Fewer than one in three people in full-time education rate their online learning experience during the pandemic as excellent or good, a new survey has found.
However, the survey found that part-time students enjoyed their online education experience more, with 61 per cent rating it as excellent or good.
On Monday, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) published an analysis of remote learning from its Pulse survey, which questioned 10,797 adults through an online questionnaire in November.
It found that of those in either part-time or full-time education, females had a higher satisfaction rate with their online education, with 46 per cent rating it as good or excellent, compared to male respondents at 38 per cent.
Satisfaction ratings also varied depending on age, with two in three of those aged 45 years and older rating their online education experience as excellent or good, compared to 26 per cent of those aged 18 to 24.
Just over one in 10, or 14 per cent, of respondents in education with three or more children, including adult children, living with them rated their online education experience as poor or very poor.
This figure rose to one in three, or 33 per cent, for those who had no children living with them.
Geographically, those living in the border region – counties Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Monaghan and Sligo – had the highest satisfaction levels, with 52 per cent of respondents rating their online education as excellent or good.
Almost half, 47 per cent, of respondents in education who rated their home broadband as poor also rated their online education experience as poor or very poor.
This figure fell to just one in four for those who rated their home broadband as excellent.
Children
In terms of education for children, fewer than three in 10 parents rated their primary school children’s online education experience during the pandemic as excellent or good. This increased to 31 per cent for parents of secondary school children and to 35 per cent for parents of third-level students.
The survey also asked those who were not in education if they would consider returning to it, and it found the emergence of remote and blended learning is a positive for many people.
Three-quarters of those in employment who plan to return to education in the future would choose a course that consisted of remote or blended learning.
One in three respondents with one child and more than four in 10 (41 per cent) respondents with three or more children who did not plan to return to education in the future said they would reconsider it if remote or blended learning was available.
Statistician Dermot Kinane said access to places of learning "changed dramatically" since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020, with the availability of online tuition proving to be enticing for employees.
“As the number of children, including adult children, living with a respondent increased, so too did the likelihood of reconsideration of a return to education should remote or blended learning be available,” he added.
