Students and teachers had to adapt virtually overnight to Zoom screens and online learning when COVID-19 spread across the world in 2020. Lack of technology, stress and mental health concerns, and different ways of learning and teaching made education unpredictable and often difficult.
But the challenges weren’t new.
“Educational researchers, and probably every teacher and every principal out there, knew that the issues we already had in education were immediately exacerbated,” says Johnny Lupinacci, associate professor at Washington State University’s College of Education.
(Courtesy College of Education)
Lupinacci, who now teaches WSU elementary education students about the intersections of culture and schools, was previously a high school teacher and coach in Detroit. He saw many of the same problems then.
“We were underprepared for something like the pandemic,” Lupinacci says. “It immediately put the issues occurring in schools right in front of us. Like, how are we going to work with different learners? We know we have diverse learners, but we kind of have been getting by with them all coming to one place and being in a classroom. We know it’s not working for everybody but nothing like the pandemic had put that into the spotlight.”
Lupinacci says so-called pandemic pedagogies like online or hybrid formats were already tested but not widely implemented. “For years, some teachers were building a classroom online or an experience that simulates being in a classroom. They got pulled to the front lines.”
He notes that the educators who knew effective ways to teach online were invaluable.
“Children learn really differently. I don’t want to romanticize a pandemic and the danger that the world was in, but we did learn that there were students who really thrived in this format of learning. While some did better, many others did worse.”
Computers and Internet connections were crucial for every student, though. The digital divide—unequal access to technology for students and families—came under a glaring spotlight during the pandemic. A 2021 Pew survey found that nearly half of parents with lower incomes said their children faced technology obstacles.
“Post-pandemic, you see more discussion around what we call one-to-one device connections for students. There’s at least one laptop for every kid in the classroom, not to replace teachers but to have access to technologies that enhance learning,” Lupinacci says.
Lupinacci notes how the digital divide can lead to a lot of stress, because online learning “is infinitely harder if there is a bad connection or if the technology isn’t working right.”
Whether technology-related or not, more than a third of high school students reported mental health challenges during the pandemic, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Lupinacci says the increased focus on mental health support was overdue, especially for students in precarious living situations. “We knew we had lots of children who are without homes. We have a housing crisis in this country, and every teacher and every school knows about it.
“Stress, anxiety, and mental health for all of us is real, including our students, teachers, principals, and school leaders,” he says. “There are strategies for helping to teach those students. We need to make sure they get that support so they can learn.”
There’s still a lot of work for schools to provide mental health support for students, though.
“It’s good to revisit these conversations from the pandemic,” Lupinacci says. “The pandemic era still resonates through every educational decision made in a school or even in families.”
Lupinacci sees some benefits from lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic. He’s hopeful that schools can improve—and young students benefit—through research-driven understanding of issues.
“I love teaching. Being a teacher is my primary identity,” he says. “That led me to become a researcher, because I believe that schools can change to better support young learners. Research can help inform that change.”
More on education after COVID-19
Podcast: Lessons from the pandemic—Johnny Lupinacci talks about the wide impacts of the pandemic on education, including learning loss, shifts in teaching, health policies, and the need for scientific literacy.