Peer-reviewed article
How Cognitive and Psychosocial Difficulties Affect Learning Outcomes: A Study of Primary School Children in Syria
Grace Nwanne Anyaegbu, Caroline Carney, Holly-Jane Howell, Alaa Zaza, Abdulkader Alaeddin ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-sonnet-5-5This study looks at how cognitive and psychosocial difficulties affect the learning progress of primary school children in northwest Syria. It uses data from 7,191 children who received educational support between November 2018 and May 2019. Teachers reported each child's literacy level, and the Washington Group Questions were used to identify cognitive or psychosocial difficulties. Children with difficulties progressed less in literacy than children without them. The authors conclude that psychosocial and cognitive support is needed in emergencies so that children can learn effectively.
Key points
- The study used data from 7,191 children who received educational support in northwest Syria from November 2018 to May 2019.
- On average, children took 64 days to move up one literacy level.
- Having a single cognitive or psychosocial difficulty was associated with poorer learning progress.
- Children with two or more cognitive or psychosocial difficulties were less likely to progress as far as those without any such difficulties.
- The authors say psychosocial and cognitive support is needed in emergencies, not just for wellbeing but to enable learning.
Limitations
The abstract describes an association between difficulties and literacy progress, so it cannot show that the difficulties caused the poorer learning. Literacy was reported by teachers, and the abstract does not say how reliable these reports were or whether the results apply beyond this group of children in northwest Syria.
Abstract
Meeting the education needs of children is increasingly recognized as a necessary part of humanitarian response in emergencies. Experiences of war, dislocation, and trauma are known to affect children's psychosocial wellbeing. Less is known about how mental health and psychosocial wellbeing affect children's learning in emergencies. In this article, we examine this effect among children experiencing the crisis in Syria. The data we use are from children (N=7,191) who received educational support in northwest Syria from November 2018 to May 2019. We used the literacy levels reported by teachers to measure student learning, and the Washington Group Questions to measure cognitive or psychosocial difficulties. The average length of time between moving up a literacy level was 64 days. We fit mixed ordinal models to assess the associations between having one, every, or multiple cognitive and psychosocial difficulties. Having a single cognitive or psychosocial difficulty was associated with poorer learning progress. Children with two or more cognitive or psychosocial difficulties were less likely to progress as far as those without any such difficulties. The findings suggest that psychosocial and cognitive support for children in emergencies is needed, not just for their wellbeing but to enable them to learn effectively.