COVID-19 INCREASES EQUITY GAP IN AUSTRALIAN SCHOOLS

CONCERNS ABOUT STUDENTS BY ICSEA QUARTILE

RECOMMENDATIONS

1/5believed their school could

support online learning

4 timesless con�dent using

their school's primary technology

felt they had the professional learning necessary to teach

online

1/2Only

TEACHERS’ CONFIDENCE IN LOW INCOME

SCHOOLS

CONFIDENCE IN TEACHING USING PRIMARY INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY BY ICSEA QUARTILE

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4Not all con�dent 9% 5% 2% 3%

Somewhatcon�dent 32% 30% 28% 23%

Very con�dent 22% 26% 26% 30%

Con�dent 37% 39% 44% 44%

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4

Lack of access to

technology & Internet

Lack of support from a

parent of guardian

Learning ideas

A decrease in student wellbeing

Social isolation

Lack of access to

basics needs

Disruption in meeting

learning targets (e.g. VICE, ATAR, etc.)

0%

25%

50%

75%

SCHOOL SECTOR DISTRIBUTION WITHIN EACH ICSEA QUARTILE

Government Independent Religious A�liation

5.5%

88

.8%

50.8

%

5.7%

15.7%

33.5%

26.7%

26.9

%

46

.4%

26.5%

54.7%

18.8

%

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Teachers in low income schools were more likely to think that peer collaboration, instructional coaching and professional learning

were critical to their ability to teach online.

4 timesmore likely to say their school was not well-positioned to transition to online learning

4 timesmore likely to worry about

students’ access to technology

4 timesmore likely to be concerned

about students lacking access to basic needs

2 times

2 times

as likely to think that their school’s primary technology

doesn't engage students

5 timesmore likely to say they couldn't e�ectively communicate with

students and 3 times more likely to not be able to communicate

with parents

as likely to be concerned about lacking support from a parent or

guardian at home

THECONCERNS OF

THE TEACHERS IN LOW INCOME

SCHOOLS

Anticipate and Prepare for Future School Closures

Expanded Professional Learning for Teachers on Distance and Online Teaching

Initiatives to Improve Digital Inclusion for Lower-ICSEA Schools and Communities

For more information go to https://insightsfor.education

INCOME STATUS BY ICSEA VALUE*

Socioeconomic status

ICSEA Quartile

Q1

Q2

Q4

Q3

*ICSEA Value: Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage (ICSEA) is a scale that represents levels of educationaladvantage. The ISCEA score is derived directly from information in student enrolment records, such as parental occupation andeducational level. The four quarters representing a scale of relative disadvantage (“Q1”) through to relative advantage (“Q4”).

COVID-19 has signi�cantly impacted schools in economically disadvantaged areas, further increasing barriers to an equitable education.

We surveyed over 2,100 teachers in 1,155 Australian schools on their experience of online teaching and learning due to COVID-19. Our research found that the rapid shift to home

learning exacerbated existing inequities in our system. Below is a summary of our �ndings.

Download our whitepaper here.