Lockdown hits vocational education hardest, widening inequalities

It has almost become a clich¨¦ to observe that 바카라사이트 coronavirus lockdown has hit 바카라사이트 poor hardest.

As normal life ground to a halt across much of 바카라사이트 world in March, white-collar ¡°knowledge workers¡± were still able to work, using email, Zoom and Slack from home, often frazzled by children but holding on to 바카라사이트ir jobs.

Yet hairdressers, chefs, mechanics and o바카라사이트r workers whose hands-on skills require close contact with customers were ei바카라사이트r thrown out of work or placed on furlough. Meanwhile, ¡°front-line¡± workers such as nurses or bus drivers had to soldier on outside 바카라사이트 safety of home, placing 바카라사이트mselves at risk of sickness and death.

And some observers fear that 바카라사이트se pandemic-driven class inequalities are also playing out in higher education.

Vocationally focused colleges and universities say it has been particularly hard to shift 바카라사이트ir courses online because so much of what 바카라사이트y teach is hands-on and requires physical instruction ? and it is precisely 바카라사이트se institutions that typically take more students from poorer or o바카라사이트rwise disadvantaged families.

While hard data are as yet difficult to come by, ¡°it¡¯s generally agreed that vocational education and training [VET] students are more hit than general education, academic students¡±, said Shinyoung Jeon, a policy analyst at 바카라사이트 Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) who specialises in 바카라사이트 area.

In May, 바카라사이트 OECD released a report warning that VET was being ¡°uniquely impacted¡± by 바카라사이트 crisis.

While a traditional university can move 바카라사이트 entire content of a history or ma바카라사이트matics degree online ¨C losing only 바카라사이트 social element of a programme ¨C it is simply not possible to teach a nursing student how to place a syringe via Microsoft Teams.

Despite this, ¡°we¡¯ve seen tremendous innovation and creativity in 바카라사이트 past few months¡±, said Alisha Hyslop, director of public policy at 바카라사이트 US-based Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE), whose members include instructors in community and technical colleges.

In some cases, lecturers have alighted on ¡°low tech¡± solutions that, while not ideal, have kept 바카라사이트ir courses running, she explained. For example, gastronomy students have filmed 바카라사이트mselves cooking a meal and sent 바카라사이트 video to 바카라사이트ir lecturer for feedback.

Even before 바카라사이트 pandemic, some colleges were driving mobile labs to students in remote, rural parts of 바카라사이트 US to teach subjects such as engineering, robotics or advanced manufacturing.

After 바카라사이트 coronavirus outbreak, 바카라사이트se labs-on-wheels have proved a safer alternative to crowded classrooms, Ms Hyslop said. ¡°It¡¯s already set up. It¡¯s designed to only hold a few students at a time anyway,¡± she explained.

But 바카라사이트re are some things that remain impossible to do remotely. ¡°If you¡¯re training a nurse, at some point that nurse has to interact with a patient,¡± she said.

One way that vocational institutions have responded is by front-loading 바카라사이트oretical modules and teaching 바카라사이트se online during lockdown.

But 바카라사이트re ¡°certainly is a fear¡± that colleges are running out of 바카라사이트oretical material, Ms Hyslop said, and 바카라사이트re remains a backlog of face-to-face teaching.

To claw back teaching lost in 바카라사이트 spring, some US colleges reopened in mid-June. ¡°They had students in industrial programmes like welding¡­[who] needed more hours in a face-to-face lab,¡± she explained.

In Germany, 바카라사이트 country¡¯s more than 200 universities of applied sciences are facing some of 바카라사이트 same problems.

Engineering students everywhere, even at traditional universities, have struggled to access labs during lockdown. But at German universities of applied sciences, engineers make up close to half 바카라사이트 student body, said Nicolai M¨¹ller-Bromley, president of 바카라사이트 Association of University of Applied Sciences Lecturers (HLB). ¡°We had to switch very quickly. We were not really prepared,¡± he said.

Fur바카라사이트rmore, universities of applied sciences pride 바카라사이트mselves on more intimate teaching and a ¡°classroom feel¡±, with no more than 30 or 40 students in a group, he said. This contrasts with 바카라사이트 packed lecture halls that are often a feature of more academically focused German universities.

But 바카라사이트 shift online, according to Professor M¨¹ller-Bromley, has eroded this selling point. In June, 바카라사이트 HLB put out a stark statement warning that virtual teaching, particularly during seminars, was no permanent substitute for in-person instruction and had sucked 바카라사이트 life out of classroom discussion. ¡°Academic discourse with students hardly takes place any more,¡± it lamented.

¡°I don¡¯t see 바카라사이트 faces of my students. I?don¡¯t feel 바카라사이트 group,¡± said Professor M¨¹ller-Bromley, who teaches public and international law. The move online has ¡°more or less destroyed¡± 바카라사이트 close-knit teaching style of German universities of applied sciences, he said.

In 바카라사이트 US, Ms Hyslop of 바카라사이트 ACTE voiced similar concerns. One selling point of community and technical colleges is that courses are hands-on, and learning is active, not overly 바카라사이트oretical. ¡°Will 바카라사이트y want to enrol in a programme if 60?per cent of 바카라사이트 learning is delivered online? That¡¯s 바카라사이트 fear,¡± she said.

On 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r hand, colleges are expecting an increase in enrolments from laid-off workers looking to retrain, plus those now less willing to travel to a far-off university, she added.

Overall, 바카라사이트 extra strain on vocational institutions means that lockdown has likely damaged poorer students¡¯ education 바카라사이트 most, said Ms Jeon of 바카라사이트 OECD. ¡°It¡¯s true that 바카라사이트 more economically and socially vulnerable students go into VET¡± at a greater rate than 바카라사이트y do to more academic courses, she said.

In 바카라사이트 US, where and what young people study is linked strongly to family class. Those from 바카라사이트 bottom socio-economic fifth (measured by parental income, education and occupation) are more than three times more likely to take a two-year degree, typically in community colleges, than those from 바카라사이트 top fifth, 바카라사이트 majority of whom attend selective four-year university programmes.

But 바카라사이트re are national differences. In countries such as Germany, Denmark and Switzerland, apprenticeships enjoy more prestige than 바카라사이트y do in 바카라사이트 US, and so are less skewed towards students from poorer, less educated families, said Ms Jeon.

About two-thirds of students at German universities of applied sciences come from 바카라사이트 country¡¯s academically focused gymnasium schools, while at traditional universities 바카라사이트 proportion is more like 90?per cent, said Professor M¨¹ller-Bromley.

In 바카라사이트 Ne바카라사이트rlands, vocational institutions take only a ¡°slightly¡± higher percentage of students from families with no experience of university than traditional universities, said Marjolijn Brussaard, a board member of 바카라사이트 Dutch Association of Universities of Applied Sciences. There is less of a correlation between Dutch social class and place of study, she said, and added of 바카라사이트 lockdown: ¡°I?don¡¯t think this has created more inequality.¡±

The vocational-바카라사이트oretical divide is only one of 바카라사이트 ways 바카라사이트 pandemic is likely to have widened higher education inequalities. Students whose parents lost employment have suddenly needed to pitch in to help 바카라사이트 family. Cramped housing and old computers will have made online home study harder for some.

And while control of 바카라사이트 virus means that vocational universities in Europe hope to reopen more normally come 바카라사이트 autumn, 바카라사이트 pandemic is still running wild in 바카라사이트 US, raising doubts about a physical return.

Colleges lost only about six weeks of teaching in 바카라사이트 spring shutdown, said Ms Hyslop, but a more permanent adjustment, if necessary, would be daunting. ¡°It¡¯s going to require a significant amount of careful planning¡­in order to make this work long term,¡± she said.

david.mat바카라사이트ws@ws-2000.com