Children living in pandemic times: a geographical, transnational and situated view

Abstract

The aim of this editorial to the Viewpoints Special Issue on ´Children Living in pandemic Times: a geographical, transnational and situated view´ is, on the one hand, to present a transnational general picture of the Covid 19 situation for children. And on the other, to make a call for childhood researchers particularly focused on children's geographies, to come together to collaboratively approach this unprecedented situation. The main aspects of children living in pandemic times as they are identified by the different viewpoints in this special issue are presented, highlighting key commonalities and differences across countries.Next, we discuss the aspects that emerge from this phenomenon that seem most relevant for research on children's geographies to focus on in these times. Finally, we refer to some of the studies being conducted in different parts of the world, methodological challenges for children's geographies research under these circumstances, and emerging research questions.

Play and learn: Children's agency through the COVID‐19 pandemic in Mozambique

“…It is in this way that schools contribute to shaping different childhoods, emphasising the existing abysses (Lins et al, 2020) between haves and have‐nots. Similarly, Cortés‐Morales et al (2021: 7) talk of ‘lockdown imagined’ to symbolise the multiple effects of the pandemic in accentuating socioeconomic differences through the experience of the pandemic. This is particularly hard to identify in non‐WEIRD context, where there is a tendency to homogenise children's lives within the impacts of poverty.…”

“…Cortés‐Morales et al (2021: 4) note that, in the worst phase of pandemic (until April 2021), ‘188 countries closed schools and other educational institutions country‐wide, while others closed schools in restricted areas, for variable periods of time’. Citing UNESCO data (2020), the authors point out that ‘up to April 8th, 2020, 1 576 021 818 learners had been affected by these closures, 91% of the world student population’.…”

The unequal impact of Covid‐19 on the lives and rights of the children of modern slavery survivors, children in exploitation and children at risk of entering exploitation

“…Highlighted in this literature in the fields of children's rights, children's geographies and social studies of childhood, is the way in which the crisis has shed light on and exacerbated pre‐existing inequalities both globally and locally. It has also ‘invisibilised’ children in the media, public spaces and policy debates (Cortés‐Morales et al, 2021 ) and children's voices have not been consulted in matters which have severely affected them (Bessell, 2021 ; Lundy et al, 2021 ; Million, 2021 ).…”

Primary and middle-school children’s drawings of the lockdown in Italy

“…However, despite the extent and magnitude of the phenomenon, children also responded to the lockdown with resilience and adaptability. Coping factors emerged as products of social-cultural and geographical peculiarities (especially in terms of lifestyle, education, participation in family life, communication, access and use of personal and open spaces, possibility to use technologies actively and creatively; Cortés-Morales et al, 2021 ). Stoecklin et al (2021) report that during the lockdown, some children felt free to use their time as they wished and took this opportunity to spend more time with their families, start new hobbies, take care of themselves, and adopt a slower pace of life.…”