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COVID-19 and educational inequality: How school closures affect low- and high-achieving students
Elisabeth Grewenig1, Philipp Lergetporer2,3,4, Katharina Werner3,4,5
1ZEW - Leibniz Center for European Economic Reserach, Germany.
European Economic Review
|October 4, 2021
Summary
School closures in 2020 impacted students, with low-achieving students experiencing greater learning loss. They spent less time learning and more time on detrimental activities, with insufficient support from parents or schools.
Area of Science:
- Education
- Developmental Psychology
- Public Health
Background:
- Global school closures in spring 2020 due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
- Concerns regarding the disproportionate impact of educational disruptions on low-achieving students.
- The critical role of educator support in student learning and development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effects of school closures on student learning time.
- To compare the impact on low-achieving versus high-achieving students.
- To examine how learning time was reallocated and the support provided.
Main Methods:
- Survey of 1099 parents in Germany collecting detailed time-use data.
- Comparison of student activities before and during school closures.
- Analysis of learning time reduction and reallocation patterns.
Main Results:
- Average daily learning time decreased by approximately half (from 7.4 hours).
- Low-achieving students experienced a larger reduction in learning time (4.1 hours) compared to high-achievers (3.7 hours).
- Low-achievers substituted learning with detrimental activities (TV, computer games); support from parents and schools was lower for this group.
Conclusions:
- School closures exacerbated educational inequalities, with low-achievers suffering greater learning loss.
- The reallocation of time by low-achievers was detrimental to development.
- Existing support systems failed to compensate for the lack of educator support for vulnerable students.
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