Universal Screening to Improve Early Identification of Students at Risk for Emotional and Behavioral Problems in the Post-COVID Era
Eleni Didaskalou 1 * , Amy M. Briesch 2
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1 Department of Special Education, University of Thessaly, Greece2 Department of Applied Psychology, Northeastern University, USA* Corresponding Author

Abstract

In the post-COVID era, there is an urgent need for institutions and educators to apply enhanced detection approaches for the early identification of subtle warning signs of students’ emotional and behavioral concerns that may impede their learning. This need is considerably greater in those systems where school-based support provision for students in need is still at a rudimentary level of development, such as in the Greek system. Recently, there has been a shift in school-based support provision, from a focus on assessment of existing problems to a focus on prevention and early identification of subtle warning signs of students’ emotional and behavioral concerns, which may impede their learning. However, such a shift certainly poses significant challenges for general, special educators and other professionals. In this paper, we examine some of the main obstacles that are likely to impede the early detection of learning, social, and emotional challenges mong students in Greek primary schools. These barriers appear to be linked to the prevailing paradigm underlying school-based support, the practices used in educational institutions to identify students at risk of learning and psychosocial problems, and the role that teachers and school-related professionals play in identifying and addressing students’ needs and difficulties.

License

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.

Article Type: Review

International Journal of Changes in Education, Volume 2, Issue 3, 2025, 200-206

https://doi.org/10.47852/bonviewIJCE52023769

Publication date: 22 Aug 2025

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