While the ongoing academic impacts of the COVID pandemic in grades 3-8 has been well documented, far less is known about its effects on students who were in pre-K or kindergarten when the pandemic started in March 2020. In this brief, we focus on students who were in first and second grade in the 2021-22 school year, and for whom the majority of…

At the beginning of primary school, young children need to adapt academically, socially, and emotionally to their new school environment. Enjoying going to school and becoming socially integrated are important preconditions for successful learning. However, children from disadvantaged families have fewer resources and receive less support, and…

The purpose of this study is to examine first-grade students' feelings and perceptions toward school in three elementary schools with different socioeconomic status levels in Turkey. This qualitatively oriented multiple case study used students' drawings and semi-structured interviews as data collection methods. The findings of the study revealed…