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

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  • 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.

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  • 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
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    2. Jeong, Dong Wook & Moon, Heewon & Jeong, Seol Mi & Moon, Chan Ju, 2024. "Digital capital accumulation in schools, teachers, and students and academic achievement: Cross-country evidence from the PISA 2018," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    3. 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.
    4. 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).
    5. Ohlig, Louise & Timm, Susanne, 2024. "Crisis mode in fragile state and its implications for the human right to education: A governance-analytical perspective on the DRC’s education sector," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    6. 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).
    7. 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).
    8. 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).
    9. 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).
    10. 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).

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