Abstract
COVID-19 is an extreme and effective representation of the consequences that a school’s lockdown forced by pandemics or environmental disasters (like floods) could have on students: it contributes to a learning loss, which can eventually increase dropout rates among most disadvantaged students. Teachers can also be affected and diminish their motivation to teach. This scenario may lead to a sizeable loss in terms of economic perspectives and to an increase of inequalities. The chapter provides an estimate of the impact of the learning loss in Italy, an exercise that is replicable for each country depending on the length of the school stop. Then, we discuss some possible evidence-based solutions to address the learning loss and the increase in dropout risk, to overcome students and teachers’ loss of motivation, and to enhance parents’ collaboration.
This article has been written on March 14th, 2020. The article is the product of a common work; however, Beatrice Cucco contributed paragraph 3, Barbara Romano and Andrea Gavosto paragraph 2 and 4. Introduction and conclusions are a joint effort.
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Notes
- 1.
In some areas of the country that were more deeply affected by the virus such as Lombardy, selected lockdowns had already taken place since February 21st.
- 2.
- 3.
3170 teachers took part in it: It is not a random sample, so we cannot make any rigorous inference.
- 4.
Fondazione Agnelli is a 52-year old non-profit organization committed to research and projects in the field of education in Italy.
- 5.
The sample is not a random one. See footnote 3.
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Cucco, B., Gavosto, A., Romano, B. (2021). How to Fight Against Drop Out and Demotivation in Crisis Context: Some Insights and Examples from Italy. In: Burgos, D., Tlili, A., Tabacco, A. (eds) Radical Solutions for Education in a Crisis Context. Lecture Notes in Educational Technology. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-7869-4_2
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