Incidencia Económica del COVID 19 en las familias del cantón Paltas, provincia de Loja, sector: educación media

Abstract

Abstract: This work analyzes the impact of COVID 19 on secondary education in the Paltas canton, Loja province. The social and economic implications derived from the closure, temporary suspension, and adoption of online or virtual classes have not yet been studied for small and sparsely populated localities in Ecuador. In this way, the following questions are addressed: What has been the social, technological, and economic impact of COVID 19 on students, teachers, and heads of household? And how have these actors adapted to a new study context marked by online classes and social distancing? To respond to this, three semi-structured surveys are carried out on 361 students: 33 teachers and 219 heads of the household. The main results show that there is a low level of technological adoption marked using local internet networks of medium or low quality and the use of devices not suitable for them, such as cell phones. In families, the pandemic forced to change the planned spending plans due to the increase in the cost of education derived from the need to access the internet and buy new devices such as tablets or laptops. Thus, a large percentage of families decreased their income, or it varied significantly. Finally, teachers have not found it more difficult to access or accommodate new technologies, although they do denote a greater lack of interest in students to learn. It is left for future research to measure the level of pre-pandemic and post-pandemic school performance to verify its effects on the level and quality of learning in students.