Learning inequalities during the COVID-19 pandemic: a longitudinal analysis using the UK Understanding Society 2020 and 2021 data
ESRC grant ES/W002124/1
Project Leader:
Nic Pensiero
Other Project Team Members:
Professor Tony Kelly, Dr. Christian Bokhove
In recent research, Pensiero (PI), Kelly and Bokhove (Pensiero et al. 2020) used the Understanding Society (USoc) COVID-19 April 2020 survey to investigate the uptake of schoolwork in homes during the first Covid related school closure. We will use data from both April 2020 and January 2021 surveys, to analyse:
1) Whether the prevalence of schoolwork between the first and the second school closure has changed.
2) Whether the gap between advantaged and disadvantaged families in schoolwork has changed.
3) The extent to which the change in schoolwork and changes in differences between Socio-Economic Status (SES) groups can be explained by compositional effects, i.e. changes in observed circumstances such as acquisition of new computers and working patterns versus changes in behaviour.
4) In addition, we will propose policies to mitigate the impact of the school closures on the learning gap by socio-economic group.
The research will provide timely information to help schools and policy makers to quantify the loss of learning opportunities (proxied by the uptake of schoolwork in homes) and identify the socio-economic groups which have suffered more from this loss during the school closures. We will engage with policies to mitigate the likely impact of the school closure on the learning gap by socio-economic group, such as academic tutoring, and providing students with better access to IT at home. The research will also be relevant for the decision regarding the timing and the types of school assessments to undertake in 2021, which is a key current concern for policy. Moreover, schools might close again in the near future due to a rise of the infection rate. Should this happen, our research will provide valuable information on the type and amount of distance learning which is likely to arise.
Outreach / impact
Government publications:
· Scottish Government COVID equity audit: Coronavirus (COVID-19): impact of school building closures - equity audit (2021) (link)
· Learning during the pandemic: quantifying lost time (2021) (link)
· Learning during the pandemic: review of research from England (2021) (link)
Online - 127 articles (Tes, Guardian, MailOnline, phys.org, Regionals like Shropshire Star)
Print - 2 articles (Southern Daily Echo, The Yorkshire Post)
Youtube – 3 mins briefing
Our project was selected as one of the three to represent Soton at the ‘Evidence week’.
Meetings with Hayley Smith, assistant to Michael Tomlinson MP and Alan Whitehead MP.
Invitation to post-pandemic research agenda discussion hosted by Nuffield Foundation, including Tim Leunig, HM Treasury, and Tom Younger, Department for Work and Pensions
Nominated for a Vice-Chancellor’s Award in the Public Good category.
Nominated for The John Maddox Prize, a joint initiative of Sense about Science and Nature, which recognises the work of individuals who promote sound science and evidence
Findings published by Understanding Society - Insights 2022 (link)
A keynote presentation at the 2021 European Sociological Association meeting, Barcelona (online), September 2021.
Article in TES magazine (link)
Presentation, LLAKES events, November 2021.
The Impact of COVID-19 on Education in the Midlands, March 2022 (link)
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Pensiero, N., Kelly, A., & Bokhove, C. (2021). Learning inequalities during the Covid-19 pandemic: a longitudinal analysis using the UK Understanding Society 2020 and 2021 data. University of Southampton. Link.
Pensiero, N., Kelly, A., & Bokhove, C. (2020). Learning inequalities during the Covid-19 pandemic: how families cope with home-schooling. University of Southampton. Available online at: https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/442619/