VIEWS & OPINION Build on skills to help address


the digital divide in education Comment by FATHIMA DADA, Managing Director, Education, OUP


2021 is drawing to a close, Budget Day has been and gone, and educators are left pondering the impact of lost learning for many children and young people. COVID lockdowns shone a harsh spotlight on the digital disparities in education; the shift towards remote learning depended on having access to devices, the internet, and the skills to use them. Learners – and indeed educators – who lacked these necessities fell foul of the digital divide. Our recent report, Addressing the Deepening Digital Divide,


captured the views of over 1,500 teachers from 92 countries to understand the impact of the digital divide on learners, and of course on the teachers themselves. Digital accessibility – a lack of physical access to devices or the


internet – is often the most visible face of the divide, but our research suggests a hidden but equally significant challenge: digital competency. Although exactly half of the teachers surveyed said access to devices was a problem during the pandemic, 56 per cent said that a lack of digital competency on the part of both learners and educators prevented their effective use of digital resources and acted as a barrier to learning. It is clear that a large proportion of teachers feel that their lack of digital skills is holding them back. Fortunately, it is significantly easier


to address a skills gap than it is to ensure our digital infrastructure is set up so that all students are online using their own devices. For example, at OUP, we recognized the need to equip teachers with digital capabilities as they adapted to a new way of teaching and carried out online professional development courses, reaching 86,000 teachers in Kenya alone. Skills development and resources would help reduce the digital divide and ensure educators and learners have the confidence to fully engage with digital learning. A key recommendation in our report is to build digital competency


and skills. We need to see a shift from upskilling training to ‘always- skilling’ for teachers. Technology is constantly evolving, and digital skills can quickly get out-of-date; it makes more sense to have regular training touchpoints, in a ‘little and often’ model, so that teachers are always equipped with the skills needed to leverage digital tools and platforms effectively. The training shouldn’t stop at teachers – we need to consider


parents too. After all, they were integral to ensuring education could continue during lockdown, and if a hybrid model—where we see a blend of digital and face-to-face learning—is the future, they too need to be equipped to support their children at home. This is particularly relevant for disadvantaged students; as our research highlighted, their parents were more likely to lack digital skills, so were unable to offer as much support with remote learning. The digital divide could limit opportunities for millions of young


people all over the world. Through understanding the barriers and challenges that teachers, learners, and parents have faced, we can consider what steps we need to take to address it. Enhancing digital competency alone will not bridge the divide, but it is certainly a key piece of the puzzle.


https://oup.foleon.com/report/digital-divide/cover/


Who is supporting the teachers and staff in school?


Comment by Dr MARGOT SUNDERLAND, Director of Education and Training at The Centre for Child Mental Health (CCMH)


With the alarming increase in mental health referrals leading to rising concerns over student’s mental health and wellbeing, teachers and staff are on the frontline when it comes to supporting their students – but who is supporting the teachers and staff? Teachers have been hugely


impacted by the pandemic and with the added pressures of ‘Covid catchup’ and partial closures due to Covid outbreaks in schools, levels of stress and mental illness are on the increase. According to The Teacher Wellbeing Index (2020) 62% of education staff and 77% of senior leaders described themselves as stressed and 31% of educational staff reported experiencing a mental health issue. Staff and teachers trying to deal with chronic stress alone may end up


with stress related illness, secondary trauma, anxiety, depression and burnout, with the inevitable knock on effect - an exodus from the profession. Although a recent survey indicates an increase in teacher training applications, twice as many teachers are considering leaving the profession than pre-Covid. Education professionals have much higher levels of depression than the general population. With 52% of education professionals and 59% of


December 2021


senior leaders having considered leaving the profession due to pressures on their health and wellbeing, and more than half (57%) of education professionals feeling unable to share mental health concerns with their employer. Education is the only frontline service where the majority of staff do not


have access to support for mental health and wellbeing. We cannot afford to ignore this situation any longer. We have a wealth of neuroscience evidence that being listened to has a


profound impact on physical and emotional health. Reflective supervision provides a confidential space for teaching staff to have regular discussion about their work with a trained psychologist or therapeutically trained senior educationalist. This safe space empowers staff to talk frankly about the challenges of teaching and provides validating, empathic and non- judgemental listening, advice and new relational skills. Student success is reliant on the expertise and dedication of their


teachers, and research shows links between student attainment and wellbeing and the wellbeing and mental health of their teachers. Stress and mental ill-health creates staff absence and increased turnover and the lack of continuity directly impacts students, fellow staff and overall school development. At the present time, only eight percent of schools, colleges and


universities have access to this supervision and safe spaces for staff. For everyone inside every school community to flourish, we must ensure wellbeing and mental health are at the top of the school agenda.


For more information please contact: https://www.childmentalhealthcentre.org/ Email: info@childmentalhealthcentre.org Tel: 020 735 2913 https://www.traumainformedschools.co.uk/ Email: info@traumainformedschools.co.uk Tel: 01752 278477


www.education-today.co.uk 25


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48