Educational inequities and inequalities in a pandemic: challenges of home-based learning amongst lower socio-economic status students in Singapore

• Main Author: Lee, Deborah Clare
• Other Authors: Christopher Holman
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2022
• Subjects: Social sciences::Political science::Public administration::Asia::Singapore
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/157407
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Singapore’s Circuit Breaker measures during the COVID-19 pandemic meant a rapid, disruptive pivot from in-person lessons to online learning. While students from all backgrounds faced difficulties in adapting to the new mode of learning, those of a lower socio-economic status (SES) encountered additional hurdles atop existing disadvantages brought about by inequity and inequality in the system. Using the lenses of meritocracy and Pierre Bourdieu’s critique of education as cultural reproduction, this paper examines how these inequities and inequalities posed challenges in the provision of and access to home-based learning (HBL) amongst students of a lower SES. Through content analysis of case studies and public discourse, the findings highlight that low preparedness of educational providers and lack of access to additional resources and support systems resulted in poor HBL experiences for these students, exacerbating disparities in educational outcomes and possibly resulting in long-term implications on academic performance and social mobility.