Concerns about schools during the pandemic have shifted sharply since last summer, with a majority of people surveyed in the US now saying they are more concerned about the academic, emotional and economic damage to keeping classrooms than the risk of to spread the potentially deadly coronavirus.
The percentage of Americans who say that the biggest consideration in reopening schools should be the possibility that students will fall behind academically without personal tuition has risen from 48% in July last year to 61%, according to a new poll by Pew Research Center published Wednesday. .
“Americans are increasingly concerned about the effect of virtual learning on academic progress,” said Juliana Horowitz, author of the center’s report on the online survey of 10,121 American adults, conducted Feb. 16-21.
The poll found that the percentage that should be the biggest consideration should be the risk of teachers getting or spreading the virus, dropped from 60% last year to 48% this month, and those who mention the risk of students catching or transmitting it , it from 61% to 45%.
However, a majority of American adults – 59% – say that K-12 schools that are not currently available for personal education should reopen before all teachers who want the coronavirus vaccine receive it, while 40% say that they should reopen as soon as possible, even though many teachers who want the vaccine did not get the shots.
The survey was conducted just after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released updated guidelines for reopening schools that indicated they could reopen safely, even in communities with widespread infections and without vaccinating teachers.
Although the biggest concern is that learning loss is taught by the remote online “distance education” that has been replaced in the classroom through classroom teaching since the pandemic closed in school last week, 54% also mention the emotional well-being of students and parents’ ability to work outside the home.
The survey also found that black, Hispanic and Asian adults, as was the case last summer, are more likely than white adults to say that the risks for teachers and students to get or spread the coronavirus should be best considered. to decide if they want to reopen schools.
Lower-income adults are more likely to say the same thing than middle- or higher-income ones, just like Democrats compared to Republicans.
While the majority of White (65%) and Hispanic (60%) adults say that learning loss is a major problem, 49% of black adults say the same. Majority Whites (58%) and Spaniards (53%) also cite damage from school closures to the emotional well-being of students, compared to 44% of Blacks.
Majority of both Republican and Republican voters and Democrats and Democratic voters say academic harm from distance education is a major issue. But sentiment is much stronger among Republicans and Republican leaders (76%) than Democrats and Democrats (51%).
But while most Republican and Republican leaders (65%) also express concern about the emotional well-being of students, a minority of Democrats and Democratic leaders (46%) share the view.
Nearly eight in ten Democrats (79%) say schools should wait to reopen until all teachers who want the coronavirus vaccine have received it, while nearly two-thirds of Republicans (65%) say schools should be reopened as soon as possible must reopen, even if many teachers did not receive it.
The survey involved both parents and people without children. But Horowitz found that opinions on reopening schools did not differ significantly between those who had children in primary, middle or high school and those who did not enroll.