The COVID-19 pandemic brought sweeping changes to the lives of adolescents, including the introduction of online learning. Mandatory online learning is often associated in research with a number of negative effects, such as decreased motivation or loss of interest in school. Recently, however, research has also emerged exploring the potential positive aspects of this situation, particularly for specific groups of students. These studies point to the possibility that students with specific learning needs and gifted students could benefit from the greater autonomy that online learning could afford them. However, research is lacking for children in early adolescence. Therefore, our research team from INPSY took the initiative to focus on the school well-being of gifted students during this developmental period.
The team of authors, consisting of Petr Palíšek, Michal Jabůrek and Šárka Portešová, decided to investigate whether greater autonomy associated with online learning supports the school well-being of gifted early adolescents. The research was conducted on a sample of 210 Czech students aged 11-13 and one of their parents. The children answered a series of questionnaires aimed mainly at measuring autonomy, but also, for example, loneliness or anxiety associated with pandemics. At the same time, they took part in fluid intelligence testing on computers using games. The main construct measured was school well-being, which includes aspects such as positive emotional experiences, engagement and relationships with classmates and teachers. The parent then answered questions about satisfaction with the quality of online learning and the impact of COVID-19 on their household. The main objective of the study was to determine what factors associated with the COVID-19 pandemic affected the school well-being of early adolescents.
Autonomy associated with online learning has positive benefits regardless of aptitude
The authors hypothesized that the increased autonomy associated with online learning during a pandemic would lead to greater school well-being only for gifted students, but this was not confirmed in the study. However, the results showed a different finding. Higher autonomy had a significant positive effect on adolescents' school well-being, regardless of their level of cognitive ability. A possible explanation, according to the authors, could be that being able to independently plan their time and school activities significantly improves students' emotional well-being and engagement. The authors also found that level of cognitive ability alone did not have a significant effect on school well-being, suggesting that autonomy should be encouraged by teachers for all students, not just those with above-average ability.
Anxiety and loneliness during the pandemic had different effects on school well-being
An interesting secondary finding was that students did not exhibit high levels of pandemic-related anxiety, even when their family was directly affected by the pandemic. Pandemic-related anxiety had only a minimal effect on school well-being, suggesting that health concerns did not affect students' well-being to the extent initially expected. Conversely, feelings of loneliness emerged as a relevant factor that negatively affected perceptions of the meaningfulness of school, suggesting that social contacts play a key role in school well-being in this age group.
This study provides important insights into what factors can promote adolescents' school well-being during a challenging period and highlights that providing autonomy can be key to increased student engagement and satisfaction in the school environment. The results of the study support the benefits of autonomy in educational interventions for young adolescents, particularly when returning to online learning in emergency interventions. However, the authors of the study recommend taking the results with a grain of salt, as they are preliminary and cannot build on sufficiently broad previous findings due to the exceptional nature of the pandemic situation. Future research, according to the authors, should examine the long-term effects of autonomy on various aspects of adolescent psychological development.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
Recommended Citation:
Palíšek, P., Jabůrek, M., & Portešová, Š. (2024). Thriving Through Autonomy: High-Ability Adolescents' Well-Being Amidst the Pandemic. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/02724316241249485
