Abstract
The historic disruption of the Coronavirus pandemic affected the educational system worldwide. This chapter aims to map the evidence of the implementation of education sector strategies during the coronavirus pandemic and its effect on the marginalised Black student. A systematic scoping review was conducted. Data were gleaned through searches on databases Pubmed; EBSCO host; google scholar, Sabinet; Cochrane library, and grey literature Only articles published in English between January 2020 to October 2022 were included in the study. A total of 22 records met inclusion criteria and were assessed for quality using the MMAT tool checklist; with key themes including exacerbation of the digital divide; support needs for students and teacher's professional development and the need for a flexible multi-pronged approach. Findings revealed the disproportionate effect of coronavirus on marginalised students, which highlights the continuum of inequality that continue to take place affecting the marginalised.
TopIntroduction And Background
Global Emergence of Coronavirus
The emergence of the novel Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) forced governments to enforce laws that included school closures globally (Deslatte, Hatch, & Stokan, 2020; Kimenyi et al., 2020). At the peak of the spread of the virus, an estimated 90 per cent of students experienced disrupted education worldwide with increased drop-outs, particularly among marginalised populations (Reuge et al., 2021). The learners were forced to stay away and isolate to limit and stop the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, (UNICEF) the system of education faced challenges when online remote learning was required to be used for teaching and learning, such that, by the end of March 2020, all institutions of higher learning and schools worldwide were closed following the Ministry of Health protocols and presidential directives (The United Nations Children's Fund, 2020). While all countries were affected, the low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs) were hard hit by COVID-19 (McCoy et al., 2021). The pandemic disproportionally affected marginalised students of lower socio-economic and rural backgrounds, and students with disabilities. students in low- and middle-income countries were even more greatly affected due to socio-economic disparities which had existed prior to the COVID-19 pandemic (Rohwerder,2020).
Key Terms in this Chapter
Disparity: A situation where individuals experience unequal provision of resources required for daily lives.
School: A: learning institution which can be primary, secondary, and tertiary level.
Rural Communities: a community with poor or no infrastructural developments.
Educational Strategies: This are various teaching and learning methods and materials.
Education Inequality: A situation where teaching and learning resources are not equally distributed and accessed by the target group.
Marginalised Student: The student who is disadvantaged in different spheres such as socio-economically, internally displaced people, girls, ethnic minorities, and those living with disabilities.
Digital Readiness: The environmental and personal abilities to explore and use various technological resources.