Nash, C. Scoping Review of Self-Directed Online Learning, Public School Students’ Mental Health, and COVID-19 in Noting Positive Psychosocial Outcomes with Self-Initiated Learning. COVID 2023, 3, 1187-1208. https://doi.org/10.3390/covid3080084
Nash, C. Scoping Review of Self-Directed Online Learning, Public School Students’ Mental Health, and COVID-19 in Noting Positive Psychosocial Outcomes with Self-Initiated Learning. COVID 2023, 3, 1187-1208. https://doi.org/10.3390/covid3080084
Nash, C. Scoping Review of Self-Directed Online Learning, Public School Students’ Mental Health, and COVID-19 in Noting Positive Psychosocial Outcomes with Self-Initiated Learning. COVID 2023, 3, 1187-1208. https://doi.org/10.3390/covid3080084
Nash, C. Scoping Review of Self-Directed Online Learning, Public School Students’ Mental Health, and COVID-19 in Noting Positive Psychosocial Outcomes with Self-Initiated Learning. COVID 2023, 3, 1187-1208. https://doi.org/10.3390/covid3080084
Abstract
Negative mental health in students currently is classified as a global crisis with the highest and lowest student achievers recognized at greatest risk. Public schooling, in reproducing accepted psychosocial beliefs through standardized learning, developed separately from necessitating student mental health, in contrast to self-directed learning. Differing from standardized learning, the objective of self-directed learning in public schools is the creation of relevant support structures for student mental health, promoting positive psychosocial outcomes. The designed separation of public schooling from both mental health and self-directed learning was first acknowledged—and lamented—by John Dewey, over 100 years ago, in anticipating today’s mental health crisis. Yet, in responding effectively to the limitations of COVID-19, self-directed learning became an acknowledged learning method in public schools, potentially able to be accommodated by them regularly in support of mental health through the use of online technology. This study investigates the COVID-19 results of self-directed online learning in public schools through a Google Scholar search of peer reviewed research regarding self-directed learning, online learning, and mental health during COVID-19, recommending support for self-initiated self-directed online learning so that self-directed learning can continue, post COVID-19, improving student mental health in public schools, leading to positive psychosocial outcomes.
Keywords
mental health; public schooling; self-directed learning; standardized learning; positive psychosocial outcomes; John Dewey; COVID-19; online learning; Google Scholar
Subject
Social Sciences, Psychiatry and Mental Health
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
