Covid-19 And The Education System
INTRODUCTION: =
After starting in China in late 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic quickly spread to other parts of the world, having a significant negative impact on economies and civilizations. Strict safeguards were put in place by governments across the globe to stop the virus's spread, but this caused significant disruptions to daily life and economic activity. Thus far, COVID-19 has killed over 7 million people worldwide and infected about 700 million individuals. The elderly have been disproportionately affected by this extraordinary health disaster; over 70% of COVID-19 fatalities have occurred in people over the age of 60.
The epidemic had far-reaching effects on transportation patterns, food security, and economic stability in addition to health. Because they were afraid of getting sick, urban commuters—especially in places like New York—dramatically cut back on using public transportation. Concurrently, there were significant disruptions to the global food chain, which made the problem of food availability worse, particularly in Third World countries—who suffered more than First World countries because of insufficient infrastructure and economic limitations.
Global education systems encountered significant obstacles as well. As colleges and universities closed, online learning became the standard. Although this shift helped middle-class and wealthy families, it made educational disparities worse, especially for pupils from underprivileged homes. Enrollment in online courses increased significantly at many colleges and institutions, underscoring the change in the ways that education is delivered.
The many effects of COVID-19 on society and the educational system are examined in depth in this essay. It examines the ways in which the epidemic has altered social roles and educational opportunities, stressing both the drawbacks and advantages. The epidemic has drastically changed the face of education, upending conventional classroom environments and ushering in the emergence of online learning environments. It has exposed pervasive disparities while simultaneously offering fresh chances for creativity and adaptability.
Covid-19’s implications on Society: =
The COVID-19 virus first started in China, due to the fast-spreading nature of the virus many were infected, to control this fatal virus the governments of the respective countries ordered their people not to gather. The patient zero of COVID-19 was identified in December of 2019 Cite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag</ref>. The commuters in cities feared of COVID-19, reduced the use of public transport, in New York City public transport is down by 62%. On one side people were scared to come in contact with others and on the other side there was a lack of food availability, due to transportation and economic restrictions, export bans and border closers. The global food system which feeds four-fifths of the world’s population has been severely disrupted by Covid-19.
Foreseeing this fatal virus’s implications, the States kept restrictions on their people to control the COVID-19 virus. The restrictions on society mainly affected the service sector of the respective countries. The State’s actions to counter COVID-19 affected the labourers in every country. The Third World countries compared to the First World countries were affected in a very severe manner. Third World countries due to their low economy and lack of infrastructure facilities faced a lot of complications. The inequalities were clearly reflected in every country due to the lack of necessities available to the people. Among the affected sectors due to the lockdown, the Education sector is overlooked by many. The indirect implications of COVID-19 towards the education sector have not been noticed by many. The complications related to the education sector occurred to the poor of both developed nations and the Third World countries.
Because of the lockdown, middle-class and rich people facilitated their children’s education with online classes. Many schools and universities have transitioned to online education in response to Covid-19. The online education has grown during the pandemic, Florida university and Arizona university increased online student enrolment by 44% and 100% respectively Cite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag</ref>.
Society and education system: =
Children till their completion of education, are influenced by society which affects their education both negatively and positively. Society’s role is crucial in children’s holistic development. Taxpayers play a crucial role in financing schools, almost all the money used to pay for materials, salaries and other essentials in the US public educational system is from taxes. COVID-19 affected the income levels of the people, the reduction in people's income decreased the amount received through taxes Cite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag </ref>.
The restrictions due to COVID-19 delayed the evolution of the children's social skills. Most people remember their first day of elementary school, marking a transition between the warm, loving, accepting world of the family and a more impersonal school world that emphasizes discipline, knowledge, skills, responsibility, and obedience. In school, children learn that they must prove themselves; they are no longer accepted regardless of their behaviours as they were in their families. They must meet certain expectations and compete for attention and rewards. They also must prepare to participate in their society’s political and economic systems, in which a literate populace is necessary to make informed decisions on issues. Citizens expect schools to respond to the constant changes in society. In heterogeneous societies with diverse groups and cultures, school socialization helps to integrate immigrants by teaching them the language and customs of the larger society and by working to reduce intergroup tensions. This provides cohesion and order in society as a whole Cite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag </ref>.
Societies use education to pass on values, skills, and knowledge necessary for survival. Sometimes this process occurs in formal classrooms, sometimes in informal places. For example, in West African villages children may have several years of formal education in a village school, but they learn future occupational roles informally by observing their elders in their families and by “playing” at the tasks they will soon undertake for survival. The girls help pound cassava root for the evening meal while the boys build model boats and practice negotiating the waves. It is typically only the elite—sons and daughters of the rulers and the wealthy—who receive formal education beyond basic literacy in most traditional societies. However, elders and family members in developed societies cannot teach all the skills necessary for survival. Formal schooling emerged to meet the needs of industrial and postindustrial societies, furnishing the specialized training required by rapidly growing and changing technology. Schools in industrialized societies play a major part in placing students into later work roles Cite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag </ref>.
COVID-19 not only affected the education system negatively, there are some positives. Among the most serious school problems, according to surveys of the American public, are lack of discipline, fighting and gang violence, and drugs in schools. Students in schools with gang members present express more concern about safety. One-third of students said that drugs are available and one-fifth of the students said that alcohol is available at their school Cite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag </ref>.
COVID-19 helped the students to not degrade themselves, in school popularity is directly related to the enthusiasm of the student, it mentally affects the students. Young people from 6 to 18 years old spend much of their time in school or school-related activities; therefore, student is a status that has an enormous impact on how they see themselves. Interaction with others in school affects students’ sense of self. The image that is reflected back to someone as a student or as a teacher, for example—can begin to mould one’s sense of competence, intelligence, and likability. The school creates a symbolic structure that influences how individuals make sense of their reality and interact with others. Official school positions such as president of the student council, lower-level reader, or athlete can become important elements of a student’s sense of self. In school, popularity is the main issue, especially in middle school years. Popularity is mostly a function of being visible and having everyone know who you are, popularity is gained by representing the school in the athletic contest, by being attractive, or by being in a leadership position. The difficulty is that positions of popularity are scarce. Thus, competition is created, and some individuals are going to be “losers,” with less social power, while a few others are “winners” in this socially defined popularity contest Cite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag </ref>.
COVID-19 affected the poor in a severe manner, the middle class and above by any means solved the problems of their kids. Middle-class parents adopted a by-any-means approach to solving problems with their children’s schooling. Given their educational and occupational attainment, middle-class parents appeared to perceive themselves as equal or greater in status relative to their children’s teachers. As a result, they were very comfortable intervening and questioning teachers’ judgments regarding classroom assignments, ability group placements, testing procedures, and homework policies. One interview vignette described a student, “Brian,” who came home complaining about being “bored” in math class. Parents’ responses to this vignette are divided sharply by social class. While all middle-class parents saw the situation as requiring immediate requests for accommodations, working-class parents tended to view deference to teachers’ judgments as the appropriate response Cite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag </ref>.
Covid-19’s implications on Education system: =
With COVID-19, all traditional teaching methods were available online. For professionals and learners alike, there were numerous online platforms available. While working from home, students could work stress-free because they won't have to waste time, money, or effort travelling. Compared to pre-COVID settings, they could invest more since they were not weary. Students who were under the close supervision of their parents have benefited more greatly from studying at home as well. The online platform greatly increased their chances of success in theory classes. Nonetheless, there has been a significant restriction on the practical tasks that students are expected to do in labs and on the job. This has created a significant limitation of teaching for teachers when they cannot provide demonstrations to the students in the absence of laboratory instruments and other necessary practical materials Cite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag</ref>.
Learning has been made easier by the availability of numerous online platforms for training, lectures, and other purposes. Nevertheless, a one-on-one conversation between a teacher and pupils suffers when contact teaching is not there. Since the pupils will most likely be denied contact learning prior to being advanced to the next level, there is also no guarantee that this gap will be filled. Due to their misunderstanding of the prior standards and grades, these pupils may soon encounter challenges of a higher level. Additionally, students' attentiveness is more likely to suffer in an unstructured classroom setting Cite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag</ref>.
The school’s closure due to COVID-19 may not affect students equally. Students from less advantaged backgrounds highly suffered during COVID-19 than advantaged students Cite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag </ref>.
There are benefits and drawbacks to online learning in terms of cognitive and physiological impacts. A recent study on how digital devices affect creativity and sleep was carried out, it was discovered that the consumption of digital media contributes significantly to the synaptic connections formed by the developing human brain. On the other hand, using screens for longer than the advised amount of time can stunt brain growth. Additionally, this causes the melatonin hormone to be secreted insufficiently, which disrupts sleep Cite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag </ref>.
One of the primary concerns was the accessibility of study materials. Not all of the study materials are accessible online. The library typically has several offline resources that are not included in the online database. This information was being withheld from a student. In addition, creating question papers was a challenge for the educational institutions that have chosen to administer exams online. The majority of the question papers were multiple choice, which prevents students from having the opportunity to make detailed responses, which are just as important for them to learn. The student's writing abilities are enhanced by this.
While there are difficulties with holding exams and conducting lessons online, evaluations between teachers and students have improved in convenience and transparency, allowing students to learn about their performance. There are systems that let professors assign and grade assignments online. A substantial infrastructure is not needed for the conduct of classes when teaching online. Instead, it may be made functional with just a robust IT team. The additional teaching aids and stationary materials are necessary for direct contact instruction; without them, instruction may suffer. This downside of in-person instruction has been concealed by the online learning environment Cite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag</ref>.
CONCLUSION: =
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on social structures, economic systems, and public health, among other areas of society. Originating in China in late 2019, the virus caused significant disease and fatalities, forcing governments all over the world to implement stringent measures to stop its spread. These actions, which included social separation and lockdowns, severely interrupted normal life and revealed underlying societal weaknesses.
Education was one of the most impacted industries. Due to the epidemic, education quickly shifted to an online format, exposing glaring differences in the resources and technology available to various socioeconomic levels. Through digital platforms, middle-class and wealthy families were able to support their children's education, while students from underprivileged backgrounds—especially those living in rural and low-income urban areas—struggled to keep up because they lacked access to the required resources and reliable internet connections. The disparate effects of closing schools brought attention to the digital divide and current educational disparities.
The transition to online learning produced conflicting results. Positively, it allowed for more parental supervision and involvement and provided flexibility and continuity for learning. It also presented a number of serious difficulties, such as restricted access to real-world and experiential learning opportunities, less chances for social connection, and possible harm from extended screen time to students' mental health and cognitive development.
The pandemic also highlighted how important it is for society to encourage education. The funding of public schools was impacted by lower tax revenues brought on by economic downturns, which made resource shortages worse. In addition, the shutdown of schools hampered children's ability to socialise, which is crucial to their overall growth and delayed their ability to learn social skills and integrate into society at large.
In conclusion, COVID-19 has revealed serious disparities and difficulties within the educational system, even while it has also sped up the adoption of digital learning and emphasised the promise of online education. In order to address these problems, a concentrated effort must be made to close the digital gap, guarantee fair access to resources, and create strong support networks for instructors and students. Going forward, it will be crucial to strike a balance between the advantages of technology in education and the requirement for inclusive, all-encompassing learning environments that serve kids from all socioeconomic backgrounds.