Category Archives: COVID-19

PIRLS 2021 International Results in Reading

COVID-19, Determinants, Documentation, School performance in reading, writing and mathematics, Statistical overview, Study/report

Title: PIRLS 2021 International Results in Reading 

Author: TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center 

Publisher: Boston College 

Year: 2023 

Format: PDF 

Description:
Results from an international study conducted every five years indicate a reduction in reading achievement among fourth grade students following the pandemic in 21 of the 32 countries in which a comparison is possible with the previous study in 2016.* The study also links the results with a number of indicators, including socioeconomic status, literacy activities before starting school, school climate, and student attitudes toward reading.  

*While the study is recognized as very reliable, the authors caution prudence when interpreting the 2021 results due to the exceptional nature of the pandemic and the variation in measures put in place to counter it. Moreover, comparison of results for countries and provinces that, like Quebec, have postponed the 2021 evaluation to grade 5, is treated separately.  

 

Document : PIRLS 2021 International Results in Reading 

Elementary–Secondary Education Survey, 2020/2021

COVID-19, Determinants, Documentation, School performance in reading, writing and mathematics, Statistical overview, Study/report

Title: Elementary–Secondary Education Survey, 2020/2021 

Author: Statistics Canada 

Publisher: Statistics Canada 

Year: 2022 

Format: Website 

Description:
The most recent 2020–2021 Elementary-Secondary Education Survey (ESES) from Statistics Canada highlights the pandemic’s effects on education. Notably, it shows a 106% increase in homeschooling, especially among younger students, along with a slightly higher high school graduation rate (+0.5%). Every year, ESES assembles data on public and private schools across Canada. 

Document: Elementary–Secondary Education Survey, 2020/2021

Returning to Normal? Overcoming Vulnerabilities in an Education System Responding to the COVID-19 Pandemic

COVID-19, Documentation, Study/report

Title: Returning to Normal? Overcoming Vulnerabilities in an Education System Responding to the COVID-19 Pandemic (Report on the State and Needs of Education 2020-2021) [Summary]

Author: Conseil supérieur de l’éducation

Publisher: Conseil supérieur de l’éducation

Year: 2021

Format: PDF

Description:

« The Conseil’s full Report on the State and Needs of Education entitled Revenir à la normale? Surmonter les vulnérabilités du système éducatif face à la pandémie de COVID-19 [Returning to Normal? Overcoming Vulnerabilities in an Education System Responding to the COVID-19 Pandemic] begins with a brief overview of existing research on the effects of past pandemics and other causes of disruptions to the normal school year that could shed light on the current one. It then presents an analytical framework to examine the education system’s response to the pandemic and its impacts using crisis management theory and the construct of resilience. The latter demonstrate that knowing where vulnerabilities lie is key for an organization’s ability to adapt and be resilient when faced with adversity. A cross reference of the statements submitted by the organizations with the Conseil’s own published opinions forms the core of the report, uncovering not only the vulnerabilities in the education system, but any lessons that can be drawn to minimize them. The Conseil then concludes by proposing three broad guidelines that could steer several courses of action to swiftly address the negative impacts of the pandemic on education in Québec and make the education system more resilient over the long term. » (Excerpt from the summary)

Document : Returning to Normal? Overcoming Vulnerabilities in an Education System Responding to the COVID-19 Pandemic (Report on the State and Needs of Education 2020-2021) [Summary]

COVID-19 and Early Childhood Mental Health: Fostering Systems Change and Resilience

COVID-19, Documentation, Information document

Title: COVID-19 and Early Childhood Mental Health: Fostering Systems Change and Resilience

Author: Mental Health Commission of Canada

Publisher: Mental Health Commission of Canada

Year: 2021

Format: PDF

Description:

« This policy brief seeks to provide guidance to decision makers, systems planners, and policy makers about ways to support infants, young children, and their families in light of the mental health needs emerging from or being worsened by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. […] Using a population mental health approach, the brief provides recommendations from a promotion and prevention lens that includes a strong focus on health equity and the social determinants of health. » (Excerpt from the document)

Document: Covid-19 and Early Childhood Mental Health: Fostering Systems Change and Resilience

Children and Schools During COVID-19 and Beyond: Engagement and Connection Through Opportunity

COVID-19, Documentation, Information document, Study/report

Title: Children and Schools During COVID-19 and Beyond: Engagement and Connection Through Opportunity

Author: Vaillancourt, T. et al.

Publisher: Royal Society of Canada

Year: 2021

Format: PDF

Description:

« This Policy Briefing Report from the Children and Schools COVID-19 Working Group is intended to serve as a pandemic recovery resource for educators, administrators, support staff, school mental health professionals, and decision makers in the education sector, as well as parents/guardians and the general public. Toward this aim, this report comprises nine stand-alone chapters that provide a review and synthesis of the current state of knowledge up until August 8, 2021. Some of the chapters contain original research data, and all of the chapters contain expert opinion and detailed recommendations for a pandemic recovery in education. The recommendations provided in the executive summary are not exhaustive, but rather reflect a synthesis of the recommendations found at the end of each chapter. An Appendix on infection prevention and control is also included. » (Excerpt from the document)

Documents:

Averting a lost COVID generation

COVID-19, Documentation, Information document

Title: Averting a lost COVID generation: A six-point plan to respond, recover and reimagine a post-pandemic world for every child

Author: United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)

Publisher: United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)

Year: 2020

Format: PDF

Description:

“This World Children’s Day, UNICEF is taking stock of the global impact of COVID-19 on children and young people, laying out what we know from the latest available data and research, highlighting what is still unclear as well as the options for action, and urging the world to take bold and unprecedented steps to reimagine a better future for children.” (Excerpt from the document)

Document: Averting a lost COVID generation: A six-point plan to respond, recover and reimagine a post-pandemic world for every child