What do students want from schools after lockdown? 73% call for flexibility

Students are back in school. The wait is over and while there’s a mix of anxiety and excitement, it’s also the start of a new normal for this year’s students. We have learned so much in 2020 and had lots of debates about what to do going forward but what about the student perspective? Team Teacherly was interested to hear what students thought about the future of education, so we conducted a study, polling the opinions of over 500 children in Britain aged 10–18.

The results are in: students want a more flexible learning approach to education. Pupils are aware of their different learning needs and want learning options that will better support them.

Almost three quarters (73%) of children across the country think schools should be more flexible and student-focused in the future. Whether we use different locations, different types of lessons, or take advantage of more flexible learning hours, it’s clear that students want their education to be more flexible.

Working from home

After spending several months learning from home during the pandemic, 43% of students said that they would now like the option of either going into school or staying home to learn in the future. Our CEO Atif Mahmood comments:

“Flexible working is something that’s encouraged for adults in the workplace, so why should this be any different for school pupils? Now schools are back, they will need to help children transition back into full-time education, so a hybrid model where we see co-learning spaces complement remote learning could work well for some students who have embraced the flexibility of working from home.”

However, we must also consider the students whose parents work full time, as 30% of respondents with parents working full time said that their parent(s) found it difficult to help them when they encountered challenges while learning from home. Something many of us will relate to. But the right technology can certainly help, especially if teachers can track a student’s progression through the lesson and see in real time when they need help and are able to intervene straight away.

Blended learning

• Over half of children (53%) said that they would welcome the idea of a ‘virtual’ Open School — where they can learn through online courses and lessons but can talk to teachers face-to-face online as well.
• A quarter (25%) felt this would help teachers with aspects such as ‘crowd control,’ behaviour issues, and reaching those who don’t meet their full potential in a traditional school setting
• Over a third (39%) simply like the choice and flexibility a virtual school would provide them.
• (44%) say they would like to be able to learn from home on days where they can’t or don’t want to go into school.

However, going to school in-person is still important to students. 57% of pupils agreed that school is as much about seeing friends as it is about learning and 81% say that they like seeing teachers and friends when they go into school. 63% who learnt at home said they missed being with their classmates and working together on tasks. These numbers suggest that traditional, in-school learning still has its place for social interaction and building relationships as well as learning.

At Teacherly, we believe that a blended learning approach this year is key to helping students ‘catch-up’ on lost time while remaining fully engaged, it might also be the catalyst for further positive change within education systems.

Flexible hours

Student well-being is important, and more flexible learning hours would mean that students are able to spend more time exploring their interests and taking care of their well-being. 42% said that they want to be able to balance learning with other activities that make them happy — such as spending time with families or pursuing a hobby. This balance is important, as pupil wellbeing and readiness to learn are closely linked.

Furthermore, different students are more productive at different times of the day. Almost half (45%) acknowledge that there may be learning hours that better suit them outside of the traditional school day, such as early in the morning or during the evening. Flexible learning hours mean that students can optimize their learning time and get the most out of their studies.

The future of flexible education

It’s clear that we are entering a new era — an era of flexible working and greater balance where people can be more productive working at times that best suit them. This should apply to students and their teachers as much as it does to the office workforce.

Whilst we are very much living in uncertain times, it’s important to acknowledge that children are individual human beings, each with their own style of learning. Lockdown has made them more aware of their own needs and now they are particularly open to flexible options.

A traditional school setting remains important for learning and building relationships, but some children have thrived while being home-schooled and are much happier as a result.

To find out how Teacherly can help you with a flexible learning approach, sign up here for free or get in touch with ashna@teacherly.io for a personal demo of the platform.