Socioeconomic and gender inequalities in home learning during the COVID-19 pandemic: examining the roles of the home environment, parent supervision, and educational provisions

Objective: School closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic left millions of pupils to continue their education at home. We investigated gender and socioeconomic inequalities in pupils' home learning, and some mechanisms underlying those inequalities. Method: We analysed online survey responses from 3,167 parents collected between May and July 2020 in the UK, when most schools were closed. Results: Boys, pupils who were eligible for free school meals (FSM), pupils from families that were financially struggling, and pupils whose parents had not graduated from university were less engaged and spent less time home learning. Pupils of non-graduate parents found home learning challenging because they were less likely to have someone in their home who could supervise their work. Pupils eligible for FSM and from financially struggling families found home learning challenging because of noise, a lack of space, lack of technology and insufficient internet in their homes. The quality of educational resources schools provided positively predicted engagement and learning for all pupils. Conclusion: Pupils from lower socioeconomic status families and boys were less involved with home learning, although for different reasons. We discuss how these findings can inform policy and practice to reduce educational inequalities resulting from school closures.