Online learning during school closure due to COVID-19
Masato Ikeda1, Shintaro Yamaguchi1
1Graduate School of Economics, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
Japanese Economic Review (Oxford, England)
|June 15, 2021
Summary
School closures initially boosted student study time and teacher messages via online learning services. However, these effects subsided after the state of emergency ended, with some students showing greater increases.
Area of Science:
- Education
- Sociology
- Public Health
Background:
- The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated widespread school closures globally.
- Online learning services became crucial for educational continuity.
- Understanding the impact of these changes on student engagement is vital.
Purpose of the Study:
- To estimate the effects of school closure on student study time.
- To analyze changes in teacher-student communication through online platforms.
- To identify factors influencing variations in student study habits during remote learning.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from an online learning service to track student study time.
- Quantified the number of messages exchanged between teachers and students.
- Compared data from before, during, and after the state of emergency period.
Main Results:
- Student study time and teacher-student messages significantly increased at the onset of school closures.
- These increases returned to pre-COVID-19 levels by late May 2020.
- Students with prior online access and those in higher-quality schools showed greater increases in study time.
Conclusions:
- School closures prompted temporary shifts in student study habits and online communication.
- Equitable access to online learning resources and school quality influenced student adaptation.
- No significant gender disparities were observed in study time changes during this period.
