Abstract
COVID-19 has resulted in a global public health crisis. Measures adopted by governments across the world to reduce transmission have resulted in the closure of educational institutions and workplaces and reduced social interaction. The aim of the article is to reflect on the consequences of the COVID-19 global pandemic for the lives of young people from different social groups, with a special focus on education. It is a desk-based review of empirical research that has emerged in the wake of COVID-19 that has explored the impact of the control measures adopted, resulting in ‘learning loss’ and the widening of the ‘learning gap’ among students. The review shows that rather than utilizing the current situation to tackle pre-existing social inequalities in education, current debates often narrowly focus on immediate rather than long-term measures. The article calls for a broader research agenda on the short- and long-term compensatory measures needed to re-engage students, especially those from more disadvantaged backgrounds.
Highlights
IntroductionMuch of the current debate has focused on the situation of children and young people, especially in relation to their disrupted education and what learning loss may mean for their future educational outcomes and life-chances
The emergence of a novel coronavirus— widely known as COVID-19—towards the end of 2019 and the control measures that were introduced to curb the spread of the virus have had a considerable impact on young people’s lives in developedMuch of the current debate has focused on the situation of children and young people, especially in relation to their disrupted education and what learning loss may mean for their future educational outcomes and life-chances
Today’s youth is likely to pay a considerable price for the measures adopted by various jurisdictions as a response to the COVID-19 virus
Summary
Much of the current debate has focused on the situation of children and young people, especially in relation to their disrupted education and what learning loss may mean for their future educational outcomes and life-chances. Performance gaps by social class emerge early on and rarely narrow as children progress in education, with many not being able to make up the lost ground (Betthauser, 2019; Gaynor, 2012; Stopforth et al, 2019). Families with children with special educational needs (SEN) and other vulnerable groups (migrants and asylum seekers) are likely to have faced challenges, especially at a time of reduced or discontinued supports (Bagger et al, 2020; Birkelund, 2019; Brinbaum & Cebolla-Boado, 2007; Dempsey et al, 2016; Feliciano & Lanuza, 2017; Jackson et al, 2012)
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