Four out of every five socially disadvantaged students felt lockdown increased their workload and contributed to increased stress levels, Trinity researchers have found.
Results of a recent survey conducted by Trinity Access in conjunction with Trinity’s School of Education were released today, reporting that the coronavirus has negatively impacted students’ mental health.
The COVID-19 Student Survey of over 1,000 students in schools in areas of social disadvantage was conducted during May of this year as part of a broader longitudinal study.
Participants reported significantly lower levels of wellbeing in comparison to the previous year, with student’s citing reduced teacher feedback, a disconnect from peers and perceived increased workloads as main contributors to this decline.
Students with low parental involvement or negative relationships with their teachers were reported as being more likely to suffer a reduction in mental wellbeing during the coronavirus lockdown. Teacher feedback increased for just over one-third but had decreased for more than a quarter of students.
The survey also gauged the reactions of students to the government’s decision to cancel the leaving certificate exams and instead release predicted grades. Half of respondents agreed with the cancellation of exams while only 33 per cent agreed with predictive grading, citing the influence of student-teacher relationships as cause for concern.
Many incoming sixth year students voiced concerns regarding the long-term disruptions that impacted their fifth year teaching, with some suggesting that now is the ideal time to reform the leaving certificate to incorporate more continuous assessment, as seen with the reformed junior certificate.
More than 1,000 students from 15 different Trinity Access-affiliated secondary schools in Dublin took part in the survey led by Dr Aibhín Bray. It is the third in a series of reports on the impact of coronavirus closures on Irish education. The other two reports focused on the perspectives of post-primary teachers and the parents of primary school children and were published earlier this summer.
