Fewer than a third of students in full-time education happy with online learning 

Only a third of parents said their children's online learning experience was 'good' or 'excellent'. File picture

More than seven-in-10 people in full-time online education during the pandemic did not have a good experience, and those living in Cork and Kerry were the least satisfied, according to CSO data.

A CSO Pulse Survey on “Our Lives Online” examined views on remote learning received from more than 10,000 responses from Irish adults.

As the pandemic took hold in March 2020, 93% of respondents in full- or part-time education said their courses continued online.

Less than one in three (29%) respondents in full-time education rated their online education experience during the pandemic as Excellent or Goodhttps://t.co/23dW0XfWvM #CSOIreland #Ireland #CSOTakePart #PULSESurvey #TellUsIreland #RemoteLearning pic.twitter.com/XQNkTpnHcA

— Central Statistics Office Ireland (@CSOIreland) February 14, 2022

Only 29% of people in full-time education during the pandemic rated their online education experience as either 'excellent' or 'good'.

Only a third of parents said their children's online learning experience was 'good' or 'excellent' (29% for parents of primary school children, 31% for parents of children in secondary school).

Respondents aged between 18 and 24 were least satisfied with online learning, as 41% rated their experience as 'poor' or 'very poor', and only a quarter (26%) had a good or excellent experience.

However, online learning proved significantly more popular with those in part-time education, those who are older, and those with other commitments such as work, home duties, or children.

Some 61% of respondents in part-time education found online learning to be 'good' or 'excellent', while two-thirds of people over 45 said their online education experience was 'good' or 'excellent'.

Online education was also attractive for those with children. Amongst those who experienced online education during the pandemic, 38% of people who had no children living with them had a 'good' or 'excellent' experience, while 58% of people living with children had a 'good' or 'excellent' experience of online education.

Broken down by region, those along the border were most satisfied with their online learning experience, as 52% of respondents rated their online education experience as 'excellent' or 'good'.

Those in the South-West (Cork and Kerry) were least satisfied with online education. Only 38% rated their experience as 'excellent' or 'good', while 37% rated their experience as 'poor' or 'very poor'.

There was a direct correlation between the quality of internet connection and the quality of online education experience. Half of respondents (47%) who rated their home broadband as poor also rated their online education experience as 'poor' or 'very poor'. Only a quarter of people with an excellent internet connection had a poor experience of online education.

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Looking to the future, almost three-quarters (74%) of adults planning to return to education in future said they would be more likely to choose a course with remote or blended learning.

Only 13% of people said the availability of online or blended learning options would have no influence on their decisions about courses in future.

Courses with remote or blended learning most appealed to those in employment (76%) or engaged in home duties (74%).

Among those who initially said they had no plans to return to education in the future, over a third (35%) said they would reconsider if remote or blended learning was available.