Community Health Journal

Community Health Journal

Teachers’ and Counselors’ Experiences of the Psychological Consequences of High School Students’ Absenteeism after COVID-19

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
R Saadat Mehr 1
A karimian 2
M Abdullahzadeh 2
F Bakhshian 3
1 Ph.D. in Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
2 Ph.D. candidate in nursing, Dept. of Nursing, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.
3 Ph.D. in Psychology, Faculty of Social Science, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran.
10.22123/chj.2024.425476.2044
Abstract
Introduction: The high school period is critical for students’ independent identity formation. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused many high school students to miss school, which can have various psychological effects on them. This research aimed to explore the experiences of teachers and counselors about the psychological consequences of students’ absenteeism during the COVID-19 pandemic after resuming school.
Materials and Methods: This qualitative study used a phenomenological approach and was conducted in 2023. The participants were 21 teachers and counselors from the high schools of Mazandaran province, Iran, who were chosen by purposive sampling and interviewed in-depth and semi-structured. The sampling continued until data saturation was reached, and the data was analyzed using the six-step Van Manen method. The criteria of Lincoln and Guba were applied to ensure the trustworthiness and validity of the data.
Results: From the data analysis, six main themes emerged, followed by 15 sub-themes. The main themes were self-esteem behind the mask, weakening the school’s position, pressure in a damaged family, reduced resilience, loss of enthusiasm, and the virtual and social learning duality.
Conclusion: The findings indicated that high school students who missed school and followed distance education for a long time could face serious psychological problems. The study suggested that education systems adopt a blended face-to-face and distance education approach to provide care programs and prevent psychological complications in situations like the COVID-19 pandemic.
Keywords
Psychological problems
Teacher-Student relations
Schools
Absenteeism
COVID-19
  1. Sari T, Nayır F. Challenges in distance education during the (Covid-19) pandemic period. QRE 2020;9(3):328-60.
  2. Coles L, Johnstone M, Pattinson C, Thorpe K, Van Halen O, Zheng Z, et al. Identifying factors for poorer educational outcomes that may be exacerbated by COVID-19: A systematic review focussing on at risk school children and adolescents. AJSI 2023;58(1):13-40.
  3. Almaiah MA, Al-Khasawneh A, Althunibat A. Exploring the critical challenges and factors influencing the E-learning system usage during COVID-19 pandemic. EAIT 2020;25:5261-80.
  4. .Maatuk AM, Elberkawi EK, Aljawarneh S, Rashaideh H, Alharbi H. The COVID-19 pandemic and E-learning: challenges and opportunities from the perspective of students and instructors. JCHE 2022;34(1):21-38.
  5. Camacho-Zuñiga C, Pego L, Escamilla J, Hosseini S. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on students’ feelings at high school, undergraduate, and postgraduate levels. Heliyon. 2021;7;e06465
  6. Agnafors S, Barmark M, Sydsjö G. Correction: Mental health and academic performance: a study on selection and causation effects from childhood to early adulthood. SPPE 2023;56;857-866
  7. Hoofman J, Secord E. The effect of COVID-19 on education. Pediatric Clinics 2021;68(5):1071-9.
  8. Doyle T, Kendrick K, Troelstrup T, Gumke M, Edwards J, Chapman S, et al. COVID-19 in primary and secondary school settings during the first semester of school reopening—Florida, August–December 2020. MMWR 2021;70(12):437.
  9. Lestari PAS, Gunawan G. The impact of Covid-19 pandemic on learning implementation of primary and secondary school levels. IJECE 2020;1(2):58-63.
  10. Windarwati HD, Lestari R, Supianto AA, Wicaksono SA, Ati NA, Kusumawati MW, et al. A narrative review into the impact of COVID‐19 pandemic on senior high school adolescent mental health. JCAPN 2022;35(3):206-17.
  11. Zheng F, Khan NA, Hussain S. The COVID-19 pandemic and digital higher education: Exploring the impact of proactive personality on social capital through internet self-efficacy and online interaction quality. Children and Youth Services Review 2020;119:105694.
  12. Francisco R, Pedro M, Delvecchio E, Espada JP, Morales A, Mazzeschi C, et al. Psychological symptoms and behavioral changes in children and adolescents during the early phase of COVID-19 quarantine in three European countries. Frontiers in Psychiatry 2020;11:570164.
  13. Creswell C, Shum A, Pearcey S, Skripkauskaite S, Patalay P, Waite P. Young people's mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health 2021;5(8):535-7.
  14. Adedoyin OB, Soykan E. Covid-19 pandemic and online learning: the challenges and opportunities. Interactive learning environments 2023;31(2):863-75.
  15. Nearchou F, Flinn C, Niland R, Subramaniam SS, Hennessy E. Exploring the impact of COVID-19 on mental health outcomes in children and adolescents: a systematic review. IJERPH 2020;17(22):8479.
  16. Ariapooran S, Karimi M. Mathematics Anxiety in Male High School Students in the Outbreak of COVID-19: The Role of Mathematics Motivated Strategies and Mathematical Resilience. ethics and malpractice 2021;8(42):115-40. [Persian].
  17. Mashayekh P, Nasere S. Marginalized students in virtual education (a case study of Shiraz city). EPS 2023;11(22):153-67. [Persian].
  18. Daniel SJ. Education and the COVID-19 pandemic. Prospects 2020;49(1):91-6.
  19. Tadesse S, Muluye W. The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on education system in developing countries: a review. SCRIP 2020;8(10):159-70.
  20. Holloway I, Galvin K. Qualitative Research in Nursing and Healthcare. 5nd ed. Wiley; 2023.
  21. .Zahavi D. The practice of phenomenology: The case of Max van Manen. Nursing Philosophy 2020;21(2):e12276.
  22. Gill SL. Qualitative sampling methods. JHL 2020;36(4):579-81.
  23. Alexander AP. Lincoln and Guba’s quality criteria for trustworthiness. IDC International Journal. 2019;6(4):1-6.
  24. de Moura Gabriel IW, Lima DGS, Pires JP, Vieira NB, de Matos Brasil AAG, Pereira YTG, et al. Impacts of COVID-19 on children and adolescents: A systematic review analyzing its psychiatric effects. WJP 2022;12(11):1313.
  25. Alemany-Arrebola I, Rojas-Ruiz G, Granda-Vera J, Mingorance-Estrada ÁC. Influence of COVID-19 on the Perception of Academic Self-Efficacy, State Anxiety, and Trait Anxiety in College Students. Frontiers in Psychology 2020;11:570017
  26. Garbe A, Ogurlu U, Logan N, Cook P. COVID-19 and remote learning: Experiences of parents with children during the pandemic. AJQR 2020;4(3):45-65.
  27. Košir K, Dugonik Š, Huskić A, Gračner J, Kokol Z, Krajnc Ž. Predictors of perceived teachers’ and school counselors’ work stress in the transition period of online education in schools during the COVID-19 pandemic. Educational Studies 2022;48(6):844-8.
  28. Giannotti M, Mazzoni N, Bentenuto A, Venuti P, de Falco S. Family adjustment to COVID‐19 lockdown in Italy: Parental stress, coparenting, and child externalizing behavior. FP 2022;61(2):745-63.
  29. Spinelli M, Lionetti F, Pastore M, Fasolo M. Parents' stress and children's psychological problems in families facing the COVID-19 outbreak in Italy. Frontiers in psychology 2020;11:1713.
  30. Bailey DR, Lee AR. Learning from experience in the midst of COVID-19: Benefits, challenges, and strategies in online teaching. CALLEJ 2020;21(2):178-98.
  31. Schwartz KD, Exner-Cortens D, McMorris CA, Makarenko E, Arnold P, Van Bavel M, et al. COVID-19 and student well-being: Stress and mental health during return-to-school. CJSP 2021;36(2):166-85.
  32. Fegert JM, Vitiello B, Plener PL, Clemens V. Challenges and burden of the Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic for child and adolescent mental health: a narrative review to highlight clinical and research needs in the acute phase and the long return to normality. CAPMH 2020;14(20):1-11.
  33. Elmer T, Mepham K, Stadtfeld C. Students under lockdown: Comparisons of students’ social networks and mental health before and during the COVID-19 crisis in Switzerland. PLoS One 2020;15(7):e0236337.
Community Health Journal
Volume 17, Issue 4
Spring 2024
Pages 72-85