School closures in France in 2020: Inequalities and consequences for perceptions, practices and relationships towards and within schools

Abstract

AbstractThe French education system is known for its inequalities, as well as difficulties in relations between teachers, pupils and their families. But what happens when schools close their gates and begin teaching remotely? To support a sociological discussion of quantitative (N = 5,875) and qualitative (N = 20) data collected with the participation of French teachers during the 2020 COVID‐19 pandemic, this article illustrates how the period of distance teaching was handled and the consequences for perceptions, practices and relations between teachers, pupils and families. The results from our survey show that, although educational inequalities increased during the period of school closures, it nonetheless enabled a good number of school stakeholders to reaffirm their commitment to learning and teaching and to strengthen social connections. If the exceptional constraints forced teachers to seek out new educational solutions and develop new professional knowledge and skills, it remains open to question, however, whether these changes will permanently improve French school climate and reduce learning inequalities.