Secondary school assessment in the context of the pandemic in Mar del Plata, Argentina

Abstract

This work shows the results of a descriptive study, with a mixed approach, carried out in 2021 in secondary schools in the city of Mar del Plata (Buenos Aires Province, Argentine Republic). The objective was to investigate the perception of students in relation to the effects of mandatory preventive social isolation (ASPO), corresponding to the COVID-19 context, on learning processes and on personal and collective well-being. To do this, the school dynamics at the secondary level, in which students in the Province of Buenos Aires attend between 12 and 17 years old, were considered which included grouping strategies through health bubbles (small group class attendance), time blocks and face-to-face, blended and distance formats. The work is framed in a conception of school coexistence understood as the set of relational guidelines that organize the way in which authority is exercised, conflicts are faced and resolved, communication is developed, and collective work is structured. At the same time, it is assumed that social capabilities contribute to the ways in which topics and possible interpersonal differences are navigated, socio-emotional aspects and the conditions for learning are improved. The research allowed us to look closer at the value that young people have of the school space, and what it means to them, above the current factors. The effects that these ways of going through school have had on young people on their learning, their ties with peers and teachers, their relationships of companionship and/or friendship and their own emotions were highlighted. Likewise, it was observed that the ICT tools would not have covered for the students the moments of exchange that the school generates in full presence, both for learning and for the maintenance of the different levels of interpersonal bonding.