Children’s right to equitable education during school closure

Abstract

This article contributes to the development of systematic knowledge relating to equity policies during a pandemic. Based on Didier Fassin’s conception of biopolitics as a theoretical framework, the study makes use of critical discourse analysis to examine the school closure policies of two EU countries (Sweden and Spain) and one non-EU country (Argentina) during the recent COVID pandemic. The study examines official documents, reports and statistical data concerning to the decision to close and reopen schools in Argentina, Spain and Sweden from March 2020 to June 2021. The policies of closing or opening schools during the pandemic have functioned as forms of governance of both the life and death of citizens in each of the three societies. Additional resources for vulnerable groups, or increased individual and digital pedagogical support, are examples of some of the equity measures implemented by the three countries to address the negative consequences of the pandemic.