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Learning inequalities during the Covid-19 pandemic. A longitudinal analysis using the UK Understanding Society 2020 and 2021 data

Learning inequalities during the Covid-19 pandemic. A longitudinal analysis using the UK Understanding Society 2020 and 2021 data
Learning inequalities during the Covid-19 pandemic. A longitudinal analysis using the UK Understanding Society 2020 and 2021 data
•The transition to distance schooling has exacerbated inequalities by socio-economic status (SES) due both to the gap in the volume of schoolwork completed and to the relative ability or inability of some parents to support their children’s learning.
•While parental occupation alone was found to be a significant determinant of differences in the volume of schoolwork among students, its effect was amplified when combined with student access to computers, family circumstances and parental working patterns.
•The provision of schoolwork improved in both primary and secondary schools in the second closure period (January 2021 through February 2021) compared to the first school closure period (from late March 2020 to the start of June 2020). The number of offline and online lessons per day increased and this led to a larger volume of schoolwork being done, from 2.3 hours per day to 3.3 hours per day in primary schools, and from 2.6 hours per day to 4 hours per day in secondary schools.
•The increase in schoolwork provision can be explained by the improved provision of lessons, by greater availability of computers and by the fact that families were better prepared for the second school closure and could engage more with the schoolwork provided.
•The results show that in January 2021 the gaps between ‘service class’ students (students whose parents are large employers, higher managers and professionals) and ‘routine class’ students (students whose parents are in routine and semi-routine sales, service, technical, agricultural and clerical occupations) reduced and became non-significant for primary school pupils. Service class and ‘intermediate class’ children (those whose parents are lower managerial, administrative and professional, small employers and own account workers) did not receive any more support from their parents than routine class children.
•Primary school children of single parents who worked from home were able to reduce the gap in schoolwork done compared to the most advantaged socio-economic group, but generally, inequalities between socio-economic groups in the uptake of schoolwork remained stable between the two school closure periods.
University of Southampton
Pensiero, Nicola
a4abb10f-51db-493d-9dcc-5259e526e96b
Kelly, Anthony
1facbd39-0f75-49ee-9d58-d56b74c6debd
Bokhove, Christian
7fc17e5b-9a94-48f3-a387-2ccf60d2d5d8
Pensiero, Nicola
a4abb10f-51db-493d-9dcc-5259e526e96b
Kelly, Anthony
1facbd39-0f75-49ee-9d58-d56b74c6debd
Bokhove, Christian
7fc17e5b-9a94-48f3-a387-2ccf60d2d5d8

Pensiero, Nicola, Kelly, Anthony and Bokhove, Christian (2021) Learning inequalities during the Covid-19 pandemic. A longitudinal analysis using the UK Understanding Society 2020 and 2021 data University of Southampton 60pp. (doi:10.5258/SOTON/P0118).

Record type: Monograph (Project Report)

Abstract

•The transition to distance schooling has exacerbated inequalities by socio-economic status (SES) due both to the gap in the volume of schoolwork completed and to the relative ability or inability of some parents to support their children’s learning.
•While parental occupation alone was found to be a significant determinant of differences in the volume of schoolwork among students, its effect was amplified when combined with student access to computers, family circumstances and parental working patterns.
•The provision of schoolwork improved in both primary and secondary schools in the second closure period (January 2021 through February 2021) compared to the first school closure period (from late March 2020 to the start of June 2020). The number of offline and online lessons per day increased and this led to a larger volume of schoolwork being done, from 2.3 hours per day to 3.3 hours per day in primary schools, and from 2.6 hours per day to 4 hours per day in secondary schools.
•The increase in schoolwork provision can be explained by the improved provision of lessons, by greater availability of computers and by the fact that families were better prepared for the second school closure and could engage more with the schoolwork provided.
•The results show that in January 2021 the gaps between ‘service class’ students (students whose parents are large employers, higher managers and professionals) and ‘routine class’ students (students whose parents are in routine and semi-routine sales, service, technical, agricultural and clerical occupations) reduced and became non-significant for primary school pupils. Service class and ‘intermediate class’ children (those whose parents are lower managerial, administrative and professional, small employers and own account workers) did not receive any more support from their parents than routine class children.
•Primary school children of single parents who worked from home were able to reduce the gap in schoolwork done compared to the most advantaged socio-economic group, but generally, inequalities between socio-economic groups in the uptake of schoolwork remained stable between the two school closure periods.

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Accepted/In Press date: 2021
Published date: 2021

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 450310
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/450310
PURE UUID: 1c51e9a9-3ad5-44d3-ae1e-c7082784a642
ORCID for Nicola Pensiero: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-2823-9852
ORCID for Anthony Kelly: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-4664-8585
ORCID for Christian Bokhove: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-4860-8723

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 22 Jul 2021 16:30
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 04:01

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