The Impact of Physical Education Teaching During COVID-19 on Social Emotion, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Physical Fitness of Elementary School Pupils

Background: COVID-19 invaded our lives in 2019 and throughout 2020, and severely affected the entire world in all areas. Universities, colleges and educational institutions were required to close their gates for extended periods, and to adapt to new teaching methods based on small groups and capsules with limited exposure to staff members. Most teaching became distance learning from home, using multimedia features. In ordinary times, Physical Education (PE) was the profession that relieved students from prolonged sitting in a chair, allowed them to discharge stored energies, and to improve physical, social and cognitive skills while maintaining their physical and mental health. Research (Czuckermann, 2016), sustained by others, found that a fencing training program and PE had a significant positive effect on improving physical fitness as well as improving ADHD in children.

Aim: To conduct a review from PE teachers’ perspectives that reflects how physical education is taught in elementary schools during the COVID-19 period, and how it affects the implications for students with ADHD in terms of physical, social and academic functioning, and to examine the development or disengagement of a teacher-student relationship or social relationships with classmates.

Methods: The study population consisted of 26 PE teachers in elementary schools in the State of Israel. The study period refers to the COVID-19 outbreak during the second third of the 2020 school year and during the 2021 school year, and relates to teaching during periods of full and partial lockdowns using different distant learning techniques. The study is based on questionnaires and personal interviews referring to the way PE is taught.

Results: In many schools, PE teachers were qualified as professional teachers due to system constraints and were assigned a pod, teaching a group of up to 13 students. In other cases, teachers worked with singular classes. Thus, there was considerable difficulty in the functioning of students suffering from ADHD, both in their studies and in the ability to develop normal social relationships with other students and in student-teacher communication.

Discussion: According to Czuckermann (2016), and data from many other studies, PE has a positive effect on the health and functioning of students with ADHD. The imposed reality of COVID-19 caused many schools to suspend PE hours, leading to an increase of ADHD comorbidities such as decreased learning ability, loss of interest in studies, decreased self-confidence and self-esteem, obesity, and social-emotional problems. The situation addressed the education system decision-makers regarding the importance of PE for the benefit of all students and those suffering from ADHD, on a daily basis and especially during the COVID-19 period.

Keywords: ADHD; physical education; COVID-19; social emotional; fitness