Tues., Jan. 24, 2023: AGI Seminar “Impact of COVID-19 School Closures on the Cognitive and Non-cognitive skills of Elementary School Students” (online) [finished]

We invite researchers who are engaged in research on Asia and hold AGI Seminars.

Your participation is more than welcome! In order to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus, this seminar will be held online.
*Please refer to the following for details.

Date and Time

TUESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2023 from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm
*A question-and-answer session is scheduled at the end of the presentation.

Participation Fee

Free

Language

Japanese presentation and English materials

Presenter

Dr. Shinsuke Asakawa, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Economics, Saga University

Title

Impact of COVID-19 School Closures on the Cognitive and Non-cognitive skills of Elementary School Students

Abstract

In Japan, students lost nearly three months of in-person public education due to school closures caused by the spread of COVID-19. This study examines the dynamic effects of COVID-19 school closures on the cognitive and non-cognitive skills of fourth- and fifth-grade students in Nara City, Japan. We use triannual math tests and concurrent surveys to assess students’ motivation to learn math proactively. Using difference-in-differences methods, we compare cohorts with and without school-closure experience. Our findings indicate school closure reduced cognitive skills (standardized math test scores) in the short term (compared to before the closure, with -0.13 SD at the beginning of the closure and -0.07 SD one month after the closure). However, on average, the scores show significant recovery six months after the school closure (by 0.25 SD). Furthermore, the lower school grades demonstrate proportionally slower recovery of test scores. Non-cognitive skills (student attitudes toward proactive learning in math) also show improvement six months after school closure, on average. Notably, survey and testing data show that, long after re-opening, students experiencing disadvantaged living conditions during and after the school closure had not fully recovered from losses in their cognitive and non-cognitive skills, resulting in a wide skill gap among students. For students with lower math achievement, the differences in their living conditions exacerbated gaps in cognitive and non-cognitive skills. This study suggests that policy interventions are urgently needed to reduce disparities in the impacts of school closures for students who have been unable to overcome the negative effects of closures.

To Participate

Please send an E-mail to office@agi.or.jp with your name, affiliation and phone number clearly stated.
(We will send you a Zoom link for participation via E-mail by Monday, January 23.)

Deadline for Participation Request

Your E-mail must be sent to us by the morning of Monday, January 23.

Leaflet

AGI SEMINAR ON TUESDAY, JANUARY 24 [in PDF Format]

TO PARTICIPATE ONLINE (REQUESTS FROM AGI)

You can either download the Zoom application in advance (1) or participate via a browser without downloading the Zoom application (2).
Please choose one of the above two methods.
*If you are using a Smartphone, please choose (1).

(1) TO PARTICIPATE BY DOWNLOADING THE ZOOM APPLICATION
① Please download an online distribution application “Zoom” (free of charge) onto your computer or Smartphone.
*Click Here for How to Download the Application

You can download the application onto your computer by clicking the 【ダウンロード】 button.

You can also download the application from these pages.
・For iPhones and iPads
» Download Zoom Application

・For Android phones
» Download Zoom Application

② We will send you a Zoom link to the E-mail address provided in your participation request E-mail by the day before the seminar.

③ Please click and open the Zoom link between 15 minutes before the start time and the actual start time on the seminar day.

④ When it is time to start the seminar, we will let all participants in at once.

⑤ A question-and-answer session is scheduled at the end of the presentation. If you would like to ask any questions, please either “raise your hand” or unmute your microphone and start talking. *You can also ask questions by sending chat messages.

(2) TO PARTICIPATE VIA A BROWSER WITHOUT DOWNLOADING THE ZOOM APPLICATION (ONLY FOR COMPUTERS)

① We will send you a Zoom link to the E-mail address provided in your participation request E-mail by the day before the seminar.

② Please click and open the Zoom link between 1:45 pm and 2:00 pm on Wednesday, September 21.

③ Please click 『ブラウザから参加』 at the bottom portion of your screen (if not displayed, please click 『ここをクリック』). ⇒ You will be asked to wait in a “Waiting Room.”

④ When it is time to start the seminar (2:00 pm), we will let all participants in at once.

⑤ A question-and-answer session is scheduled at the end of the presentation. If you would like to ask any questions, please either “raise your hand” or unmute your microphone and start talking. *You can also ask questions by sending chat messages.

【NOTE】

◇ Participants’ microphones will be turned on at the beginning. Please make sure to mute your microphone during the presentation. During a question-and-answer session scheduled at the end of the presentation, please unmute your microphone.
◇ If you would like to turn off your audio (microphone) and image (video), please click the microphone icon and video icon at the bottom left portion of your screen. The icons will be crossed by a red diagonal line.
◇ Depending on your computer or Wi-Fi signal strength, there could be a case where you will not be able to participate in the seminar or you will lose an internet connection in the middle of the seminar. However, we are unable to deal with those cases individually. Your understanding is greatly appreciated.

date：2023.01.06
Category：Seminars