Playful Learning During the Reopening of Danish Schools After Covid 19 Closures

This article is based on qualitative and quantitative data collected from teachers and pupils in Danish schools in June 2020, as schools reopened following closures in the spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It investigates the transformations in school life that took place in this period in response to strict official guidelines to prevent the spread of infection, transformations both in school learning environments and in teaching activities. Using factor and cluster analyses and logistic regression, it explores the relation between teaching environment and pupils' emotional, social, and academic wellbeing, identifying correlations between key factors in the environment and the three dimensions of wellbeing. The study contributes both to understanding and dealing with the crisis in which education systems in the Nordic countries have found themselves in and adds relevant knowledge on themes of importance for education in the future.

Effect of Hybrid Immunity, School Reopening, and the Omicron Variant on Trajectory of Covid-19 Epidemic in India: A Modelling Study

Intro: The concurrent reopening of schools, increasing levels of hybrid immunity, and the emergence of the Omicron variant have affected the trajectory of the pandemic in India. We address related questions using the model Indian state of Andhra Pradesh (pop: 53 million). Method(s): A compartmental model which describes the disease progression of COVID-19 with two dose vaccination is employed to understand the effect of vaccination, immunity due to infection and VOC Omicron. This is an age- stratified as well as a contact-structured model. The introduction of the Omicron variant is modelled. We studied disease dynamics in a background of seropositivity gained from an earlier wave of infection as well as an ongoing vaccination program, together called "hybrid immunity". We demonstrate the effect of school reopening as well as of the Omicron (BA.2) variant on cases across different age-groups. Finding(s): Reopening schools increases cases in children as compared to adults, although most such cases are asymptomatic or mild. The height of this peak reduced as the background infection-induced seropositivity was increased from 20% to 40%. At reported values of seropositivity of 64%, no discernable peak was seen. We find that in the absence of vaccination, even at such high levels of seroprevalence, the emergence of the Omicron variant would have resulted in a large rise in cases across all age bands. Discussion(s): In India, the decreasing prevalence of immunologically naive individuals of all ages helped reduce the number of cases reported once schools were reopened. In addition, hybrid immunity, together with the lower intrinsic severity of disease associated with the Omicron variant, contributed to low reported COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths. Conclusion(s): Mathematical modelling provides a powerful way of addressing central questions regarding the trajectory of the pandemic in India, clarifying the role of hybrid immunity.Copyright © 2023

Socioeconomic disparities in the reopening of schools during the pandemic in Chile.

The COVID-19 pandemic produced the most significant disruption in education in history. More than 190 countries suspended in-person instruction, affecting an estimated 1.6 billion students. The reopening of schools has been unequal. Schools in more affluent areas reopened sooner than poorer ones, exacerbating preexisting inequalities. There is limited research about the reopening processes in Latin America, where schools were closed for extended periods. Using a rich administrative dataset, we investigate the gaps in the resumption of in-person instruction in Chilean schools across socioeconomic groups in the fall of 2021. Schools with lower socioeconomic status were significantly less likely to offer in-person instruction. Disparities in reopening decisions were associated with administrative factors rather than economic or local epidemiological conditions.

Arab Teachers' Well-Being upon School Reopening during COVID-19: Applying the Job Demands–Resources Model

Once the major threat of the COVID-19 pandemic diminished, schools reopened, and teachers once again had to cope with unprecedented challenges. The impact of these challenges on the emotional well-being of Arab teachers, who have a unique set of challenges within the Israeli school educational system, has received little attention in the recent literature. In this cross-sectional study, we examined 300 Arab teachers' well-being in Israel in May 2021, three months after schools were reopened. All study hypotheses were confirmed. Findings indicate the need to promote a sense of well-being among Arab teachers in stressful conditions and to design solutions specifically tailored to support them in accordance with their cultural and social characteristics. Israel's Ministry of Education should encourage school administrators to seek ways to provide a supportive environment for Arab teachers in school environments in order to improve their performance and retention, and maintain their well-being.

The Politics of School Reopening During COVID-19: A Multiple Case Study of Five Urban Districts in the 2020–21 School Year

Purpose: Nearly all schools in the United States closed in spring 2020, at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. We analyze traditional public and charter school reopenings for the 2020–21 school year in five urban districts. We provide a rich and theoretically grounded description of how and why educational leaders made reopening decisions in each of our case districts. Research Methods: We used data from a multiple-case study from March 2020 to July 2021. The research team conducted 56 interviews with school, district, and system-level leaders;triangulated with publicly available data;and also drew on interview data from a subsample of parents and guardians in each of our sites. We analyzed these data through qualitative coding and memo writing and conducted detailed single- and cross-case analyses. Findings: School system leaders in our case sites generally consulted public health authorities, accounted for state-level health and educational guidance, and engaged with and were responsive to the interests of different stakeholders. Districts' adherence to and strategic uses of public health guidance, as well as a combination of union-district relations and labor market dynamics, influenced reopening. Parents, city, and state lawmakers, and local institutional conditions also played a role, helping to explain differences across cases. Implications: In contrast to the "politics or science” framing that has dominated research and public discourse on school reopening, we show that local pandemic conditions and local political dynamics both mattered and in fact were interrelated. Our findings have some implications for how educational leaders might navigate future crises. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Educational Administration Quarterly is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

The Politics of Re-Opening Schools: Explaining Public Preferences Reopening Schools and Public Compliance with Reopening Orders During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the decision to reopen schools for in-person instruction has become a pressing policy issue. This study examines what overall factors drive public support for schools re-opening in person and whether members of the public are willing to comply with school re-opening decisions based on their own preferences and/or the level of government from which the order comes. Through two rounds of national surveys with an embedded experiment, I find consistent evidence that 1) trust in information from elites - not contact with COVID - best explain preferences for reopening, 2) political ideology and racial and class identification help explain preferences as well, and 3) the President of the United States is best positioned to generate compliance with a school reopening mandate. This study suggests that politics - not public health - drives public support for schools reopening and compliance with government orders to reopen. AD -, Providence, RI, USA ;, Providence, RI, USA

Investigating the relationship of schools reopening to increases in COVID-19 infections using event study methodology: The case of the Delta variant.

BACKGROUND: Hypothesis: School reopening had a significant impact on COVID-19 infection rates across USA states. METHODS: Eight states with fully reopened public schools were studied. States who did not previously have stay-at-home orders for a minimum of 30 days were excluded from the study so that increases in infection rates would be solely due to the economies of reopening. This study used event study methodology with a 30-day estimation window. This allowed us to determine if increases in COVID-19 infection rates were significant following schools reopening. RESULTS: Eight states were analyzed, and seven of the states had positive and significant COVID-19 infection increases. The other state's increase was negative and significant. CONCLUSIONS: This study found that reopening of schools had an initial 5-day increase in COVID-19 infections in seven of eight states whose data were examined. With schools being re-opened nationwide in Fall 2021, this indicates that with the Delta variant there is an expected significant increase in infections.

School Nurses' Reports on Reopening Roles, Practices, and Concerns During the COVID-19 Pandemic at the Start of the 2020-2021 School Year.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused major disruptions to U.S. school systems since March 2020. To facilitate our understanding of how school nurses participated in school reopening and what support school nurses needed beginning the 2020-2021 school year during the COVID-19 pandemic, we conducted a national survey in late summer 2020. A sample of 747 school nurses from 43 states responded to an online survey about roles, practices, and concerns. Over one-third (36.9%) reported not being included in school reopening planning. Mitigation practices reported by respondents primarily included measuring temperatures of students before school (21.3%), mask wearing by students (79.9%), and 6 feet social distancing (76.7%). The respondents' greatest concerns were the educational impact on students with individualized education plans, parents sending children to school with COVID-19 symptoms, and the economic impact on families. Our results point to opportunities for greater school nurse involvement, improvements in practices, and measures to address school nurses' concerns.

Psychological Impact and Educational Challenges of COVID-19 Pandemic among Teachers in Goa

Background: This study focused on exploring stress among teachers due to COVID-19, with the changing face of education such as online teaching, and to check awareness among teachers regarding reopening guidelines. Method(s): It was a cross-sectional observational study among 330 teachers in various schools and colleges in Goa during November 2020. Snowball sampling was done. Perceived stress scale-4 was used to assess stress. We collected the data using Google forms and analyzed using the R programming language. Results were reported based on descriptive statistics, t-test, and ANOVA. Result(s): The study shows that teachers were under moderate stress. Sex and marital status did not show any significant contributions to the stress level. Factors such as work status (working from home or office), designation (teacher at college, higher secondary, or secondary), and COVID-19 infection among relatives showed significant association with stress level. Data revealed that 10.5% of teachers were at risk of job loss. 70.8% of the teachers were facing moderate to high difficulty in keeping their students on board during online classes. 85.2% faced internet connectivity issues. Half of them preferred online and offline combined work. More than 90% of teachers were well aware of the guidelines to be followed while reopening the school/college. Conclusion(s): The study revealed that the teachers were under moderate stress due to COVID-19 during the study period. The stress levels had significant associations between work status, designation, and COVID-19 infection among relatives. Online education was challenging and awareness about school reopening guidelines was adequate.

School and community reopening during the COVID-19 pandemic: a mathematical modelling study.

Operating schools safely during the COVID-19 pandemic requires a balance between health risks and the need for in-person learning. Using demographic and epidemiological data between 31 July and 23 November 2020 from Toronto, Canada, we developed a compartmental transmission model with age, household and setting structure to study the impact of schools reopening in September 2020. The model simulates transmission in the home, community and schools, accounting for differences in infectiousness between adults and children, and accounting for work-from-home and virtual learning. While we found a slight increase in infections among adults (2.2%) and children (4.5%) within the first eight weeks of school reopening, transmission in schools was not the key driver of the virus resurgence in autumn 2020. Rather, it was community spread that determined the outbreak trajectory, primarily due to increases in contact rates among adults in the community after school reopening. Analyses of cross-infection among households, communities and schools revealed that home transmission is crucial for epidemic progression and safely operating schools, while the degree of in-person attendance has a larger impact than other control measures in schools. This study suggests that safe school reopening requires the strict maintenance of public health measures in the community.

In-person school reopening and the spread of SARS-CoV-2 during the second wave in Spain.

We investigate the effects of school reopening on the evolution of COVID-19 infections during the second wave in Spain studying both regional and age-group variation within an interrupted time-series design. Spain's 17 Autonomous Communities reopened schools at different moments in time during September 2020. We find that in-person school reopening correlates with a burst in infections in almost all those regions. Data from Spanish regions gives a further leverage: in some cases, pre-secondary and secondary education started at different dates. The analysis of those cases does not allow to conclude whether reopening one educational stage had an overall stronger impact than the other. To provide a plausible mechanism connecting school reopening with the burst in contagion, we study the Catalan case in more detail, scrutinizing the interrupted time-series patterns of infections among age-groups and the possible connections between them. The stark and sudden increase in contagion among older children (10-19) just after in-person school reopening appears to drag the evolution of other age-groups according to Granger causality. This might be taken as an indirect indication of household transmission from offspring to parents with important societal implications for the aggregate dynamics of infections.

Cross-sectional analysis of students and school workers reveals a high number of asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections during school reopening in Brazilian cities.

Brazil experienced one of the most prolonged periods of school closures, and reopening could have exposed students to high rates of SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, the infection status of students and school workers at the time of the reopening of schools located in Brazilian cities is unknown. Here we evaluated viral carriage by RT-PCR and seroprevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies (IgM and IgG) by immunochromatography in 2259 individuals (1139 students and 1120 school workers) from 28 schools in 28 Brazilian cities. We collected the samples within 30 days after public schools reopened and before the start of vaccination campaigns. Most students (n = 421) and school workers (n = 446) had active (qRT-PCR + IgM- IgG- or qRT-PCR + IgM + IgG-/+) SARS-CoV-2 infection. Regression analysis indicated a strong association between the infection status of students and school workers. Furthermore, while 45% (n = 515) of the students and 37% (n = 415) of the school workers were neither antigen nor antibody positive in laboratory tests, 16% of the participants (169 students and 193 school workers) were oligosymptomatic, including those reinfected. These individuals presented mild symptoms such as headache, sore throat, and cough. Notably, most of the individuals were asymptomatic (83.9%). These results indicate that many SARS-CoV-2 infections in Brazilian cities during school reopening were asymptomatic. Thus, our study highlights the need to promote a coordinated public health effort to guarantee a safe educational environment while avoiding exacerbating pre-existent social inequalities in Brazil, reducing social, mental, and economic losses for students, school workers, and their families.

Infectious Disease Modeling with Socio-Viral Behavioral Aspects-Lessons Learned from the Spread of SARS-CoV-2 in a University.

When it comes to understanding the spread of COVID-19, recent studies have shown that pathogens can be transmitted in two ways: direct contact and airborne pathogens. While the former is strongly related to the distancing behavior of people in society, the latter are associated with the length of the period in which the airborne pathogens remain active. Considering those facts, we constructed a compartmental model with a time-dependent transmission rate that incorporates the two sources of infection. This paper provides an analytical and numerical study of the model that validates trivial insights related to disease spread in a responsive society. As a case study, we applied the model to the COVID-19 spread data from a university environment, namely, the Institut Teknologi Bandung, Indonesia, during its early reopening stage, with a constant number of students. The results show a significant fit between the rendered model and the recorded cases of infections. The extrapolated trajectories indicate the resurgence of cases as students' interaction distance approaches its natural level. The assessment of several strategies is undertaken in this study in order to assist with the school reopening process.

Relationship between children with neurodevelopmental disorders and their caregivers and friends during early phase of COVID-19 school closure in Japan: Association with difficulty in implementing infection prevention measures.

BACKGROUND: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic people had to implement various infection prevention measures. Researchers have reported the difficulties experienced by children with neurodevelopmental disorders in implementing these measures and their caregivers' resultant anxiety and stress. This study examined the relationship between these difficulties and the deterioration of the children's relationships with their caregivers and friends during school closure and after school reopened. METHODS: A total of 150 caregivers of children with neurodevelopmental disorders answered a questionnaire asking about parent‒child relationships, their child's friendships, and the presence or absence of difficulty in implementing infection prevention measures at three time points: before the pandemic, while schools were closed, and after school reopened. The frequency and percentages of the child's behavioral problems, deterioration in their relationships, and difficulty implementing infection control measures were calculated. Using the relationship deterioration scores, independent and multiple regression analyses were performed for the presence or absence of difficulty implementing infection control measures, presence or absence of caregivers' mental health concerns, and the presence or absence of deterioration of one or more problematic behaviors. RESULTS: Overall, 84.1% of the children displayed difficulties implementing infection prevention measures. No relationship was observed between difficulty with infection prevention measures and deterioration in their relationships with parents and friends when schools were closed. After school reopened, however, deterioration in parent‒child relationships correlated positively with difficulty in hand-washing, and deterioration of friendships correlated positively with the maintenance of social distancing and difficulty in hand-washing. Deterioration of friendships correlated negatively with difficulty in voluntarily complying with stay-at-home requests. CONCLUSION: Difficulty in implementing infection prevention measures was related to deterioration in social relationships with parents and friends of children with neurodevelopmental disorders during the school reopening period, following COVID-19 school closure in Japan. Under a condition requiring heightened infection control, close monitoring may be necessary for the social relationships in children with neurodevelopmental disorders.

Assessing K-12 school reopenings under different COVID-19 Spread scenarios - United States, school year 2020/21: A retrospective modeling study.

INTRODUCTION: School-age children play a key role in the spread of airborne viruses like influenza due to the prolonged and close contacts they have in school settings. As a result, school closures and other non-pharmaceutical interventions were recommended as the first line of defense in response to the novel coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19). METHODS: We used an agent-based model that simulates communities across the United States including daycares, primary, and secondary schools to quantify the relative health outcomes of reopening schools for the period of August 15, 2020 to April 11, 2021. Our simulation was carried out in early September 2020 and was based on the latest (at the time) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)'s Pandemic Planning Scenarios released in May 2020. We explored different reopening scenarios including virtual learning, in-person school, and several hybrid options that stratify the student population into cohorts in order to reduce exposure and pathogen spread. RESULTS: Scenarios where cohorts of students return to school in non-overlapping formats, which we refer to as hybrid scenarios, resulted in significant decreases in the percentage of symptomatic individuals with COVID-19, by as much as 75%. These hybrid scenarios have only slightly more negative health impacts of COVID-19 compared to implementing a 100% virtual learning scenario. Hybrid scenarios can significantly avert the number of COVID-19 cases at the national scale-approximately between 28 M and 60 M depending on the scenario-over the simulated eight-month period. We found the results of our simulations to be highly dependent on the number of workplaces assumed to be open for in-person business, as well as the initial level of COVID-19 incidence within the simulated community. CONCLUSION: In an evolving pandemic, while a large proportion of people remain susceptible, reducing the number of students attending school leads to better health outcomes; part-time in-classroom education substantially reduces health risks.

Risk management and resilience of schools in response to the COVID-19 pandemic

Long-term school closures, as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, have led to an unprecedented risk associated with children's education, protection, and well-being. The reopening of schools has to be safe and consistent with each area's COVID-19 health response. In such situations, it is essential to consider the need for school-based services such as immunization and school meals, as well as mental health and psychosocial support. Miyagi University of Education, Sendai, has experienced the reopening of schools after they were closed after the earthquake and tsunami of March 11, 2011. This study describes how school risk management and resilience can contribute to successfully reopening schools after the occurrence of disasters caused by natural hazards such as earthquakes and tsunamis, as well as biological hazards such as COVID-19. © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Focus on High School: Factors Associated with Creating Harmony between the Educational Transition and Adolescents' Well-Being.

The transition from online to on-site education was difficult due to a lack of standardized school guidance for school reopening. Even though schools have reopened, uncertainty about the COVID-19 situation and the capacity of the school to maintain safe school operations to mitigate risks may increase hesitancy among students and parents to participate in on-site studying. Rapid-response surveys of students and parents can provide information to stakeholders on how learning and well-being can best be supported during the educational transition in each context. The aim of this study was to explore the hesitancy of high-school students and the factors that influenced their hesitancy to return to school on site. An online cross-sectional survey was distributed to high-school students in an urban district of Chiang Mai, Thailand, during the fourth wave of the pandemic from 17 November to 13 December 2021. A multivariable logistic regression was performed to explore factors related to the students' hesitancy to attend on-site education. With a response rate of 10.2% of the targeted study population, the 1266 participants revealed that 15.9% of them had very-high- and extremely high-level hesitancy to study on site, which was associated with less negative moods while studying online (aOR, 1.69; p, 0.016) and a greater fear of infection after returning to school (aOR, 2.95; p, 0.001). Increased readiness to return to school on site (aOR, 0.28; p, 0.001) and discussing COVID-19 prevention with family or friends (aOR, 0.71; p, 0.016) were also associated with a lower hesitancy of students. Only 5.6% of the students reported being hesitant to receive the COVID-19 vaccination. However, no significant associations were found between schooling hesitancy and their willingness to get vaccinated, nor the frequency of students' outside activities. High-school students who experience negative moods during online studying should be monitored and receive additional support if the reopening is postponed. More opportunities to discuss COVID-19 prevention with family or friends, as well as a higher level of readiness, may increase the willingness to return to school on site. Local authorities and schools need to strengthen communication and coordination mechanisms to reduce parents' and students' schooling hesitancy by providing explicit information about the COVID-19 situation and risk-mitigation measures, along with normalizing messages about fear and anxiety.

Reopening Amid a Global Pandemic: Adapting Research, Prioritizing Collaboration, and Trust

In this discussion essay, the authors examine the development and implementation of the mitigation policy and practices that shaped Cairo American College’s (CAC) reopening amid the COVID-19 pandemic. An international school located in Cairo, Egypt, CAC was the first and only school in Egypt and much of the Middle East to reopen in August 2020. This essay discusses stakeholders, policies, and practices that shaped the reopening process from utilizing research and data from leading international health organizations to working within the local community and the Government of Egypt’s COVID-19 mandates. Successes and challenges of this process are discussed with a focus on the importance of research-to-practice in policy development as well as collaborating with international schools in the region and beyond as a comparative model for other schools. Ensuring trust and buy-in from parents, faculty, and staff was paramount to the successful implementation and continuation of the reopening process. Research played a foundational role in creating and maintaining this trust amid the lack of comparable school reopenings. Recommendations for a safe and effective reopening plan are provided along with the necessary role of all stakeholders for its success including leadership, teachers, and the community.

Turkey's transition to face-to-face schooling during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic majorly disrupted conventional schooling and many countries maintained educational services through distance education. The duration of school closures in Turkey was longer than most OECD countries, thus Turkey prioritized school reopenings in the 2021-2022 academic year to mitigate possible negative outcomes of closures. Here we study the compatibility of implications for school reopenings in Turkey with these practices and assess the first semester of face-to-face schooling. METHODS: We have used document analysis to present and compare the practices in Turkey with international practices. We also used a comparative approach to assess the coherence between policies in Turkey and international suggestions. RESULTS: We find that vaccination rates of teachers and education staff are quite high in Turkey. Other practices, mandatory face masks, class-based closures and quarantine policies, are also in agreement with international practices. These steps are supported with frequent cleaning and ventilation of school environments, as well as with social distancing measures in schools. DISCUSSION: Consequently, the rate of daily closed classrooms has been kept below 1%, and the patterns of closures and openings are in general agreement with the changes of positive cases in the Turkish society. The net rate of closed classrooms decreased with the decline of quarantine days in Turkey. We hope that these insights will inform about school openings and contribute to best practices for face-to-face schooling.

Parents' concerns and attitudes towards school reopening during COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional survey-Tripoli, Libya, 2021.

The issue of school reopening has raised several concerns; therefore, the parent's opinion is essential to consider. This study aimed to evaluate the parent's attitudes and concerns toward school reopening in the COVID-19 era. A cross-sectional survey was performed using in-person self-administered questionnaires, the data was collected in the period between January and April 2021 covering parents' concerns and attitudes toward school reopening. A total of 402 parents participated in the survey. Analysis showed that 56.7% of parents have agreed with school reopening, but 54% have raised some legitimate concerns. Importantly, there was a strong correlation between parents' opinions towards school reopening and their level of education, and their concerns about their children's safety if the school was reopened. Despite parents' concerns, it does seem that slightly over half were in favour of school reopening and would send their children to school only if the schools did apply strict precautions and restriction measures. Sharing parents' views toward school reopening with school leaders and decision-makers is important to assess the feasibility and effectiveness of return to schools and to improve existing prevention programs.