Socioeconomic inequalities in opportunities and participation in in-person learning during the Covid-19 pandemic

Abstract

Combining a longitudinal national survey of the Chilean school system and administrative datasets, we studied the supply and demand factors associated with the slow in-person return to school in Chile during the Covid-19 pandemic and their effects on socioeconomic disparities. In-person learning in 2021 was limited mainly by supply factors (i.e., sanitary, administrative, and infrastructure restrictions). However, once the supply restrictions decreased, many low-income students and their families did not resume in-person instruction, leading to vast inequalities by schools’ socioeconomic characteristics. These inequalities in in-person instruction will expand existing disparities in students’ learning and educational opportunities.