Learning for all? Second-Level education in Ireland during ...

ESRI SURVEY AND STATISTICAL REPORT SERIES NUMBER 92 JUNE 2020

LEARNING FOR ALL? SECOND-LEVEL EDUCATION

IN IRELAND DURING COVID-19

GRETTA MOHAN, SELINA MCCOY, EAMONN CARROLL, GEORGIANA MIHUT, SE?N LYONS AND CIAR?N MAC DOMHNAILL

EVIDENCE FOR POLICY

LEARNING FOR ALL? SECOND-LEVEL EDUCATION IN IRELAND DURING COVID-19

Gretta Mohan Selina McCoy Eamonn Carroll Georgiana Mihut Se?n Lyons Ciar?n Mac Domhnaill

June 2020

ESRI SURVEY AND STATISTICAL REPORT SERIES NUMBER 92

Available to download from esri.ie

The Economic and Social Research Institute Whitaker Square, Sir John Rogerson's Quay, Dublin 2 ISBN 978-0-7070-0529-4

This Open Access work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited.

ABOUT THE ESRI

The mission of the Economic and Social Research Institute is to advance evidencebased policymaking that supports economic sustainability and social progress in Ireland. ESRI researchers apply the highest standards of academic excellence to challenges facing policymakers, focusing on 12 areas of critical importance to 21st Century Ireland.

The Institute was founded in 1960 by a group of senior civil servants led by Dr T. K. Whitaker, who identified the need for independent and in-depth research analysis to provide a robust evidence base for policymaking in Ireland.

Since then, the Institute has remained committed to independent research and its work is free of any expressed ideology or political position. The Institute publishes all research reaching the appropriate academic standard, irrespective of its findings or who funds the research.

The quality of its research output is guaranteed by a rigorous peer review process. ESRI researchers are experts in their fields and are committed to producing work that meets the highest academic standards and practices.

The work of the Institute is disseminated widely in books, journal articles and reports. ESRI publications are available to download, free of charge, from its website. Additionally, ESRI staff communicate research findings at regular conferences and seminars.

The ESRI is a company limited by guarantee, answerable to its members and governed by a Council, comprising 14 members who represent a cross-section of ESRI members from academia, civil services, state agencies, businesses and civil society. The Institute receives an annual grant-in-aid from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to support the scientific and public interest elements of the Institute's activities; the grant accounted for an average of 30 per cent of the Institute's income over the lifetime of the last Research Strategy. The remaining funding comes from research programmes supported by government departments and agencies, public bodies and competitive research programmes.

Further information is available at esri.ie

THE AUTHORS

Selina McCoy and Se?n Lyons are Associate Research Professors at the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) and Adjunct Professors at Trinity College Dublin (TCD). Gretta Mohan is a Research Officer at the ESRI and an Assistant Adjunct Professor at TCD. Georgiana Mihut is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the ESRI. Eamonn Carroll and Ciar?n Mac Domhnaill are research assistants at the ESRI.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This research forms part of the Electronic Communications Programme at the ESRI, jointly funded by the Department of Communications, Climate Action and the Environment (DCCAE) and the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg). The authors would like to acknowledge the contribution of the survey participants who gave their time to inform this work and the support of the National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals (NAPD) in Ireland.

This report has been accepted for publication by the Institute, which does not itself take institutional policy positions. The report has been peer reviewed prior to publication. The authors are solely responsible for the content and the views expressed.

Table of contents| iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ......................................................................................................................... IX CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION.............................................................................................................. 1

1.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 1 1.2 Policy context ................................................................................................................ 3 1.3 Literature review ........................................................................................................... 8 1.4 Methodology .............................................................................................................. 14 CHAPTER 2 RESPONSE OF SCHOOLS TO CLOSURES........................................................................ 19 2.1 Digital divide .............................................................................................................. 19 2.2 Approaches to distance teaching and learning ........................................................... 21 2.3 Non-academic contact ................................................................................................. 23 2.4 Qualitative findings ...................................................................................................... 25 CHAPTER 3 EXPERIENCES OF DISTANCE TEACHING AND LEARNING.............................................. 35 3.1 Relative quality of distance teaching and learning...................................................... 35 3.2 Challenges in distance learning: Teachers ................................................................... 37 3.3 Adapting to distance learning: Teachers ..................................................................... 40 3.4 Challenges in distance learning: Students ................................................................... 42 3.5 Adapting to distance learning: Students ..................................................................... 45 3.6 Abilty of schools to cover practical work..................................................................... 46 3.7 End-of-year assessments ............................................................................................. 47 3.8 Qualitative findings ...................................................................................................... 50 CHAPTER 4 IMPACT ON KEY GROUPS............................................................................................. 61 4.1 Leaving Certificate students ........................................................................................ 61 4.2 Junior Certificate students........................................................................................... 64 4.3 Other key groups ......................................................................................................... 66 4.4 Qualitative findings ...................................................................................................... 67 CHAPTER 5 PLANNING FOR FUTURE REOPENING .......................................................................... 75 CHAPTER 6 CONCLUSION................................................................................................................ 79 6.1 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 79 6.2 Summary of findings .................................................................................................... 79 6.3 Policy implications ....................................................................................................... 81 REFERENCES ..................................................................................................................................... 85 APPENDIX MEASURING BROADBAND AVAILABILITY AND HOUSEHOLD INCOME ........................ 91

iv | Learning for all? Second-level education during COVID-19 in Ireland

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1 Table 2 Table 3

Comparison between sample and population of schools by region ........................... 16 Comparison between sample and population of schools by school type ................... 16 Details on the case study schools ................................................................................ 18

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 2.1 In your opinion, is there a digital divide among students of your school?.................. 20 Figure 2.2 Provision of ICT equipment ......................................................................................... 21 Figure 2.3 Live Virtual learning via live video e.g. Zoom, Google Hangouts................................. 22 Figure 2.4 Participation in free school meals by DEIS status........................................................ 24 Figure 3.1 How distance learning compares to standard practice ............................................... 35 Figure 3.2 Group work by availability of high-speed broadband ................................................. 36 Figure 3.3 Student attendance and participation in lessons by DEIS status ................................ 37 Figure 3.4 Challenges faced by teachers in distance learning ...................................................... 38 Figure 3.5 Insufficient home internet speed among teachers by availability of high-speed

broadband.................................................................................................................... 39 Figure 3.6 Insufficient home internet speed among teachers by average household income

in catchment area ........................................................................................................ 40 Figure 3.7 How teachers have adapted to distance learning ....................................................... 41 Figure 3.8 Factors impacting teachers' adaptation to distance learning ..................................... 42 Figure 3.9 Challenges faced by students in distance learning ...................................................... 43 Figure 3.10 Insufficient ICT equipment at home among students by average household

income ......................................................................................................................... 44 Figure 3.11 Insufficient home internet speed among students by availability of high-speed

broadband.................................................................................................................... 44 Figure 3.12 How students have adapted to distance learning ....................................................... 45 Figure 3.13 Percentage of students who have adapted `very well' by DEIS status........................ 46 Figure 3.14 Ability of schools to cover practical work .................................................................... 47 Figure 3.15 End-of-year assessment methods ............................................................................... 48 Figure 3.16 How end-of-year assessment will compare to normal................................................ 49 Figure 3.17 How end-of-year assessment compares to normal for critical thinking by

availability of high-speed broadband .......................................................................... 50 Figure 4.1 Impact of shutdown on Leaving Certificate students.................................................. 62 Figure 4.2 Impact of shutdown on Leaving Certificate student learning by DEIS status.............. 63 Figure 4.3 Impact of shutdown on Leaving Certificate student engagement by DEIS status....... 64

Table of contents| v

Figure 4.4 Figure 4.5 Figure 4.6 Figure A.1 Figure A.2 Figure A.3

Figure A.4 Figure A.5

Effect of shutdown on Junior Certificate students ...................................................... 65 Impact of shutdown on Junior Certificate student engagement by DEIS status ......... 66 Impact of shutdown on other key groups ................................................................... 67 National Broadband Plan map for Republic of Ireland, Quarter 3 2019 ..................... 91 Urban areas in the Republic of Ireland ........................................................................ 93 Household median gross annual income by electoral division in Republic of Ireland, 2016 ............................................................................................................................. 93 Linking residences to second-level schools using circular buffers............................... 94 Scatter plot of proportion of residences in school catchment areas for which high-speed broadband is available and average of electoral division level median gross household income .............................................................................................. 95

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