TY - JOUR

T1 - “I miss my school!”

T2 - Examining primary and secondary school students’ social distancing and emotional experiences during the Covid-19 pandemic

AU - Letzel-Alt, Verena

AU - Pozas, Marcela

AU - Schneider, Christoph

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2022, The Author(s).

PY - 2022/10

Y1 - 2022/10

N2 - With the rapid spread of Covid-19, countries around the world implemented strict protocols ordering schools to close. As a result, educational institutions were forced to establish a new form of schooling by implementing emergency remote education. Learning from home during the Covid-19 pandemic brought numerous changes, challenges, and stressors to students’ daily lives. In this context, major concerns have been raised based on the reports of students’ negative experiences resulting from social distancing and isolation. Given the impact of Covid-19 on many aspects of students’ lives, in particular their social and school experiences, research that provides insights into the consequences of this health crisis for students’ well-being has become important. This study aims to explore students’ experiences of social distancing and its relation to their negative emotional experiences during Germany’s first Covid-19–related school closure. Findings indicate that both primary and secondary students missed their friends and classmates and that primary school students perceived higher levels of social distancing. However, a linear regression analysis indicated that the older the students were, the more negatively affected they were by social distancing. The implications of the study’s results and further lines of research are discussed.

AB - With the rapid spread of Covid-19, countries around the world implemented strict protocols ordering schools to close. As a result, educational institutions were forced to establish a new form of schooling by implementing emergency remote education. Learning from home during the Covid-19 pandemic brought numerous changes, challenges, and stressors to students’ daily lives. In this context, major concerns have been raised based on the reports of students’ negative experiences resulting from social distancing and isolation. Given the impact of Covid-19 on many aspects of students’ lives, in particular their social and school experiences, research that provides insights into the consequences of this health crisis for students’ well-being has become important. This study aims to explore students’ experiences of social distancing and its relation to their negative emotional experiences during Germany’s first Covid-19–related school closure. Findings indicate that both primary and secondary students missed their friends and classmates and that primary school students perceived higher levels of social distancing. However, a linear regression analysis indicated that the older the students were, the more negatively affected they were by social distancing. The implications of the study’s results and further lines of research are discussed.

KW - Covid-19

KW - Distance learning

KW - Homeschooling

KW - Social distancing

KW - Students’ experiences

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85139706889&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/70f676b7-7e3d-32c0-a6a8-e77c9a718c26/

U2 - 10.1007/s11125-022-09621-w

DO - 10.1007/s11125-022-09621-w

M3 - Journal articles

C2 - 36254220

AN - SCOPUS:85139706889

VL - 51

SP - 673

EP - 684

JO - Prospects

JF - Prospects

SN - 0033-1538

IS - 4

ER -