well-being of young children and their families,” Phillips says.

Johnson says she hopes the survey results will be used by school districts and support staff to help them support low-income children.

“By distinguishing between families who are able to cope with the consequences of COVID-19 from those less able to withstand the pandemic-related stressors, we can inform the development and targeting of home and school-based interventions,” she says.