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

Sébastien Goudeau (), Camille Sanrey, Arnaud Stanczak, Antony Manstead and Céline Darnon
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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

Nature Human Behaviour, 2021, vol. 5, issue 10, 1273-1281

Abstract: 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.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1038/s41562-021-01212-7

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