Unequal Pressures: How Disadvantage Shaped Young People’s Education and Wellbeing

What is it about?

School closures during the COVID-19 pandemic didn’t just disrupt learning, they revealed and intensified deep inequalities that continue to shape young people’s lives today. While some children had the resources to adapt to remote learning, many from less advantaged households faced widening learning gaps, increased pressure at home, and rising levels of stress and anxiety. These challenges didn’t disappear when schools reopened. In fact, they foreshadowed the widening attainment gaps and escalating mental health concerns we are still grappling with now. Our research, published in Qualitative Psychology, sought to understand how socioeconomic disadvantage contributed to these pressures and affected the lives of adolescents, as they returned to school following England’s first period of national lockdown. We used digital diaries and follow-up interviews to capture the experiences of 38 young people in real time. This approach allowed participants to record their thoughts and feelings as events unfolded, giving us a rare glimpse into how they navigated education and other aspects of their lives during this tumultuous period. What we found was concerning. Education, for many, became all-consuming. Many young people felt that “all that matters is work”, as they became acutely aware of the significance that exam results held for their future, at a time when social and economic instability and inequality were brought into sharp focus. School success seemed not just important, but decisive - something that could make or break their prospects in an increasingly precarious world. At the same time, we found “mounting disadvantage” as challenges at home accumulated. Students from less affluent families described how difficult circumstances, such as financial worries, caring responsibilities, concerns around vulnerable family members, and a lack of access to quiet study spaces, sapped their energy and their ability to perform at school. These stressors didn’t just affect their grades; they undermined their confidence and optimism for the future. For some, the strain became overwhelming. The drive to succeed in school, combined with limited resources and heightened awareness of inequality, left them struggling to “keep their head above water.” Education, instead of creating opportunities, became another source of pressure that took its toll on mental health.

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Photo by Polina Eroshkina on Unsplash

Photo by Polina Eroshkina on Unsplash

Why is it important?

While these findings relate to the pandemic, their relevance has only grown. Escalating school absences and exclusions suggest “crises of lost learning” among children from the least advantaged backgrounds. Recent A-level results in England confirm a widening gap between the most and least well-off students, with ministers pledging to address England’s “entrenched” educational divides. Alongside this, we’re seeing worrying trends in adolescent mental health, with increasing numbers of young people reporting anxiety and depression – creating a cycle in which inequality undermines both attainment and wellbeing. The same forces we witnessed during covid—heightened stakes attached to education, compounded by socioeconomic inequality—are still at play today. If we take one lesson from the pandemic, it is that piling ever more weight onto young people’s academic performance is not sustainable. We need targeted support for students who balance school with difficult home lives or other responsibilities. And we need to rethink an education system that makes academic success feel like the only route to security in an uncertain world.

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