Securing Standards, Lowering Requirements? Strategies of Schools Serving Disadvantaged Communities During COVID-19 and Distance Learning

• In Event: Navigating COVID-19 as Educational Leaders

Abstract

In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, schools all over the world implemented distance learning strategies. It can be assumed that students from disadvantaged backgrounds will be additionally disadvantaged by this. We examined the extent to which principals in schools serving disadvantaged communities differed from other principals in terms of their goals for distance learning and their strategies using an online survey of 532 principals in Austria. Our analysis showed that principals in schools serving disadvantaged communities tended to focus on lowering the requirements for their students, while securing academic standards was less important for them than other principals. The lowering of requirements was associated with a decrease in strategies to lead the school through the challenges of distance learning.

Authors

• Esther Dominique Klein, TU Dortmund University

• Livia Anna Julia Jesacher-Roessler, University of Innsbruck

• Nina Bremm, University of Teacher Education Zürich

• Kathrin Racherbäumer, University of Siegen