Distance learning as a factor in improving the level of school education in the post-pandemic period

Abstract

At the beginning of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic swept the world, which affected all spheres of public life and led to a global crisis. One of the areas that suffered the most was school education. Due to high infection rates, education applicants and teachers around the world were forced to switch to a distance learning model, for which most educational institutions were not ready. According to the UN, the pandemic has caused the greatest disruption of educational systems in history, affecting almost 1.6 billion students in more than 190 countries. The abrupt transition to distance learning not only caused stress to participants in the educational process, but also deepened educational inequality in the world as a whole and in Russia in particular. After all, the access of families to the Internet and the technical devices necessary for online education varies significantly depending on the region of residence and financial condition. In addition, in secondary education, due to the limited interaction of students with teachers, part of the educational responsibilities of the latter inevitably falls on parents. It can also cause significant differences in the assimilation of educational material between schoolchildren, depending on the cultural capital of the family and on the form of employment of parents (fulltime or remote). The purpose of the article is to identify and summarize the problems faced by the world educational community over the past year, to identify the main factors of educational inequality in the context of the pandemic and to consider ways to eliminate unequal access to education on the example of Russia and several other countries.