IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/injoed/v87y2021ics0738059321000870.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Potential effects of COVID-19 school closures on foundational skills and Country responses for mitigating learning loss

Author

Listed:
  • Alban Conto, Carolina
  • Akseer, Spogmai
  • Dreesen, Thomas
  • Kamei, Akito
  • Mizunoya, Suguru
  • Rigole, Annika

Abstract

This article investigates to what extent disrupted schooling and dropout affects children’s acquisition of foundational skills prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using household survey data from thirteen low- and lower-middle-income countries, we find that missing or dropping out of school is associated with lower reading and numeracy outcomes. Drawing on global surveys conducted during the pandemic, we find that countries’ remote learning responses are often inadequate to keep all children learning, avoid dropout, and mitigate the learning losses our findings predict, particularly for marginalized children and those at the pre-primary level.

Suggested Citation

  • Alban Conto, Carolina & Akseer, Spogmai & Dreesen, Thomas & Kamei, Akito & Mizunoya, Suguru & Rigole, Annika, 2021. "Potential effects of COVID-19 school closures on foundational skills and Country responses for mitigating learning loss," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:injoed:v:87:y:2021:i:c:s0738059321000870
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ijedudev.2021.102434
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0738059321000870
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2021.102434?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Peter J. Glick & David E. Sahn & Thomas F. Walker, 2016. "Household Shocks and Education Investments in Madagascar," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 78(6), pages 792-813, December.
    2. Noam Angrist & Peter Bergman & David K. Evans & Susannah Hares & Matthew C. H. Jukes & Thato Letsomo, 2020. "Practical Lessons for Phone-Based Assessments of Learning," Working Papers 534, Center for Global Development, revised 10 Jul 2020.
    3. World Bank, 2020. "The COVID-19 Pandemic [Pandémie De Covid-19]," World Bank Publications - Reports 33696, The World Bank Group.
    4. Michael Baker, 2013. "Industrial actions in schools: strikes and student achievement," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 46(3), pages 1014-1036, August.
    5. Dave E. Marcotte & Steven W. Hemelt, 2008. "Unscheduled School Closings and Student Performance," Education Finance and Policy, MIT Press, vol. 3(3), pages 316-338, July.
    6. Noam Angrist & Peter Bergman & Caton Brewster & Moitshepi Matsheng, 2020. "Stemming Learning Loss During the Pandemic: A Rapid Randomized Trial of a Low-Tech Intervention in Botswana," CSAE Working Paper Series 2020-13, Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford.
    7. Engzell, Per & Frey, Arun & Verhagen, Mark D., 2020. "Learning Inequality During the Covid-19 Pandemic," SocArXiv ve4z7, Center for Open Science.
    8. Michael Grimm, 2008. "Food Price Inflation and Children's Schooling," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 844, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    9. Clark, Andrew E. & Nong, Huifu & Zhu, Hongjia & Zhu, Rong, 2021. "Compensating for academic loss: Online learning and student performance during the COVID-19 pandemic," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    10. Duryea, Suzanne & Lam, David & Levison, Deborah, 2007. "Effects of economic shocks on children's employment and schooling in Brazil," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(1), pages 188-214, September.
    11. Duncan, Kristin A., 2004. "Grade Inflation: A Crisis in College Education," The American Statistician, American Statistical Association, vol. 58, pages 259-260, August.
    12. Ungd, 2015. "Socio-Economic Impact of Ebola Virus Disease in West African Countries A call for national and regional containment, recovery and prevention," UNDP Africa Reports 267635, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
    13. Sylvie Moulin & Michael Kremer & Paul Glewwe, 2009. "Many Children Left Behind? Textbooks and Test Scores in Kenya," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 1(1), pages 112-135, January.
    14. Michael Grimm, 2008. "Food price inflation and schooling," Ibero America Institute for Econ. Research (IAI) Discussion Papers 174, Ibero-America Institute for Economic Research.
    15. Andrew McEachin & Allison Atteberry, 2017. "The Impact of Summer Learning Loss on Measures of School Performance," Education Finance and Policy, MIT Press, vol. 12(4), pages 468-491, Fall.
    16. Peter Glick & David E. Sahn, 2010. "Early Academic Performance, Grade Repetition, and School Attainment in Senegal: A Panel Data Analysis," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 24(1), pages 93-120, January.
    17. World Bank, 2018. "World Development Report 2018 [Rapport sur le développement dans le monde 2018]," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 28340.
    18. Thomas, Duncan & Beegle, Kathleen & Frankenberg, Elizabeth & Sikoki, Bondan & Strauss, John & Teruel, Graciela, 2004. "Education in a crisis," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(1), pages 53-85, June.
    19. Bandiera,Oriana & Buehren,Niklas & Goldstein,Markus P. & Rasul,Imran & Smurra,Andrea, 2019. "The Economic Lives of Young Women in the Time of Ebola : Lessons from an Empowerment Program," Policy Research Working Paper Series 8760, The World Bank.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Pašák Matej, 2022. "Evaluation of Students Performance during Distance form of Education," Research Papers Faculty of Materials Science and Technology Slovak University of Technology, Sciendo, vol. 30(51), pages 33-38, November.
    2. Richard Freund & Marta Favara & Catherine Porter & Jere Behrman, 2024. "Social Protection and Foundational Cognitive Skills during Adolescence: Evidence from a Large Public Works Program," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 38(2), pages 296-318.
    3. Sánchez, Angeles & D'Agostino, Antonella & Giusti, Caterina & Potsi, Antoanneta, 2024. "Measuring child vulnerability to poverty: Material and psychosocial deprivation," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    4. Cortés-Albornoz, María C. & Ramírez-Guerrero, Sofía & García-Guáqueta, Danna P. & Vélez-Van-Meerbeke, Alberto & Talero-Gutiérrez, Claudia, 2023. "Effects of remote learning during COVID-19 lockdown on children’s learning abilities and school performance: A systematic review," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    5. Borazon, Elaine Quintana & Chuang, Hsueh-Hua, 2023. "Resilience in educational system: A systematic review and directions for future research," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    6. Marín Llanes, Lucas & Rodríguez Pico, Mariana & Maldonado, Darío & García, Sandra, 2023. "Learning inequality during Covid-19: Evidence from secondary schools in Colombia," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    7. Starling-Alves, Isabella & Hirata, Guilherme & Oliveira, João Batista A., 2023. "Covid-19 school closures negatively impacted elementary-school students’ reading comprehension and reading fluency skills," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    8. Kumar, Deepak & Pratap, Bhanu & Aggarwal, Archana, 2023. "Children’s early foundational skills and education continuation in India: Heterogeneous analysis by caste, gender and location," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 30(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Guido Neidhöfer & Nora Lustig & Mariano Tommasi, 2021. "Intergenerational transmission of lockdown consequences: prognosis of the longer-run persistence of COVID-19 in Latin America," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 19(3), pages 571-598, September.
    2. Angrist, Noam & de Barros, Andreas & Bhula, Radhika & Chakera, Shiraz & Cummiskey, Chris & DeStefano, Joseph & Floretta, John & Kaffenberger, Michelle & Piper, Benjamin & Stern, Jonathan, 2021. "Building back better to avert a learning catastrophe: Estimating learning loss from COVID-19 school shutdowns in Africa and facilitating short-term and long-term learning recovery," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    3. Wodon, Quentin, 2022. "Global report on integral human development 2022: measuring the contributions of Catholic and other faith-based organizations to education, healthcare, and social protection," MPRA Paper 114809, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Fabre, Alice & Pallage, Stéphane, 2015. "Child labor, idiosyncratic shocks, and social policy," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 394-411.
    5. Sabrin Beg & Waqas Halim & Adrienne M. Lucas & Umar Saif, 2022. "Engaging Teachers with Technology Increased Achievement, Bypassing Teachers Did Not," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 14(2), pages 61-90, May.
    6. Sowmya Dhanaraj & Christy Mariya Paul & Smit Gade, 2019. "Household income dynamics and investment in children: Evidence from India," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(5), pages 507-520, September.
    7. Alkire, Sabina & Nogales, Ricardo & Quinn, Natalie Naïri & Suppa, Nicolai, 2021. "Global multidimensional poverty and COVID-19: A decade of progress at risk?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 291(C).
    8. Daniel O. Gilligan & Naureen Karachiwalla & Ibrahim Kasirye & Adrienne M. Lucas & Derek Neal, 2022. "Educator Incentives and Educational Triage in Rural Primary Schools," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 57(1), pages 79-111.
    9. Rodriguez-Segura, Daniel & Campton, Cole & Crouch, Luis & Slade, Timothy S., 2021. "Looking beyond changes in averages in evaluating foundational learning: Some inequality measures," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    10. Agostinelli, Francesco & Avitabile, Ciro & Bobba, Matteo, 2021. "Enhancing Human Capital in Children: A Case Study on Scaling," TSE Working Papers 21-1196, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE), revised Oct 2023.
    11. Thompson, Paul N., 2021. "Is four less than five? Effects of four-day school weeks on student achievement in Oregon," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    12. World Bank, 2020. "Sierra Leone Economic Update, June 2020," World Bank Publications - Reports 34313, The World Bank Group.
    13. Karthik Muralidharan & Abhijeet Singh & Alejandro J. Ganimian, 2019. "Disrupting Education? Experimental Evidence on Technology-Aided Instruction in India," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 109(4), pages 1426-1460, April.
    14. Giorgio Di Pietro & Federico Biagi & Patricia Costa & Zbigniew Karpinski & Jacopo Mazza, 2020. "The likely impact of COVID-19 on education: Reflections based on the existing literature and recent international datasets," JRC Research Reports JRC121071, Joint Research Centre.
    15. Nora Lustig & Valentina Martinez Pabon & Guido Neidhöfer & Mariano Tommasi, 2020. "Short and Long-Run Distributional Impacts of COVID-19 in Latin America," Working Papers 2013, Tulane University, Department of Economics.
    16. Peter J. Glick & David E. Sahn & Thomas F. Walker, 2016. "Household Shocks and Education Investments in Madagascar," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 78(6), pages 792-813, December.
    17. Philipp Ager & Katherine Eriksson & Ezra Karger & Peter Nencka & Melissa A. Thomasson, 2024. "School Closures during the 1918 Flu Pandemic," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 106(1), pages 266-276, January.
    18. Servaas van der Berg & Gabrielle Wills & Rebecca Selkirk & Charles Adams & Chris van Wyk, 2019. "The cost of repetition in South Africa," Working Papers 13/2019, Stellenbosch University, Department of Economics.
    19. Orazem, Peter F. & Glewwe, Paul & Patrinos, Harry, 2007. "The Benefits and Costs of Alternative Strategies to Improve Educational Outcomes," Working Papers 7352, Iowa State University, Department of Economics.
    20. Buhl-Wiggers, Julie & Kerwin, Jason T. & Muñoz-Morales, Juan & Smith, Jeffrey & Thornton, Rebecca, 2024. "Some children left behind: Variation in the effects of an educational intervention," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 243(1).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:injoed:v:87:y:2021:i:c:s0738059321000870. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/international-journal-of-educational-development .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.