Education in the Time of the Pandemic

Abstract

The proposed study is focused on the impact of school closure on barriers to access, opportunities, and outcomes from the perspective of students. The study adopted survey cum correlation method. The study used quantitative method for collecting data from 200 students, from eight schools spread across four zones of Tamil Nadu. A self-designed questionnaire containing questions on perception of barriers to access, opportunities, and outcomes was constructed. Descriptive statistics, independent t-test, Pearson's correlation, and multiple linear regression were used to analyze the data. The study suggests COVID-19 has been a major barrier to access and opportunities in education and impacted the learning outcomes. The coping strategies students adopted was revealed through qualitative analysis of the interview data. The findings call for initiatives by stakeholders to respond to mitigate the learning loss.