Researching education during COVID: putting practitioner knowledge-making first
The impacts of COVID on primary education.
During COVID, a research team based in the ILC conducted four rapid turnaround projects, exploring how primary schools and their communities were reacting to school closures, and the wider impacts COVID was having on children, parents and school staff. Two projects were conducted with emergency funding from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). One additional project was funded by the DfE and one by the trade union, UNISON. The projects were conducted between May 2020 and November 2021.
Findings
While primary schools were enormously resourceful in finding ways to respond to the challenges COVID posed locally, policymakers struggled to make good decisions at a national level. The incapacity of policymakers to draw on practitioner knowledge at a time of crisis hampered system functioning. The projects suggested a need to rebalance how practitioner, research and policymaking communities interact.
Read about the findings, download policy briefing notes, reports and publications from the pages below.
Project 1. A duty of care and a duty to teach: educational priorities in response to the COVID-19 crisis
Funder: UKRI/ ESRC. Reference number: ES/V00414X/1. May to September 2020.
Researchers: Gemma Moss, Alice Bradbury, Annette Braun, Sam Duncan, Sinead Harmey, Rachael Levy, UCL IOE; Rebecca Allen, Teacher Tapp, expert advisor – Professor Carol Vincent.
The project used a mix of quantitative and qualitative research tools including surveys and interviews to collect data from a representative sample of primary school teachers (See Moss et al, 2020 for detailed analysis). Survey and interview questions explored how teachers were responding to the challenges they faced during periods of school closures and any lessons they drew from their experiences for education going forward.
Outputs
See Primary Education during COVID for detailed information.
Project 2. Learning through disruption: rebuilding primary education using local knowledge
Funder: UKRI/ ESRC. Reference number: ES/W002086/1. April to November 2021.
Researchers: Gemma Moss, Alice Bradbury, Annette Braun, Sam Duncan, Sinead Harmey, Rachael Levy, UCL IOE.
This project used a case study design to explore in more detail how schools in different areas of the country, where COVID has been prevalent, had dealt with the challenges they faced (See Moss et al, 2021). In-depth interviews were held with the Heads, a range of staff holding other roles, and parents as well as the brokering organisation that had put us in touch with the school to get their perspective on the crisis. These included Academies, Local Authorities, other organisations supporting schools, and trade unions.
Outputs
See Primary Education during COVID for detailed information.
Project 3. Mitigating impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on primary and lower secondary children during school closures
Funder: DfE, May to Sept 2021.
A systematic review of the evidence of harms to primary and lower secondary pupils, and mitigations strategies to address them. This was commissioned by the Department of Education (DfE) through the International Public Policy Observatory (IPPO) in May 2021 (Moss et al, 2021).
Output
Read about the findings and download the report: Mitigating impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on primary and lower secondary children during school closures.
Project 4. The role of Teaching Assistants during the COVID crisis
Funder: UNISON, union representing teacher assistants. January to March 2021.
The research team conducted a large-scale, national survey of teaching assistants (TAs) working in schools in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland during February 2021, during the Winter 2021 lockdown. The majority of our 9,055 respondents worked in primary or early years settings (70%), 12% were in secondary, and 13% in special schools.
Researchers: Gemma Moss (PI), Alice Bradbury, Sinead Harmey, Rachael Levy and Rob Webster.
This project used a survey of teaching/classroom assistants distributed by UNISON to its members and by IOE research team to their networks. The survey received 9055 valid responses.
Output
The report tells a compelling story about how vital TAs have been in keeping schools open during lockdowns and keeping children learning. It includes seven key findings and three recommendations arising directly from the data we collected.
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Phil Meech for UCL.