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Why lockdown and distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic are likely to increase the social class achievement gap

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  • Sébastien Goudeau

    (Université de Poitiers, CNRS, CeRCA, Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition et l’Apprentissage)

  • Camille Sanrey

    (Université de Poitiers, CNRS, CeRCA, Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition et l’Apprentissage)

  • Arnaud Stanczak

    (Université Clermont Auvergne, CNRS, LAPSCO, Laboratoire de Psychologie Sociale et Cognitive)

  • Antony Manstead

    (Cardiff University)

  • Céline Darnon

    (Université Clermont Auvergne, CNRS, LAPSCO, Laboratoire de Psychologie Sociale et Cognitive)

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced teachers and parents to quickly adapt to a new educational context: distance learning. Teachers developed online academic material while parents taught the exercises and lessons provided by teachers to their children at home. Considering that the use of digital tools in education has dramatically increased during this crisis, and it is set to continue, there is a pressing need to understand the impact of distance learning. Taking a multidisciplinary view, we argue that by making the learning process rely more than ever on families, rather than on teachers, and by getting students to work predominantly via digital resources, school closures exacerbate social class academic disparities. To address this burning issue, we propose an agenda for future research and outline recommendations to help parents, teachers and policymakers to limit the impact of the lockdown on social-class-based academic inequality.

Suggested Citation

  • Sébastien Goudeau & Camille Sanrey & Arnaud Stanczak & Antony Manstead & Céline Darnon, 2021. "Why lockdown and distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic are likely to increase the social class achievement gap," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 5(10), pages 1273-1281, October.
  • Handle: RePEc:nat:nathum:v:5:y:2021:i:10:d:10.1038_s41562-021-01212-7
    DOI: 10.1038/s41562-021-01212-7
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    2. Gizem Hayrullahoğlu & Çiğdem Varol, 2022. "Understanding mobility dynamics using urban functions during the COVID-19 pandemic: comparison of pre-and post-new normal eras," Asia-Pacific Journal of Regional Science, Springer, vol. 6(3), pages 1087-1109, October.
    3. Ruyi Lin & Juan Chu & Lizi Yang & Ligao Lou & Huiju Yu & Junfeng Yang, 2023. "What are the determinants of rural-urban divide in teachers’ digital teaching competence? Empirical evidence from a large sample," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-12, December.
    4. Patricia Vázquez-Villegas & Patricia Caratozzolo & Vianney Lara-Prieto & Jorge Membrillo-Hernández, 2023. "A Review on the Advances in Socially Oriented Education," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(23), pages 1-15, November.
    5. Heidmann, Laure & Neirac, Lucie & Andreu, Sandra & Conceiçao, Pierre & Eteve, Yann & Fabre, Marianne & Vourc'h, Ronan, 2023. "Delayed learning to read and write during the COVID-19 pandemic: longitudinal study of the heterogeneous effects on all first graders in France," SocArXiv qn9a8, Center for Open Science.
    6. Md Jahangir Alam & Keiichi Ogawa & Sheikh Rashid Bin Islam, 2023. "e-Learning as a Doubled-Edge Sword for Academic Achievements of University Students in Developing Countries: Insights from Bangladesh," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-15, April.
    7. Yekaterina Chzhen & Jennifer Symonds & Dympna Devine & Júlia Mikolai & Susan Harkness & Seaneen Sloan & Gabriela Martinez Sainz, 2022. "Learning in a Pandemic: Primary School children’s Emotional Engagement with Remote Schooling during the spring 2020 Covid-19 Lockdown in Ireland," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 15(4), pages 1517-1538, August.
    8. Erin K. Gill & Mollie T. McQuillan, 2022. "LGBTQ+ Students’ Peer Victimization and Mental Health before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(18), pages 1-17, September.
    9. Pan Zhang & Zhouling Bai, 2024. "Leaving messages as coproduction: impact of government COVID-19 non-pharmaceutical interventions on citizens’ online participation in China," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-12, December.
    10. Almudena Filgueira-Vizoso & Laura Castro-Santos & Ana Isabel García-Diez & Félix Puime Guillén & María Isabel Lamas-Galdo & Manuel Ángel Graña-López, 2022. "Opening or Not Opening Educational Centers in Time of SARS-CoV-2? Analysis of the Situation in Galicia (Spain)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-21, May.
    11. Mihai Curelaru & Versavia Curelaru & Mioara Cristea, 2022. "Students’ Perceptions of Online Learning during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-21, July.
    12. Lee, Ryan C. & Sood, Neeraj & Deva, Sohini & Macedo, Marisol & Soto, Daniel W. & Unger, Jennifer B., 2023. "Evaluation of a COVID-19 rapid antigen testing program among student athletes in a public high school district," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    13. Mateusz Babicki, 2022. "Use of Alcohol, Cannabinoids, Psychostimulants, and Sedatives before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic among Students in 40 European Countries," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(22), pages 1-9, November.
    14. Bastian A. Betthäuser & Anders M. Bach-Mortensen & Per Engzell, 2023. "A systematic review and meta-analysis of the evidence on learning during the COVID-19 pandemic," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 7(3), pages 375-385, March.
    15. Xiaohong Liu & Li Zhao & Yu-Sheng Su, 2022. "Impact of Parents’ Attitudes on Learning Ineffectiveness: The Mediating Role of Parental Self-Efficacy," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(1), pages 1-15, January.
    16. Asadullah, M. Niaz & Tham, Eric, 2023. "Learning and happiness during Covid-19 school closure in urban Malaysia," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    17. Ladan Rahbari, 2023. "COVID-19 Pandemic and the Crisis of Care: Wellness Discourses, Neoliberal Self-Care, and (Dis)Infodemic," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-12, February.

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