Virtual classrooms and inequality in French preschool and elementary school

Abstract

During the Covid pandemic, we observed the practices of 15 teachers working in preschool and elementary school in France. In their classrooms, they experienced both a classic environment – i.e. in which pupils and teacher share the same space – and virtual classrooms –  in which the latter could only see and hear each other through screens. We thus sought to understand why learning inequalities between the youngest pupils generally increased during this period, as highlighted by statistical studies that compared learning achieved before and after the pandemic. From this point of view, we surveyed  the interactions between the students and teachers, which analyses suggest that virtual classrooms do not offer the same semiotic resources as physical ones. This means that teaching and communication involves individuals positioned in a multitude of physical and digital spaces, which reduces the common visual field of perception. As a result, teachers are less able to observe their pupils' activities and, conversely, their pupils' perception of their teacher's body language. All these factors make it more difficult for teachers to help their pupils learn. It also may help explain why, during the pandemic, inequalities in learning at school increased in France... and no doubt in other countries that experienced periods of confinement during the pandemic, such as Brazil.