Yates Julia, Young Cole, Mantler Tara
Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada.
School of Health Studies, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada.
PLOS Glob Public Health. 2025 Sep 11;5(9):e0005148. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0005148. eCollection 2025.
The COVID- 19 pandemic and subsequent disruptions to in-person learning presented unanticipated challenges to elementary school systems across North America. Elementary students are particularly vulnerable to the negative outcomes of extended online learning, as this developmental stage is crucial for the social, emotional, and cognitive growth of students. To date, no research has synthesized what we currently know about the impacts of the pandemic on these developmental outcomes among students. As such, this scoping review explores and synthesizes what is currently known regarding elementary students' social, emotional, and cognitive development during the COVID- 19 pandemic in North America. In accordance with the Joanna Briggs Guide, three databases were searched in September 2024, and results were uploaded into Covidence wherein they were screened for eligibility. A total of 13 peer-reviewed articles met the inclusion criteria for this review (i.e., included elementary students, spoke to social/emotional/cognitive development, peer-reviewed articles written in English and conducted in North America). Thematic analyses revealed four themes including (1) lack of socialization opportunities; (2) emotional regression; (3) cognitive gaps in learning; and (4) inequitable impacts on development. School-based supports are needed for all students, but particularly those facing multiple, intersecting health and social disparities, to bolster positive development post-pandemic and to mitigate long-term negative health outcomes.
新冠疫情以及随后面对面学习的中断给北美各地的小学教育系统带来了意想不到的挑战。小学生特别容易受到长期在线学习负面结果的影响，因为这个发育阶段对学生的社交、情感和认知发展至关重要。迄今为止，尚无研究综合我们目前对疫情对学生这些发育成果影响的了解。因此，本范围综述探讨并综合了目前关于北美新冠疫情期间小学生社交、情感和认知发展的已知情况。根据乔安娜·布里格斯指南，2024年9月检索了三个数据库，并将结果上传到Covidence中，在其中对结果进行资格筛选。共有13篇同行评议文章符合本综述的纳入标准（即包括小学生、涉及社交/情感/认知发展、用英语撰写且在北美开展的同行评议文章）。主题分析揭示了四个主题，包括（1）缺乏社交机会；（2）情感退化；（3）学习中的认知差距；以及（4）对发展的不公平影响。所有学生都需要学校提供支持，尤其是那些面临多重、交叉的健康和社会差异的学生，以促进疫情后积极发展并减轻长期负面健康后果。
