No Evidence of a Major Learning Slide 14 Months into the COVID-19 Pandemic in Denmark
The Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Disadvantaged Children's Learning
To what extent has school closures during the Covid-19 pandemic affected children’s learning? Are socially disadvantaged children hit particularly hard?
Photo: Colourbox
See Danish project description below
This project examines how learning among Danish compulsory school pupils is affected by nationwide school closures during the Covid-19 pandemic. To estimate the learning loss and examine whether it varies by social background, the project relies on data from the national tests in mathematics and reading.
The research project 'The Impact of Covid-19 pandemic on Disadvantaged Children's Learning' has recieved 725.000 DKK from Spar Nord Fonden. The researchers behind the project is Associate Professor Kristian Bernt Karlson and Postdoc Jesper Fels Birkelund, both from the Department of Sociology.
One far-reaching and potentially long-lasting consequence of the Corona crisis is the learning loss of students in primary and lower secondary schools. As all Danish schools were closed from 16 March 2020, children’s access to structured and highly routinized learning environments was suddenly blocked and so were their opportunities to learn. Although schools and teachers provide online alternatives to learning, the sudden lockdown of schools is expected to lead to a significant learning loss among students.
Drawing on what we know from previous research on society-wide learning interruptions, the project hypothesizes that the learning loss caused by the Corona crisis is particularly pronounced among children from disadvantaged social backgrounds. To estimate the learning loss and examine whether it varies by social background, the project proposes a novel approach that relies on data from the national tests in mathematics and reading to isolate the causal impact of the lockdown. The project’s findings will be able to inform how educational policies should be formed in response to the Corona crisis so as to mitigate the potentially negative consequences for socially disadvantaged children.
I hvilken grad er skolebørns læring blevet påvirket af nedlukningerne af landets skoler under coronakrisen? Og har nedlukningen ramt børn fra socialt udsatte familier særligt hårdt?
Det er de centrale spørgsmål, som forskningsprojektet 'The Impact of Covid-19 pandemic on Disadvantaged Children's Learning' belyser takket være en bevilling på 725.000 kr. fra Spar Nord Fonden. Bag undersøgelsen står lektor Kristian Bernt Karlson og postdoc Jesper Fels Birkelund, begge Sociologisk Institut.
Forskerne vil analysere resultaterne fra de nationale tests i matematik og læsning før og efter skolelukningerne i foråret for at afdække det aftryk, som coronakrisen har sat på det faglige niveau blandt skolebørn fra 2. til 8. klasse. Samtidig skal undersøgelsen tegne et billede af de sociale mønstre bag præstationerne ved at inddrage data fra Danmarks Statistik om forældrenes sociale baggrund.
Du kan også læse mere om projektet her: https://www.soc.ku.dk/instituttet/nyheder_/ny-undersoegelse-skal-afdaekke-skoleboerns-laeringstab-under-coronakrisen/
Researchers
| Name | Title | Phone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Search in Name | Search in Title | Search in Phone | |
| Jesper Fels Birkelund | Postdoc | +4535330624 | |
| Kristian Bernt Karlson | Associate Professor - Promotion Programme | +4535321588 |
Funded by:
The Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Disadvantaged Children's Learning has received one year funding from Spar Nord Fonden
Project: The Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Disadvantaged Children's Learning
Period: 2021 to 2022
Contact
Kristian Bernt Karlson
Associate Professor
Department of Sociology
University of Copenhagen
Mail: kbk@soc.ku.dk
Phone: +45 35 32 15 88