TITLE:
Does Internet Access Mitigate the Impact of COVID-19 on School Re-Enrollment Rates? Evidence from Mexico
AUTHORS:
Megan Binnis, Amira Davalos
KEYWORDS:
COVID-19, School Re-Enrollment, Connectivity, Internet Access, Mexico
JOURNAL NAME:
Creative Education,
Vol.14 No.11,
November
8,
2023
ABSTRACT: COVID-19 has affected all areas of society, including education. Nearly
1.6 billion students in more than 190 countries had their face-to-face
education interrupted due to the closure of educational institutions during the
peak of the pandemic, forcing many to resort to online schooling. However, not
all students, families or schools could support this new form of schooling,
leading to many choosing not to re-enroll. This raised the research question
that we aimed to address and explore—did internet access mitigate the impact of
COVID-19 on school re-enrollment rates? The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on school
re-enrollment rates, focusing on the role of internet access and an additional
independent variable—the duration of school closures. Our research sought to
determine whether internet access mitigates the effects of COVID-19 on school
re-enrollment rates in Mexican
municipalities. Looking at data from 2012 to 2022, the findings highlight the
significant role of connectivity in mitigating the impact of COVID-19-related school closures on primary
school re-enrollment rates. While the study offers valuable insights for
Mexico, it also opens the door for comparative studies with similar countries
and further investigations into the digital divide’s nuances.