Why do students lose interest in education?

Educational equity : "Educational equity has received a presence like it hasn't been for 20 years"

You yourself advanced from a working-class child to a successful educational scientist. Such a career is often used as an example of the fact that educational equity is possible. What did school and parents do right for you, and what of it can be transferred to learning in pandemic times?
When I look back on my school days, the attitude of my parents was decisive. They did not evaluate what interested me, they promoted it. For example, I was allowed to learn three instruments, which I couldn't take for granted. My parents approached everything that was important to me with great openness; they also grounded me where needed. With their attitude they compensated for the ideological orientation of the schools in the GDR in which I grew up. So if you ask about the transferability of my biography to learning in pandemic times, then one answer lies in the attitude towards learners. The teachers already know quite well what background children bring to the classroom. However, this knowledge should be reflected in a correspondingly open attitude towards the inclinations and interests of the children and, above all, translated into suitable support concepts. Specifically, this means, for example, that the learning opportunities during distance learning or hybrid lessons should be adapted to the children's circumstances. This in turn means that when choosing the methods from which educationally disadvantaged children benefit, teachers should focus on the motivation for learning and the imparting of competencies for successful self-directed learning processes.

Keyword motivation. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, the schools applying for the German School Prize 20 | 21 Special have had positive experiences with creative digital feedback instruments to strengthen the desire for learning and the self-efficacy of educationally disadvantaged children. How much value should schools attach to this, especially in distance teaching?
I think that's extremely important. Self-efficacy is an important prerequisite, for example to be able to react well to failures and to draw motivation from it. There is nothing worse than when a child always has the feeling: I can't do this. Then it withdraws, does not participate, and loses interest. To put it to a point: It will not get a child any further if it learns that it has not learned well enough in distance learning. On the other hand, educationally disadvantaged children can benefit from encouraging feedback to see that they are succeeding with a particular strategy they have learned. This encourages them, they then dare to take part again. Teachers should therefore strengthen their personality and self-efficacy right now - at a time when disadvantaged children are often left to their own devices and have little constructive approach.