Children’s cognitive abilities in the context of the digital transformation of basic education

ABSTRACT

The nine-year compulsory education policy is a priority state policy in China. The transition to online learning caused by the COVID-19 pandemic turned out to be especially difficult for elementary school students, primarily in the organizational aspect. The need to ensure quality education and effective learning outcomes regardless of its form determined the research relevance. Thus, the purpose of the study is to consider the impact of the digital transformation of basic education on the development of first-graders’ cognitive abilities. The study involved 205 first-grade students: 112 girls and 93 boys, their average age was 6.4 years. The experimental group consisted of three student groups (98 first-graders). The control group also involved three student groups (115 children). The null hypothesis that both online learning and traditional classroom activities have the same effect on the development of cognitive abilities in first graders was statistically confirmed.

KEYWORDS:

• Basic education
• cognitive abilities
• first-graders
• online learning

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Hunan philosophy and Social Science Foundation [grant number 18YBJ05]; Educational Science Project of Hunan Providence for the 13th Five-Year Plan [grant number XJK19JGD003]; Evaluation committee of social science achievements of Hunan [grant number XSP19YBZ135].

Notes on contributors

Cong Zhou

Cong Zhou is a leading researcher, PhD, Vice President of Teacher Education College, Hunan City University in Hunan, China. Her research interests include the problems of children’s cognitive abilities, effective learning outcomes, and online learning during COVID-19.