ERIC Number: ED616968
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2021-Aug-27
Pages: 69
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
COVID-19 Student Impacts: February 2021
British Columbia Ministry of Education
The COVID-19 pandemic may be one of the greatest challenges our provincial education system has ever addressed. In the spring of 2020, many governments around the world ordered schools to suspend in-person instruction for most of their students, requiring education systems to pivot almost overnight to online or remote teaching and virtual education. Classrooms moved into living rooms, bedrooms, hallways and kitchens and most teacher-student interactions were tied to the availability or strength of an internet connection. According to an Angus Reid Institute poll (May 2020), more than 80% of Canadian students surveyed said they were attending school online. On March 17, 2020, British Columbia declared a provincial state of emergency due to the increasing number of cases of COVID-19. Public and independent schools in the province suspended in-classroom teaching in accordance with guidance from the Provincial Health Officer. BC was one of two K-12 educational systems in Canada to successfully restart in-class instruction in June 2020. In-class instruction was available to all students, with approximately 36% of kindergarten to grade 5 students and 16% of grades 6 to 12 students attending school in person on a part-time basis (school density targets in place). Most students continued their learning remotely on a district to district (and/or individual independent school) basis. At the time of the writing of this report (February 2021), there are jurisdictions across Canada and globally where schools have not yet reopened to in-person learning or have reopened only to close again in response to an increase in COVID-19 cases in the wider community. This report reviews evidence of learning impacts from the 2019/20 school year and documents the delivery of education and its impacts during the 2020/21 school year (up to February 2021), to support government and partners who must manage the educational consequences of this global pandemic. [The following are contributors to this report: Jon Duan, Lindsay Forestell, Sridevi Ganti, Nicole Gardner, Matthew Hall, Roger Hazleden, Karla Helgason, Jeremy Higgs, Karlic Ho, David Hosick, Pat McCrea, Bonnie Robert, and Brett Wilmer.]
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, COVID-19, Pandemics, School Closing, Online Courses, Educational Technology, Electronic Learning, Elementary Secondary Education, Conventional Instruction, Blended Learning, Program Effectiveness, At Risk Students, Students with Disabilities, Low Income Students, Foster Care, Intellectual Development, Well Being, Enrollment Trends, Delivery Systems, Attendance, Mental Health, Geographic Regions, Economic Impact, Home Schooling, Indigenous Populations, Public Schools, Private Schools, School Personnel, Grade Point Average, School Districts, Foreign Students, Teacher Attendance, Graduation Rate, Grade 12, Grade 10
British Columbia Ministry of Education. P.O. Box 9146, Station Provincial Government, Victoria, BC V8W 9H1, Canada. Tel: 1-888-879-1166; Web site: http://www.gov.bc.ca/bced/
Publication Type: Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education; Grade 12; High Schools; Secondary Education; Grade 10
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Ministry of Education (British Columbia)
Identifiers - Location: Canada; Canada (Vancouver)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A