Reopening of Schools: What You Need to Know

The selected article for this assignment is ‘ Americans overwhelmingly oppose school reopening, data finds ’ by Collings and Nuamah (2020). The article highlights how Americans are opposed to the reopening of schools. According to Collings and Nuamah (2020), the past months have been historical due to the prevailing Coronavirus pandemic. All schools across different states are at crossroads concerning the reopening of academic institutions, given the high risk of the spread of the virus. Even though President Trump called for the physical reopening of schools, the public, including teachers, has rejected his declarations ( Collins & Nuamah, 2020). Teachers have also raised concerns about the risk of infection from the coronavirus if schools are reopened (Collins & Nuamah, 2020).

The authors undertake a study that was carried out through surveys. The main question that the authors fronted pertained to what Americans think regarding reopening of schools. In addition, Collins and Nuamah (2020) were also interested in how race shapes the attitudes of individuals concerning the reopening of schools amid the Corona virus pandemic. From the article, most Americans were opposed the reopening of schools owing to the fear of rising infections. Collins and Nuamah (2020) found out that race had an important influence on individual’s perspective regarding the reopening of schools. Based on data from the study, most Americans were concerned that children would suffer academic fallbacks as a result of the closure of schools. Those who agreed about the opening of schools said that the implementation of precautionary policies in the institutions would help to avoid the spread of coronavirus ( Collins & Nuamah, 2020) . The said precautions include mandatory and frequent mass testing, social distancing in school, and wearing of masks.

Descriptive statistics

The article by Collins and Nuamah (2020) uses descriptive statistics to analyze the data collected from their survey. Specifically, the article used measures of frequency like percentage dominantly through their analysis. The study made use of percentages in making comparisons between different aspects that were considered. For instance, 1273 American adults were the sample population for the study. 19% of the chosen population agreed with the reopening of schools, 62% opposed and 19% were undecided on the issue ( Collins & Nuamah, 2020) . In terms of race and party, 70% of Black Americans and 74% of Democrats opposed school reopening which was a higher percentage compared to Whites and Republicans. Also, through the surveys, Americans were asked whether the shutdown due to the pandemic would affect students and 76% were positive that it would ( Collins & Nuamah, 2020) . The different races’ response regarding the effect of school closure also varied greatly with the 83% Latin Americans and 82% Black Americans being greatly worried about their children falling behind. In comparison, 73% of White respondents did not voice concerns that their children would fall behind.

90% of the population that was surveyed supported students to continue learning virtually at home (Collins & Nuamah, 2020). Also, there were notable partisan variations with fewer Republicans supporting protective measures. 67% of Republicans supported testing of the virus when schools reopen; 69% supported staggering schedules; 71% supported mandatory wearing of masks; 80% supported remote learning; and 76% supported social distancing ( Collins & Nuamah, 2020) . These percentages were lower when compared to Democrats’ percentages. In terms of trusting their leaders, 69% of respondents expressed trust in their mayors; 65% trusted the governors of their states; and 55% trusted the leaders of their local schools. Interestingly, 24% of the sample population trusted president Trump’s information concerning the pandemic ( Collins & Nuamah, 2020) . Only 7% of Democrats trusted the president’s information while 72% of Republicans trusted his information.

Application of the Article

The article is applicable in the real world considering the coronavirus is a global pandemic. The virus hit the US early this year, spreading out to all states. As a result, the education program of the country has been widely affected across all states. Sweeping changes had to be made in order to ensure that learning continued even as students continued to stay home. The adoption of online or virtual learning has been one of those changes. However, owing to the financial implications and requirements for online learning, some sections of the population, especially minorities have not been able to cope with the changes in the educational sector ( Viner et al., 2020) . Such parties have voiced the need for the reopening of schools to ensure that their children do not fall behind. However, the reopening schools, even with the preventive policies in place would possibly risk the health and lives of students and their families. Such are the dilemmas that countries around the world are grappling with. The statistics provided by the article by Collins and Nuamah (2020) can be essential in making considerations for solutions to the issue.

Why the Article was Chosen

The primary reason as to why I selected this particular article is because the Corona virus pandemic is still an ongoing concern. As scientists are still grappling with understanding the virus, stakeholders are also striving to come up with mitigations for the challenges that are as a result of the virus. The use of data provides an avenue of understanding the implications of clinical and social problems and can provide a foundation for the development and the adoption of solutions (Holton & Walsh, 2016).

References

Collins, J., & Nuamah, S. (2020).  Americans overwhelmingly oppose school reopening, data finds . Monkey Cage. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/08/19/americans-overwhelmingly-oppose-school-reopenings-new-data-finds/ .

Holton, J. A., & Walsh, I. (2016).  Classic grounded theory: Applications with qualitative and quantitative data . Sage Publications. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/292155271_Classic_Grounded_Theory_Applications_With_Qualitative_and_Quantitative_Data

Viner, R. M., Russell, S. J., Croker, H., Packer, J., Ward, J., Stansfield, C., ... & Booy, R. (2020). School closure and management practices during coronavirus outbreaks including COVID-19: a rapid systematic review.  The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health . https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S235246422030095X