Social Inequalities Made Evident & Exacerbated by Coronavirus: A Qualitative Analysis of How COVID-19 Has Affected the Public vs. Private Sector in the American Schooling System

Abstract

This thesis is an examination of the difference in quality of learning between college students attending public and private four-year institutions following the outbreak of the Coronavirus disease. Paying special attention to social class and social status, analytical measures were used to identify discrepancies in higher education. Thus, an online survey was conducted to discover and investigate educational inequalities caused, exacerbated, and perpetuated by institutional forces. A prediction was made about the differential pedagogical strategies deployed as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic and this prediction was confirmed through statistical data analysis.