In the fourth episode of the “SKEPSIS” series, PhD Alexandra Hosszu, graduate of the Doctoral School of Sociology of the University of Bucharest, and PhD student Diana Moga, from the same institution, propose a sociological perspective about social inequalities in the educational field, a very relevant subject especially in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, which accelerated digitalization in education, raising questions on the impact of this transformation.
How has the pandemic influenced education?
As we all know, the internet and digital gadgets have become a part of our daily lives. Social existence is shaped by digital experiences, and our quality of life is influenced by the access to the virtual world.
The pandemic has brought a radical change in the way we learn. The pandemic context and the abrupt transfer of the learning process, at national scale, to the online world, have amplified digital disparities.
The groups who were already benefiting from the advantages of technological access continued to use digital gadgets and improve their abilities, while the disadvantaged groups were affected by the lack of face-to-face interactions and the scarcity of technological, human and social resources. Educational experts anticipated that some children will be left behind at an accelerated rhythm, whilst others will continue to learn and develop.
PhD Alexandra Hosszu affirms that online education was a challenge, which became both an opportunity and a loss, in variable proportions for different social categories among pupils and professors. Forced digitalization became an opportunity for the pupils and teachers in the schools with a high quality of education to adapt to the digital environment, but it was, to a large extent, a loss for the pupils and teachers in disadvantaged schools, who had access and adaptation difficulties.
Even for the young pupils with relatively good abilities and resources, the lack of human face-to-face contacts with friends, colleagues and professors, as well as the continual immersion in the Internet world came with their own costs for their professional and human development.
What were the challenges of online education in Romania?
How many Romanian pupils didn’t have access to online education during the pandemic? The discourse about the lack of access to online education has reignited the older debate on inequalities in education and their mid- and long-term impact on youths’ socio-professional development: the disparities between rural and urban settings, socio-economical differences, limited quality of education in disadvantaged schools, the teachers’ lack of digital competencies. As such, what has changed after the pandemic? What can we expect from the future of education?
Episode 4 of the SKEPSIS series will answer these questions and more. The video can be accessed here:
Launched in October 2023, the “SKEPSIS” series is a project addressed to the large audience, through which UB researchers analyze, from a sociology viewpoint, the scientific truth and public skepticism concerning some of the most controversial topics of the moment. The series will explore the profound structures which influence our ways of perceiving and acting, when our health, identity or future are at stake.
The guests of this series, meant to explain the evolution of trust and skepticism regarding current subjects, are professors, doctoral students and researchers belonging to the academic community of the University of Bucharest.
The format of the episodes includes the presentation of the theme, followed by a dialogue between a moderator and a guest.
The materials presented in this series will include brief and dynamic presentations of certain subjects relevant for contemporary society: vaccination, global warming, artificial intelligence and others.
The video content in this section is produced by the Communication and Public Relations Department of the University of Bucharest, and research results are part of the program “SKEPSIS – Fabricating uncertainties regarding vaccination and climate change. Comparative study of legitimacy in two counter-science narratives”, implemented by the University of Bucharest and financed by the Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digitalization, Romania, PN-III-P4-ID-PCE-2020-1589.