In April I collected data among 800 Dutch parents on how they felt able to support their children with schoolwork while all Dutch schools were closed. Unsurprisingly, first results indicate very large differences between socio-economic groups. A thread with some key findings: 1/7 
Primary schools were closed for 8 weeks and now re-opened partially. Secondary schools are still closed. In this period parents are/were primarily responsible for schooling. Virtually all parents find it important that their kids keep up with schoolwork. 2/7
But while almost all parents find schooling highly important, their is a large social gradient in the extent to which parents (a) feel able to help their children and (b) help their children with their schoolwork. No gradient in importance. 3/7
These gaps are big. In primary education it's about .4 of a standard deviation. In secondary education much larger, about .9 of a standard deviation. Lower-educated parents provide less, but because they do not feel capable, not because they find it less important. 4/7
Of course there are differences in material resources too. For obvious reasons, poorer families lack resources that can be seen as vital for schooling at distance (tablet, computer, quiet place to study, own room). But these gaps seem smaller than the involvement gap. 5/7
Moreover, parents report that their children in the academic track in secondary education got much more structured schooling at distance from their secondary schools than children in the vocational track: more digital classes, clearer program, homework more often checked. 6/7
Initial results indicates that school shutdowns are likely to increase existing inequalities in education. Of course this is not surprising, but it is nevertheless important. A brief explanation of the dataset/first results can be found here: osf.io/preprints/soca…
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