A Qualitative Exploration of the Impact of Virtual Schooling during the COVID-19 Pandemic on Children, Teachers, and Caregivers in Darjeeling, India (2024)

Undergraduate: Tulsi Patel

Faculty Advisor: Christina Cruz
Department: Psychiatry

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Child development is largely dictated by the child’s closest social sphere, specifically family and school life (Bronfenbrenner, 2000). The COVID-19 pandemic largely changed how caregivers and teachers interacted with children through increased time at home and virtual interactions, respectively. There is a need to address how shifts in societal dynamics impact children’s educational and behavioral progress, specifically when teachers hold especially significant positions. Conducted in Darjeeling, India, Tealeaf is a task-shifting intervention that equips teachers to identify and support students with mental health needs, expanding the involvement of teachers.This study aims to explore how virtual schooling impacted social dynamics among teachers, caregivers, and children and how potential stressors were perceived to affect these various stakeholders in Darjeeling. From March 2020 to April 2021, semi-structured interviews were conducted with these stakeholders. Inductive content analysis was conducted to systematically analyze interview transcripts, revealing that the shift to online learning specifically strained the children’s relationship with their primary adult contacts: parents and teachers. Online learning exacerbated preexisting stressors: teachers’ lack of resources and caregivers’ illiteracy. Both caregivers and school staff expressed that this strain manifested in problematic behavior changes and decreased educational outcomes in the children. Recognizing how online schooling impacts relationships within a specific cultural context is vital in understanding how to adapt future interventions to improve children’s educational and behavioral progress, whether for everyday use or as other public health crises arise.