Apart But Connected: Online Tutoring and Student Outcomes During the Covid-19 Pandemic
Open accessAbstract
In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, the governments of most countries ordered the closure of schools, potentially exacerbating existing learning gaps. This paper evaluates the effectiveness of an intervention implemented in Italian middle schools that provides free individual tutoring online to disadvantaged students during lock-down. Tutors are university students who volunteer for 3 to 6 hours per week. They were randomly assigned to middle school students, from a list of potential beneficiaries compiled by school principals. Using original survey data collected from students, parents, teachers and tutors, we find that the program substantially increased students' academic performance (by 0.26 SD on average) and that it significantly improved their socio-emotional skills, aspirations, and psychological well-being. Effects are stronger for children from lower socioeconomic status and, in the case of psychological well-being, for immigrant children.
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Online tutoring programs were shown to reduce learning loss significantly in several randomized controlled trials.
“During the school closures, online tutoring programs were shown to reduce learning loss significantly in several randomized controlled trials33,34 but the evidence base is limited.”
From COVID-19, school closures, and student learning outcomes. New global evidence from PISA (2025) · cites this paper as [33]
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- Authors
- Carlana, M., & La Ferrara, E.
- Affiliations
- Harvard University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Carlana, Michela
- Venue
- SSRN Electronic Journal
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2021
- ISSN
- 1556-5068 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W3126681548
- Cited by
- 72
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 15 · 2023: 20 · 2022: 17 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 1
- Type
- posted content
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- doi.org
- Locations
- SSRN Electronic Journal (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Education › Education during COVID-19 pandemic
- Social Sciences › Demography › Global Educational Reforms and Inequalities
- Social Sciences › Safety Research › Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare
- Keywords
- online tutoring, COVID-19 pandemic, school closures, learning gaps, disadvantaged students, junior high school students, university student volunteers, academic performance, socioemotional skills, career aspirations, psychological well-being, immigrant children, socioeconomic status, educational intervention effectiveness
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