Impact of Pandemic Covid-19 on Education, Inequalities and Economy

Résumé ou Introduction

The Pandemic, caused by the Virus Covid-19, is accompanied by school closures, social distancing measures and restricting the movement of people, goods and services, leading to stalled economies. „The UNESCO reported that the COVID 19 outbreak disrupted the education of at least 290.5 million students worldwide.“ (https://en.unesco.org/covid19/educationresponse) This leads to a gigantic educational crisis.

While only few schools had the capacity to arrange a distance learning program for their students, not all of the students have the same chances on using it, depending on their social position. While this disruption to education and the expected reduction in global growth have far-reaching effects for all, their impact will be particularly adverse to the most disadvantaged students and their families, especially in poorer countries. Bourdieu, a representative for critical sociology, states that the social success is dependent on the starting requirements, the cultural capital.

Critical sociologists see education as a means for perpetuating class. Using Bourdieu’s Theories on Cultural Capital and Inheritance and the Thesis of Coleman about Social Capital, I would like to point out, how education reproduces inequalities and stratification. Statistic insights of the PISA-Studies and Eurostat, support the arguments, to understand how the current global pandemic could affect education outcomes for years to overcome.

From that point, the paper discusses on the Macro-Level, the relationship between the educational system and the economy, and what costs emerge through the loss of education caused by Covid-19, and it’s impact on the economic growth in the future.