Niet-cognitieve vaardigheden tijdens COVID-19: Een onderzoek onder leerlingen in het voortgezet onderwijs

In this study we investigate how the COVID-19- pandemic, and resulting distance education, has affected the social-emotional skills of secondary education students. We study whether this differs between pre-vocational and pre-higher education students, and whether there is a time trend in these variables, both before and during the COVID-19-pandemic. We use data from the Dutch Education Monitor Limburg, in which questionnaires were administered in 2018, in March 2020 (before the pandemic started), in June 2020 (right after the first school closure) and in September 2020 (after the summer holiday). The results show only little differences for pre-vocational students: they report lower performance orientation and problem-solving skills, and higher perseverance during the pandemic. Pre-higher education students, on the other hand, report higher on socio-emotional skills right after the first school closure, but (much) lower on school motivation, school attitude, self-efficacy, and social relations with teachers and peers in the longer run.