Schooling in Times of Compulsory and Social Preventive Isolation: Between Inequality and Equalization Strategies

Abstract

In Argentina, one of the sectors that remained in a situation of Preventive and Compulsory Social Isolation for the longest time was education. Educational continuity in contexts of social vulnerability was erratic. Although, the most visible and undoubtedly central obstacle in terms of inequality was the lack of connectivity and the lack of technology to achieve virtual education, it is worth recognizing other significant components such as the difficulties of adults to accompany the educational processes of their children, especially those who went through secondary education. For mothers, "playing teachers" was frustrating, distressing and cause for concern for the future of their children. For adolescents, school lost centrality as a regulator of their routines, altered sleep time, and brought emotional imbalances. The school, once again, played a central role in food assistance and thanks to this many adolescents had regular contact with a teacher. The pandemic context deepened the deprivations of households, evidenced pre-existing deficiencies, and the poverty of the structures of educational opportunities of segregated socio-residential spaces.