The purpose of this study was to examine educators' perceptions of their preparation and expectations for teaching and learning during the COVID-19 school closures through the lens of context-responsive leadership theory. School enrollment, educational attainment, poverty, and race were the county-level external school contexts we studied. The…

The COVID-19 pandemic caused a near-total shutdown of the U.S. school system, forcing more than 55 million students to transition to home-based remote learning practically overnight. In most cases, that meant logging in to online classes and accessing lessons and assignments through a home internet connection. Sadly, that was not an option for…

The coronavirus pandemic fundamentally altered education and schooling in the Houston area. To better understand the impact of COVID-19 on Houston area families and communities, the Houston Education Research Consortium collaborated with Connective (previously, Harvey Home Connect) to launch the Gulf Coast Coronavirus (COVID-19) Community Impact…

With the disruption of the pandemic, it is important to study first-year college students' learning experiences and its potential effect on education plans. To understand first-year college students' learning experiences after the transition to online instruction during the pandemic, in June 2020, the authors of this study reached out to…

This report examines the meaning and impact of the digital divide -- the gap between those who can and cannot access the Internet -- on college students during the COVID-19 emergency shift to remote learning. The assessment is based on several national surveys conducted in the spring or summer of 2020, as well as results from a large-scale survey…

Aim/Purpose: This study aims to explore levels of Technological Access (ownership, access to, and usage of computer devices as well as access to Internet services) and levels of Technological Efficacy (technology related skills) as they pertain to underserved (UNS) and underrepresented (UNR) students. Background: There exists a positive…

These technical appendixes accompany the study, "Who Is Losing Ground with Distance Learning in California?" The study explores key issues California families experienced around distance learning in spring 2020. Using data from the Census Household Pulse Survey, a weekly survey conducted in 2020, the authors document how the COVID-19…

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed a number of shortcomings in the nation's social infrastructure, one of which is access to the internet. When school is exclusively online or medical appointments rely principally on telehealth, those without online access are not merely inconvenienced. They are socially excluded, given their limited means to get…

Universities across the country have been welcoming students back in person. While campuses are busy with students again, many universities are exploring how they can complement and enhance students' experience by drawing on the lessons learned during the pandemic. Returning to a pre-pandemic world, without any reflection or change, is not…

Each year since 2003, Project Tomorrow, a global education nonprofit organization, facilitates the annual Speak Up Research Project on Digital Learning. A key aspect of the research project is to track the growth in student, educator, and parent interest in digital learning, as well as how our nation's schools and districts are addressing that…

Student surveys found that the educational experience in the first months of the pandemic was a mess. As schools quickly implemented remote learning last spring, many students experienced little meaningful online instruction and were unhappy with online classes. This brief from the Evidence Project synthesizes new student surveys that have come…

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most students did not start college in the Fall of 2020 surrounded by other students who were also excited for the journey they were about to collectively undertake. Instead, for the large majority of students, their only interactions with their college campuses were through computer screens--and even for the few who…

The Cowen Institute has conducted annual polls on perceptions of public education in New Orleans since 2007. These polls have served to provide insight on how parents and the general public feel about the highly decentralized K-12 public education system in New Orleans. Over time, we have monitored views on a wide range of topics, including school…

At least 55 million students ended the school year learning at home after approximately 124,000 public and private schools closed their doors due to the coronavirus pandemic. This "new normal" created uncertainty among high school students about their futures as many struggled with the pandemic's compounding effects as they also worried…

In March 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic caused schools to close for the remainder of the school year, all Pennsylvania school districts and charter schools were required to "make good faith efforts to implement continuity of education plans for the duration of the 2019-20 school year." RFA analyzed these plans for each of the 43…