69传媒

Federal What the Research Says

How Nations Can Repair Pandemic Damage to 69传媒鈥 Well-Being, Trust in Government

By Sarah D. Sparks 鈥 March 22, 2022 3 min read
Image of high school students working together in a school setting.
  • Save to favorites
  • Print
Email Copy URL

Around the world, young people coming of age during the pandemic feel distrustful of their countries鈥 plans to move forward and dissatisfied with the help they鈥檝e received from their governments.

鈥淭he pandemic crisis has significantly reduced international student mobility, widened educational attainment gaps across different student populations and increased the risk of students disengaging from education entirely,鈥 OECD researchers found.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which administers global youth studies and benchmarking tests, also of 72 countries, including the United States, and surveyed more than 150 youth organizations in those countries about the concerns of the children and adolescents they serve.

The OECD found that by the end of 2021, only about 30 of those 72 countries had put forward government-wide pandemic-recovery plans which mention supports for children and youth who lost school time and suffered from family, housing, and financial instability. Of those, at least 25 countries, including Australia, Canada, and Sweden created evidence-based pandemic supports for children and youth across different sectors like education and well-being, and pledged government money to pay for the initiatives. Only 10, including Australia and Belgium, incorporated feedback from young people into those plans, however.

While the United States did incorporate programs for children in its recovery efforts鈥攕uch as federal money for schools鈥攖he OECD found there were not enough details to determine whether its supports for children are evidence-based and supported by federal dollars.

Sixty percent of youth groups reported their students have been dissatisfied with public education during 2021, and 43 percent were not satisfied with health services, particularly mental health services. More than 80 percent of those surveyed characterized mental health as one of the top challenges facing young people during the pandemic鈥攁 concern echoed by the U.S. Surgeon General.

Trust lagging, disinformation rising, youth groups say

Sixty-seven percent of the groups surveyed reported concern that the pandemic has increased the spread of disinformation among young people, who were more likely to be socially isolated and more reliant on the internet for news and information during the last two years, because of quarantines and disrupted schooling around the world.

The OECD found more students who list the internet as their primary source of information reported being confused about what was real about the pandemic. While 54 percent of 15-year-old students in countries that participate in the OECD鈥檚 Program for International Student Assessment said they had been taught at school how to recognize misinformation, low-income students were less likely to be able to identify whether online information was credible.

Only 16 percent of the youth groups said that their students had increased their trust in government in response to its pandemic response in 2021. That is down from 40 percent in 2020.

However, more than half of youth organizations reported their students approved of how their governments communicated health risks about COVID-19 and used scientific evidence to develop and convince people to support measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

The OECD recommends countries provide more supports for children and adolescents as part of pandemic recovery, including:

  • Integrating supports for young people across multiple agencies, such as education and social services and employment.
  • Involving young people in the development of recovery efforts aimed at them. (Only 10 countries did so, but not the United States.)
  • Collecting data on and studying the long-term effects of the pandemic on young people, particularly across income, race, gender, disability status, and geographic areas.

Events

School & District Management Webinar Crafting Outcomes-Based Contracts That Work for Everyone
Discover the power of outcomes-based contracts and how they can drive student achievement.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School & District Management Webinar
Harnessing AI to Address Chronic Absenteeism in 69传媒
Learn how AI can help your district improve student attendance and boost academic outcomes.
Content provided by 
School & District Management Webinar EdMarketer Quick Hit: What鈥檚 Trending among K-12 Leaders?
What issues are keeping K-12 leaders up at night? Join us for EdMarketer Quick Hit: What鈥檚 Trending among K-12 Leaders?

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide 鈥 elementary, middle, high school and more.
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.

Read Next

Federal What a National School Choice Program Under President Trump Might Look Like
School choice advocates鈥攁nd detractors鈥攕ee a second Trump term as the biggest opportunity in decades for choice at the federal level.
8 min read
President Donald Trump listens during a "National Dialogue on Safely Reopening America's 69传媒," event in the East Room of the White House, on July 7, 2020, in Washington.
President Donald Trump listens during a "National Dialogue on Safely Reopening America's 69传媒," event in the East Room of the White House on July 7, 2020, in Washington. He returns to power with more momentum than ever behind policies that allow public dollars to pay for private school education.
Alex Brandon/AP
Federal Trump's Education Secretary Pick Is Linda McMahon, Former WWE CEO
McMahon led the Small Business Administration in Trump's first term and is co-chair of the president-elect's transition team.
6 min read
Small Business Administration Administrator Linda McMahon speaks during a news conference with President Donald Trump in Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., Friday, March 29, 2019.
Then-SBA Administrator Linda McMahon speaks during a news conference with President Donald Trump at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., Friday, March 29, 2019. Trump has tapped McMahon to serve as education secretary in his second term.
Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP
Federal What Could RFK Jr. as HHS Secretary Mean for School Vaccine Requirements?
The vaccine skeptic in line to lead the mammoth federal agency could influence schools' vaccine rules, even though they're set by states.
6 min read
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., speaks before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at a campaign event, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024 in Walker, Mich.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., speaks before President-elect Donald Trump at a campaign event on Sept. 27, 2024 in Walker, Mich. Trump has selected Kennedy to serve as secretary of health and human services in his second term.
Carlos Osorio/AP
Federal Can Trump Force 69传媒 to Change Their Curricula?
Trump's bid to take money from schools that teach "critical race theory" or pass policies for transgender kids raises legal complexities.
9 min read
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks on crime and safety during a campaign event at the Livingston County Sheriff's Office, Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024, in Howell, Mich.
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks on crime and safety during a campaign event at the Livingston County Sheriff's Office, Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024, in Howell, Mich.
Evan Vucci/AP