Politics, COVID, and In-Person Instruction during the First Year of the Pandemic
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| Title: | Politics, COVID, and In-Person Instruction during the First Year of the Pandemic |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | David M. Houston (ORCID |
| Source: | Educational Policy. 2025 39(1):77-130. |
| Availability: | SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub.com |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 54 |
| Publication Date: | 2025 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Education Level: | Elementary Secondary Education |
| Descriptors: | In Person Learning, COVID-19, Pandemics, Public Schools, Local Government, Politics of Education, Political Issues, Educational Policy, Mortality Rate, Decision Making, Leaders, School Closing, Reentry Students, Counties, Unions, Elementary Secondary Education |
| DOI: | 10.1177/08959048231204843 |
| ISSN: | 0895-9048 1552-3896 |
| Abstract: | In spring 2020, nearly every U.S. public school closed at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Existing evidence suggests that local political partisanship was a better predictor of in-person instruction than COVID case and death rates in fall 2020. We replicate and extend these analyses using data collected over the entirety of the 2020-21 academic year. We affirm that local political partisanship was an important initial predictor of county-level in-person instruction rates. We also demonstrate that, under certain conditions, COVID case and death rates were meaningfully associated with initial rates of in-person instruction. We reveal that partisanship became less predictive--and prior average student achievement became more predictive--of in-person instruction as the school year continued. We then leverage data from two nationally representative surveys of Americans' attitudes toward education and identify an as-yet-undiscussed factor that predicts in-person instruction: public support for increasing teachers' salaries. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2024 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1448259 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | In spring 2020, nearly every U.S. public school closed at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Existing evidence suggests that local political partisanship was a better predictor of in-person instruction than COVID case and death rates in fall 2020. We replicate and extend these analyses using data collected over the entirety of the 2020-21 academic year. We affirm that local political partisanship was an important initial predictor of county-level in-person instruction rates. We also demonstrate that, under certain conditions, COVID case and death rates were meaningfully associated with initial rates of in-person instruction. We reveal that partisanship became less predictive--and prior average student achievement became more predictive--of in-person instruction as the school year continued. We then leverage data from two nationally representative surveys of Americans' attitudes toward education and identify an as-yet-undiscussed factor that predicts in-person instruction: public support for increasing teachers' salaries. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 0895-9048 1552-3896 |
| DOI: | 10.1177/08959048231204843 |
