Abstract
Various studies provide evidence that inequality in educational inputs leads to inequality in achievement and long-term outcomes both in advanced and developing economies. The COVID-19 pandemic has been disrupting children's learning process and is suspected to create inequality in educational outcomes due to disparity in educational inputs. We conducted quantitative and qualitative studies to assess the scale and scope of inequality in the learning process during the COVID-19 pandemic in an urban setting of Jakarta. In particular, we launched an online survey and telephone interviews with representative parents and teachers of elementary school students in Jakarta. We find inequality in the learning from home process—across income and across schools with different poverty levels—such as access to learning materials to internet connection issues. We found that the learning from home process accentuates and exacerbates the pre-existing inequality. Our study suggests that the central and regional governments must formulate a policy to reduce inequality in the learning process during the COVID-19 pandemic. Such policy may reduce inequality in educational outcomes not only in the post-pandemic period but also in the long run.
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Notes
- 1.
The online survey questionnaire can be requested through correspondence with the authors.
- 2.
The in-depth telephone interview questionnaire can also be requested through correspondence with the authors.
- 3.
See Table A1 in the Supplementary Material for descriptive statistics on access to learning materials by household expenditures.
- 4.
See Table A2 in the Supplementary Material for descriptive statistics on challenges during learning from home by household expenditures.
- 5.
See Figure A1 in the Supplementary Material for descriptive statistics on hours spent accompanying children during PJJ in the previous school day by household expenditure.
- 6.
See Figure A2 in the Supplementary Material  for descriptive statistics on hours spent accompanying children during PJJ in the previous school day by mother’s employment status.
- 7.
See Figure A4 in the Supplementary Material for descriptive statistics on teacher’s confidence level in using device and software during learning from home by schools’ poverty level.
- 8.
See Figure A5 in the Supplementary Material for descriptive statistics on teaching methods during learning from home.
- 9.
See Figure A6 in the Supplementary Material for descriptive statistics on teachers’ approach to tasks during learning from home by schools’ poverty level.
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Ethical Clearance
We obtained ethics committee approval with reference number KE/FK/0561/EC/2020 from the Medical and Health Research Ethics Committee (MHREC), Faculty of Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada.
Funding
This research is funded by Australian Government through J-PAL SEA-IRF Fund.
Acknowledgments
We would like to express our gratitude for the outstanding research assistance from Terry Muttahhari, Ma’rifatul Amalia, Elghafiky Bimardhika, and Chaerudin Kodir. We also thank Lina Marliani and Buhat Yulianto for their support during the study. We also express our gratitude for the support given by DKI Jakarta Provincial Government, represented by Mr. Momon Sulaeman, Mr. Suyoto, and all the school supervisors from the DKI Jakarta Provincial Education Agency. We thank Dr. Totok Amin Soefijanto and Mrs. Qonita Beldatis from the Governor’s Team for Accelerated Development for their constructive feedback. We thank the following institutions for their support: J-PAL Southeast Asia, the Australian Government, and LPEM FEB UI.
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Irhamni, M., Sahadewo, G.A. (2023). COVID-19 Widening the Gap in Education: Evidence from Urban Jakarta. In: Sakhiyya, Z., Wijaya Mulya, T. (eds) Education in Indonesia. Education in the Asia-Pacific Region: Issues, Concerns and Prospects, vol 70. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-1878-2_3
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