Absentee teachers

A National Education Inspectorate (NEI) survey has revealed that 49 per cent of students reported their teachers were sometimes absent from online classes while schools were closed in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The results are contained in the COVID edition of the NEI’s Students’ Voices survey administered between October 2020 and January 2021.

The results of the survey are just now being made public.

“Students reported variations in the level of attendance of their teachers to classes. Overall, 50 per cent of the students felt that their teachers were always present for class while 49 per cent felt their teachers were sometimes present,” the NEI report said.

According to the survey, the poor attendance of teachers to online classes was more pronounced at the secondary level.

“The stability of Internet connection may have an effect on online presence among teachers and students alike. However, when the data were disaggregated by level, it was found that teacher presence was more consistent at the primary level. Eighty-five per cent of primary-level students reported that their teachers were always present for class compared to 42 per cent of secondary students,” the findings noted.

The survey also revealed that during the pandemic-induced school lockdown, students were generally not pleased with the level of feedback they received from their teachers.

“Students were generally not content with the amount of feedback provided and submitted this as their strongest recommendation for improving lessons. Approximately one-third of them reported that they received sufficient feedback from their teachers. Students at the primary level felt they received significantly more feedback than students at the secondary level,” read a section of the analysis of the responses of students to the NEI’s stakeholder satisfaction surveys.

The report also noted: “Less than a third of the students felt that they received sufficient feedback from their teachers, while two-thirds of them felt it was inadequate. Further analysis revealed that 59 per cent of primary-level students felt that feedback was sufficient compared to 26 per cent of secondary students.”

STUDENT RECOMMENDATIONS

According to the NEI survey, students were given an opportunity to suggest one thing their teacher could do to make their class better.

The survey said the strongest recommendations that emerged from students’ comments were that teachers should provide more effective feedback to students and utilise more creative methods in the delivery of online lessons.

“Students also suggested better management of some online classes; a few stated their preference for the resumption of face-to-face classes. A few of the students stated that their teachers were doing as best as they could and they found nothing that needed to be changed.”

NOT AWARE

In response to the results of the Students’ Voices survey, Winston Smith, head of the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA), said since he assumed the post of president in August 2021, no principals have filed complaints with the teachers’ union about poor attendance of educators and inadequate feedback to their students.

“I am not aware of the research that was done, but online teaching and learning presented many challenges for both teachers and students,” Smith said.

When asked, based on the data, whether high school teachers were shirking their responsibilities in comparison to their primary school counterparts, the JTA boss said: “What high school students may want from teachers, the teachers may not be able to do that, as they ought to be more independent at that level; while primary school students, on the other hand, are way more appreciative of what their teachers do for them and require more constant engagement as well.”

The NEI surveys were administered to over 10,000 students in 23 schools across the island and approximately 11 per cent, or 1,125 students, responded to the survey.

Seventeen schools were at the primary level and six were at the secondary level. The response rates for individual schools varied from two per cent to 61 per cent, with an overall response rate of six per cent at the primary level and 13 per cent at the secondary level.

tyrone.reid@gleanerjm.com