Predictors of young students’ school participation during the early days of COVID-19 remote learning

When the COVID-19 pandemic forced school closures in the U.S. in March 2020, children’s learning moved home and online, making school participation a challenge for many families, particularly those with low incomes. Although there is not a clear and agreed-upon digital analog for in-person school participation for young elementary students, existing research on young children’s school attendance and engagement in non-pandemic times suggests that family characteristics broadly recognized to shape child development (e.g., parental depressive symptoms, household chaos), children’s own characteristics (e.g., pre-COVID-19 academic skills, demographics), and logistical barriers with particular relevance to remote learning (e.g., internet access) may be determinants of remote learning participation. The current study explores the extent to which student participation during COVID-induced remote learning was predicted by family and child characteristics and logistical barriers by drawing on an existing study of diverse low-income students in Tulsa, OK who were in first grade when the pandemic emerged. We capitalize on unique, comprehensive, multi-informant data collected before and during COVID-19 to examine young children’s participation in remote learning while controlling for pre-existing differences that might otherwise be confounded with both COVID-related stressors and obstacles to remote learning participation. Both family characteristics (e.g., parent depression, household chaos, single mother) and logistical barriers (e.g., internet and device access) predicted children’s remote learning participation. Implications for school administrators and policymakers with a focus on preparation for future disasters that may once again force school closures − are discussed.