Returning to school can have emotional impact on children - Experts

But not all children are eager to return to school due to various reasons such as the fear of contracting COVID-19 or feeling nervous about interacting with their friends and teachers.

Some children may also be afraid that their teachers will question their poor home-based teaching and learning (PdPR) attendance record and rebuke them for not completing their schoolwork.

In fact, some experts have suggested that teachers take the soft approach in the first few weeks after schools reopen for face-to-face teaching and learning sessions, saying that a more relaxed classroom atmosphere would be necessary to boost their students' enthusiasm levels and relieve any stress or anxiety they may be feeling considering that they have been away from school for well over a year.

Child psychologist Dr Noor Aishah Rosli said teachers should consider organising leisurely activities, sporting events and games for their students to participate in, with strict adherence to the necessary standard operating procedures.

"I think in the first one or two weeks (after schools reopen) formal teaching sessions should take a back seat and teachers should, instead, focus on reviving the school mood and stimulating the children's social and communication skills.

"We want the younger children, particularly those in Year One and Year Two, to have a positive perception and be motivated to study in their school," said Noor Aishah, who is also a senior lecturer in the Department of Education Psychology and Counselling at Universiti Malaya.

She told Bernama teachers should also refrain from quizzing their students about their PdPR attendance record and schoolwork as it can dampen their enthusiasm about returning to school.

"These questions will make them feel stressed as not all of them were able to follow PdPR and complete their schoolwork diligently," she said, voicing her concern this may lead to bigger problems that will disrupt their studies.

Recognising that students who were not able to follow their PdPR sessions consistently for various reasons may, to some extent, be left behind in their studies, Noor Aishah said the focus now should be on improving their understanding of the subjects they are being taught.

She opined that "schooling should not be examination-oriented and shouldn't purely be about completing the syllabus".

"Virtual learning is just not the same (as face-to-face learning) and is not 100 percent effective for all students. At home, they are easily distracted and the environment may not be conducive (to learning)... and not all of them have their own desk and room to study," she said.

To address the issue of students who are lagging behind, Noor Aishah suggested that teachers conduct brief revisions on every topic for all the students, adding that they can make use of videos, pictures and mind maps to make it easier for their students to remember the facts.

The Ministry of Education (MOE), meanwhile, had said in a written reply in the Dewan Rakyat on Sept 20 that the effectiveness of PdPR was at a moderate level, according to the findings of an online study on PdPR that was conducted between March and July last year.

The findings showed that urban student involvement in PdPR stood at 59.3 percent compared to 51.4 percent for rural students.

The study also showed that 51.2 percent of the students felt stressed while learning at home, with 48.9 percent of them saying that they felt stressed due to the limited interaction with their teachers, 55 percent due to limited interaction with their friends and 53.4 percent due to lack of guidance in the learning process.

The ministry also stated that 56.6 percent of the students participated in the PdPR sessions actively while 66 percent of parents or guardians said PdPR was effective for their children.

Commenting on the option given to parents and guardians not to send their children to school due to the threat posed by COVID-19, Noor Aishah said in the case of parents with young children, the onus is on them to ensure that they master the 3Rs (reading, writing and arithmetic).

"Eventually when these children go to school and they have yet to master the 3Rs, their parents shouldn't put the blame on the teachers," she said, adding that parents should also observe their children's progress closely.

"There are seven- and eight-year-old children who actually can read but are not trained. There are also children who have been taught and trained but still cannot read and this can be due to dyslexia, low IQ and other learning disorders... in such cases, the parents must take prompt action by taking their child to a specialist to resolve the problem."

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Faculty of Education lecturer Associate Prof Dr Hasnah Toran, meanwhile, said the issue of whether children are ready to return to school for face-to-face sessions is something that the relevant experts should discuss.

She said parents should also have their own strategies lined up to ensure the smooth implementation of the return-to-school process.

"Both parents and teachers need to gauge the level of readiness of the children (to go back to school), so don't put pressure on them or scold them.

"Some children may have emotional or psychological issues but their parents may not notice it. Also, different approaches have to be used in dealing with the emotions of children at the primary and secondary school levels," she said, adding that students facing emotional problems should be provided counselling to ease their anxiety, discomfort and worry.

As for educating children with special needs, the most effective approach is face-to-face teaching, said Nurhayati Zainudin, a preschool teacher under the Integrated Special Education Programme at Sekolah Kebangsaan Dato' Penghulu Luak Jempol in Negeri Sembilan.

She said face-to-face learning and facilitation sessions are more effective than online classes for such children.

"Children with special needs have various categories of disabilities, and the skills and teaching methods required vary according to the category. A bulk of the teaching methods involve developing their social interaction skills and require the personal touch of the teacher and pupil," she said.

Nurhayati admitted conducting online classes for her pupils was very challenging and that she needed their parents to stay with their children during the sessions.

"Face-to-face teaching helps us to handle our pupils' emotions better. Besides that, we can also make use of various teaching methods and techniques in accordance with each child's level of capability," she said, adding that the teachers are also able to monitor the children's self-care skills, as well as academic progress.