Home-schooling in the COVID-19 crisis: survey launched

A team from Stranmillis University College’s Centre for Research in Educational Underachievement (CREU) ran a survey for parents/carers home-schooling children aged 3 to 18/19 within the context of the 2020 COVID-19 restrictions in Northern Ireland. There is now a second version: CLICK HERE FOR THE NEW SURVEY.

The team of Dr Glenda Walsh, Dr Noel Purdy, Dr Jonathan Harris and Dr Jill Dunn are keen to gather information from parents/carers about the everyday realities of home-schooling for children who would normally be in day care, playgroup, nursery, special, primary or post-primary settings.

They will use the data gathered to better inform the ongoing work of the Department of Education, the Education Authority, schools and voluntary sector organisations who are already working to support parents/carers in their home-schooling efforts.

Dr Noel Purdy, Director of CREU, explains, “This is an important and timely survey and we would encourage as many parents and carers as possible to take some well-deserved time out from home-schooling to complete the survey by noon on Friday 8^th May.  And please tell your friends and share the survey so that we have as many responses as possible, allowing us to have as representative a picture of what home-schooling is really like across all age groups and abilities in Northern Ireland.”

Click here to find the new survey.

The Centre for Research in Educational Underachievement is based at Stranmillis University College, Belfast.  It is committed to researching issues around achievement affecting children, their parents/carers and teachers in Northern Ireland and beyond, and is guided by the principles of rigour, partnership and impact.  Read our recent blog post on homeschooling here.  See also ‘Playful Ideas for Active Minds’ – free resources, ideas and activities produced by our PGCE (Early Years) students to minimize the impact of school closure on young children’s educational development.