Compounding education disengagement: COVID-19 lockdown, the digital divide and wrap-around services

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to share reflections on the frontline delivery of a wrap-around secondary school re-engagement programme on compounding digital inequality during the COVID-19 lockdown. Design/methodology/approach This paper presents a deliberative reflection on practice and policy lessons learned while negotiating the digital divide during the COVID-19 lockdown in the delivery of the yourtown education youth engagement programme. Findings Frontline youth worker practice lessons highlight the compounding effect of digital inequality on vulnerable young people who are already disengaged or disengaging from secondary education and the necessity for a reflexive, agile and adaptable practice response, particularly during unprecedented events such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Originality/value This paper presents a wraparound service perspective and outlines important practice lessons gained from adapting an education re-engagement programme to respond to the COVID-19 lockdown in the Greater Brisbane area, Australia.

Connection, connectivity and choice: Learning during COVID‐19 restrictions across mainstream schools and Flexible Learning Programmes in Australia

“…These conditions are difficult to meet for all students (Lamb et al, 2020 ). Even when Internet capable devices were provided, living in a remote location with poor reception, sharing devices in a household or difficulties in making use of digital resources could interfere with successful home‐based learning in the absence of appropriate support strategies (see Seymour et al, 2020 ). Further, we found that the immediacy of classroom interactions did not transfer well to remote learning, requiring a combination of real‐time as well as asynchronous communication strategies.…”

“…Schools are an important source of pastoral care and connectedness in students' lives, especially for students experiencing disadvantage (Seymour et al, 2020 ). In Australia, wrap‐around services were vital during this time to support students, especially when they were living in unstable or unsuitable home environments (Brown et al, 2020 ; Seymour et al, 2020 ) and increased demand for support services for students was reported by service providers (Coram et al, 2021 ; McDaid, Povey et al, 2021b ).…”

"Plan for the Worst, Hope for the Best, but Realistically, Expect a Combination of Both:" Lessons and Best Practices Emerging from Community-engaged Teaching During a Health Crisis

“…The digital divide in underserved communities has been augmented by the pandemic (Seymour et al, 2020). In later reflections, my students became aware that the needs of many clients served by agencies providing educational support could only be met by systematic infrastructural changes (Kim & Padilla, 2020).…”

Theorising post-truth in the COVID era

“…New South Wales—where I live—has the unenviable reputation of being the source of all three waves of COVID-19 in Australia. The spread here—as with a global basis—had an almost thrombotic effect; the wide range of divisions in Australian societies and education became more clear (Ainley et al, 2022 ; Seymour et al, 2020 ). In Sydney, the capital, it was as if one city became three during lockdowns: Manufacturing and trade-based economies of the central-west and south-west played host to dramatic increases in case numbers; Central and the north-west suburbs had somewhat lower case numbers depending on population densities and the ability to remain at home due to working remotely; Eastern suburbs meanwhile were characterised by initially high case numbers followed by sporadic outbreaks, in addition to a much less harsh treatment by police by comparison to everywhere else in the Sydney region.…”