At this week's roundtable, Erina, Inica, Jack, Kenisha, and Madeline spoke with Alexios Rosario-Moore, clinical associate professor of educational policy studies in the Urban Higher Education program of the University of Illinois Chicago--the only graduate program that focuses on higher ed specifically in urban context. We dug into findings from his recent study, “Shocks to the System: An Ecological Analysis of the Pandemic’s Disparate Impact on Undergraduate Students at UIC,” which surveyed 1273 undergrads with a 74 item questionnaire asking about academic, economic, social, and other impacts they’ve experienced through COVID. The study explored what factors are most disruptive and--surprise surprise--found a big difference between young people who are in well resourced homes vs those who aren’t, in terms of being more adaptive to adversity. Students who were burdened with family responsibilities have generally fared worse through Covid. Interestingly, Alexios has found that self perception varies and that some students experience more adversity than others but don’t perceive it as such--for ex, a student might perceive having to work out of a room shared with a sibling as more stressful than another student who has lost a family member. The disruption of peer networks likely had a significant negative impact on mental health and academic engagement across the board. What are the implications, now and for the future? Tune in to hear our takes. Thank you for listening!
