What did adolescents say in context of a pandemic?: Analysis of topics addressed by students in TED-Ed clubs extracurricular school program in Argentina

Abstract

This article reports youths ´ interests and concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic by analyzing what Argentine students aged 12 to 18 years expressed within the 2020 edition of TED-Ed Clubs, an extracurricular school program aimed at developing and communicating an idea following a TED-talk format. Based on video recordings of a random sample of 100 students´ talks, we identified six recurring themes: ‘current social affairs’ such as gender equality and social media; ‘Interpersonal relationships’, focusing on adolescents´ bonds with peers and adults; ‘rethinking lifestyles’ such as the importance of developing healthy habits; ‘sharing passions’ typically describing activities about which they felt passionate, such as sports; ‘self-discovery’, which addressed introspective insights; and ‘Pandemic’ when referring to the current health crisis. In all cases, students aimed to engage and inspire their audience to reflect and act upon these issues. Results speak of the value of creating learning environments at school for youth voices to be acknowledged.