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This introduction could be stronger and the chapter has a lot of potential, but needs stronger sources and a stronger voice for the other.

Introduction

In the last chapter we talked about how the transition to virtual learning hurt all students, but in this chapter we will discuss how it impacted some groups to a greater degree than others. During COVID-19, many students in the United States had to shift to some form of virtual education in order to slow the spread of the virus. Although technology was implemented to ease this transition, students were impacted at different levels based on their economic backgrounds. COVID-19 has greatly increased the socioeconomic inequality in education in the US due to how the shift to virtual learning disproportionately impacts low-income students. Virtual learning has also impacted those who feel like they should not be paying the same rate to be taught online.

Connection to STS Theory

One of the social theories studied in the field of science, technology and society (STS) is the Modernization Theory. The Modernization Theory states that society becomes more temporary as it leaves old traditions and adopts more new technology and scientific practices (Restivo, 2005), meaning that society is in sync with the constantly evolving technology.  Therefore, as society progresses to include more virtual resources to combat education inequality, the United States will be able to advance more as a whole. The added challenges seen with the shift to virtual education can be partly attributed to the Modernization Theory, since in the past, technology has not been used to its fullest potential in the United States education system. In order for these issues to be addressed, new innovations must be welcomed into society during this period of virtual learning, so that advancements in the education system can still occur during these unprecedented times of COVID-19.

The Additional Challenges COVID-19 Poses for Low Socioeconomic Students

Many additional challenges caused by COVID-19 affect those of lower economic status disproportionately more, making education during the pandemic harder by proximity. Research shows hourly workers are more likely to get laid off during COVID-19. On top of these challenges, “these closures could affect students who depend on their schools for meals and impact parents who rely on schools for child care programs” (Morgan, 2020). There are many students who rely on school meals to eat can no longer obtain these school provided meals since they are stuck at home. In “Feeding Low-Income Children During the Covid-19 Pandemic” it is stated that, “Meals and snacks from schools or child care centers fulfill up to two thirds of children’s daily nutritional needs and are generally healthier than those brought from home. The short-term health effects of missed meals include fatigue and reduced immune response, which increase the risk of contracting communicable diseases. Even brief periods of food insecurity can cause long-term developmental, psychological, physical, and emotional harms” (Dunn, 2020). With so many students who depend on school meals for their physical needs, the pandemic has hit them hard. These children do not just view school as a place to learn, they view it as their source of food for the day. Additionally, healthcare may be less reliable for lower socioeconomic individuals, leading to more concerns during COVID-19. It’s harder to concentrate on education with the heightened challenges the pandemic brings for these individuals. Adding to the problems for lower-economic students is “the lack of health insurance or fear of high medical bills, both of which kept—and are still keeping—those who feel sick from seeing a doctor, placing a serious burden on these individuals” (Boushey and Park, 2020). This added stress results in less material retained from school for lower-income students. This in turn, can lead to these students being absent from classes, even virtual ones, more frequently. The shift to virtual learning increases this likelihood, as students that are “at risk” are more likely to become disengaged with their education (Garcia and Weiss, 2020). As being absent from school results in a larger gap in overall educational value, the education inequality gap continues to increase. In society, “the same technology will be viewed differently by different people, depending on one’s social location, cultural background, political inclinations, and historical context” (Restivo, 2005). This idea applies to socioeconomic status, due to the disparity in access to technology, which can be observed during the increased reliance on technology during COVID-19. Through the lens of STS, these occurrences exhibit that the interplay between the increased use of technology for education, as well as the heightened stress for the more vulnerable members of society during COVID-19, can produce adverse results. These added challenges that mainly lower socioeconomic students have to face prove that COVID-19 has increased education inequality, as students who come from wealthier families do not suffer from the same issues focusing on their education as those from a lower
socioeconomic background. 

Hardships in the K-12 Online Environment during COVID-19 for Children from Low-Income Households

In the K-12 online domain, educational inequality has increased due to the additional help young children require to learn but don’t necessarily have available to them in the midst of the pandemic. Children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, whose parents are constantly working, do not have the support at home if they need extra help outside of school hours. Students in lower-income households also may not have the resources they need at home to successfully learn. The National Bureau of Economic Research stated that “students from lower income families and schools may require additional attention and resources given lower engagement with online learning resources during Spring 2020” (Bacher-Hicks et al., 2020). This statement was made based on the research that the education gap in the United States has expanded during COVID-19. This expansion in the inequality gap has to do with the shift to virtual education, which requires additional technological resources that lower-income students may not have access to. For example, some families cannot afford a computer or internet access that has the speed necessary to support virtual meeting calls for classes. Showing this divide, “a Los Angeles Times survey of California schools in August found that while 87% of students attending higher-income schools had access to a computer when they were sent home, only 51% of students at lower-income districts

had access” (McClure, 2020). This discrepancy in access to technology has allowed the inequality in education to increase during the method of virtual education embraced by the United States during COVID-19. From the role of technology increasing in education to adapt to the pandemic, young students have been impacted disproportionately based on economic security, uncovering another link between technology and society as the study of STS reveals is prevalent in many aspects of the world today. The evidence shows that virtual learning in K-12 education has greatened the education gap, supporting that inequality in education has increased during COVID-19.

Difficulties in Higher Education for Economically Vulnerable Students due to COVID-19

Similarly to K-12 schools, institutions of higher education have also seen an increase in education
inequalities due to the pandemic. Some students were unable to attend college or graduate school due to the rapid decline in the economy during COVID-19. A survey at Arizona State University found that “approximately one in ten students plans to delay their graduation due to COVID-19 and a similar proportion withdrew from at least one course because of the pandemic” (Aucejo et al., 2020). While all college students have been affected in some capacity by the virus, college students from lower economic backgrounds have been impacted the most. Research from American universities have found that “Lower-income students are 50% more likely than their more affluent peers to expect a delayed graduation due to COVID-19” (Aucejo et al., 2020). The challenges faced by college students are often amplified in those find themselves in less financially secure standings, therefore disproportionately affecting them.
The spread of the Coronavirus has shown to be no exception to this, adding to overall anxiety due to the increased reliance on technological resources during the implemented virtual learning. As hourly workers are more likely to be laid off, many low-income college students lost their source of revenue during COVID-19 (Kantamneeni, 2020). This adds to the overall inequality in institutions of higher education based on socioeconomic status. On top of graduating later, lower-income students are also more likely to take a break from college due to COVID-19 (Aucejo et al., 2020). The difficult decision that these students have made to delay their return to college gives them time to consider other less expensive options than continuing their education. However, delaying college in favor of working can often make it more challenging to find the time to return to complete higher education later on. Many students also feel like they shouldn’t be paying their normal tuition rates to have school online. Students pay to go to a university to attend class and labs in person in hopes to learn the material best to help them in the future. However, with online learning and asynchronous lectures, students feel like they are overpaying for something they could have potentially just found on the internet. In “How College Students are Dealing with Covid-19” it is stated that, “’The online classes are not worth the time and money. We are not getting the same quality lectures as we were getting on campus. Also, there are irregularities and too many technical issues. Paying the same amount of fees is quite unfair for us students.’ – Kevin, Canada” (Mata, 2021). Students do not want to pay the full price for something they feel they can obtain for much cheaper through a different source. Since they feel like they are locked in to a university of their choice they bite the bullet and hope it works out in the end.

As the adjusted virtual college experience adds on to the troubles of students of lower economic backgrounds, the interaction between technology and society as investigated in STS appears to grow more complicated based on personal factors in the face of COVID-19. Research published by universities shows COVID-19 has proliferated financial hardships faced by those already struggling to attain higher education, demonstrating the increase in education inequality that COVID-19 has caused.

Conclusion

Growing research supports that the shift to virtual learning during the pandemic has increased educational inequality in the United States. From the details of this research, educators and government officials can learn what changes need to be made. Closing the education gap needs to be put at the forefront as COVID-19 progresses, so that lower income students are not left at a further disadvantage during this already stressful time. More technological and scientific resources can be implemented into the education system across the board to ensure success regardless of students’ socioeconomic backgrounds. Continued exploration into the field of Science, Technology and Society can enlighten educators on the effects of the use of specific and technological resources on students with various circumstances. Insight gained from the growth of the education gap during increased reliance on virtual learning methods due to COVID-19 can ideally allow for a more equitable educational experience in the future. As the Modernization Theory suggests, adapting educational policies to embrace more novel technologies will allow US education as whole to progress, improving educational inequality if applied with students from all socioeconomic backgrounds in mind.

References

Aucejo, E., et al. (2020, August 9). “COVID-19 is Widening Inequality in Higher Education.” VOX, CEPR Policy Portal, https://voxeu.org/article/covid-19-widening-inequality-higher-education#:~:text=Taken% 20together%2C%20the%20existin g%20body,and%20health%20disparities%2C%20among%20other.

Bacher-Hicks, A., et al. (2020). “Inequality in Household Adaptation to Schooling Shocks: Covid-Induced
Online Learning Engagement in Real Time.” The National Bureau of Economic Research, https://www.nber. org/papers/w27555.pdf.

Boushey, H., and Park, S. (2020, April 16). “The Coronavirus Recession and Economic Inequality: A Roadmap to Recovery and Long-term Structural Change.” Equitable Growth, https://equitablegrowth.org/the-coronavirus-recession-and-economic-inequality-a-roadmap-to-recovery-and-long-term-structural-change/.

Dunn, C. G., Others, M. S. and, & Others, E. H. and. (2021, April 16). Feeding Low-Income Children during the Covid-19 Pandemic: NEJM. New England Journal of Medicine. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2005638.

Garcia, Emma, and Elaine Weiss. (2020, September 10). “COVID-19 and Student Performance, Equity, and U.S. Education Policy: Lessons from Pre-pandemic Research to Inform Relief, Recovery, and Rebuilding.” Economic Policy Institute, https://www.epi.org/publication/the-consequences-of-the-covid-19-pandemic-for-education-performance-and-equity-in-theunited-states-what-can-we-learn-from-pre-pandemic-research-to-inform-relief-recovery-and-rebuilding/.

Mata, E. (2021, March 26). How College Students Are Dealing with Covid-19. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2021/01/how-college-students-are-dealing-with-covid-19.

Kantamneni, Neeta. (2020). “The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Marginalized Populations in the United States: A Research Agenda.” Journal of Vocational Behavior, 119. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001879120300646.

McClure, Evelyn. (2020, October 8). “Online learning exposes enduring educational inequalities, sparks
efforts for reform – The Tufts Daily”. Tufts Daily: Tufts University. https://advance-lexis-com.libproxy.clemson.edu/api/document?collection=news &id=urn:contentItem:6118-0K91-JBSN-30 F0-00000-00&context=1516831.

Morgan, H. (2020). Best practices for implementing remote learning during a pandemic. The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas, 93(3), 135-141.  https://www-tandfonline-com.libproxy.clemson.edu/doi/full/10.1080/0 0098655.2020.1751480?scroll=top&needAccess=true.

Restivo, Sal P., ed. (2005) Science, Technology, and Society: An Encyclopedia. Oxford University Press.

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