COVID-19 and educational resilience in Africa: How school closure revealed countries’ educational conditions

Abstract

This study examines school closures in Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic as a reflection of a country’s educational conditions. Using an interdisciplinary approach that combines the sociology of crisis and decision-making, it focuses on two leading indicators: the timing and duration of school closures concerning the emergence of the coronavirus. We then correlate these factors with each country’s specific pandemic and educational context. Our data collection involved an online documentary analysis and leveraged insights from two webinars on African responses to COVID-19, conducted in March and June 2020, in which we participated. Through a categorical analysis, we classify the 54 African nations into five groups according to how they handled school lockdowns during this pandemic: resistant, proactive, reactive, post-active, and passive, demonstrating that the modalities of their school closures were not neutral. Our analysis reveals the intricate complexities of the educational conditions in these countries, providing valuable insights into their crisis management policies and governance. It offers perspectives to assess educational resilience in major crises and deepens the relationship between educational conditions and responses to these crises.