Secondary school in times of pandemic: The fragmentation of the education system exposed

Abstract

With the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, schools were identified as potential focal points of the virus massive transmission. That is why they closed their doors and education moved to the students’ homes. Schools did not stop working, but as they form part of a fragmented educational system, the activities they managed to do would be different in each social sector. Educational fragmentation shows a diversification in social structures, setting social groups apart from each other. In this work, we want to analyze and reflect on how the high schools of the capital city of the province of Catamarca have continued their activities in the various social sectors, as well as what each institution expects from their graduates. The empirical material in our study comes from semi-structured interviews we had with principals of the high schools from Catamarca and from field data collected from the teaching staff. The pandemic has deepened inequalities: while the most privileged sectors could quickly adapt to the new reality and managed to support the students, in some cases, the more disadvantaged ones lost contact with their teachers. For the latter, traditional, in-person class is still irreplaceable, no matter the efforts schools make to continue providing for their guardian role from virtual environments.