Dr. Ann Marcus-Quinn:

I thank the committee for the opportunity to speak on the future of STEM education in the context of access and equity in the current digital strategy.

Schools, particularly post-primary schools, have changed remarkably since March 2020. The inspectorate’s Looking at Our School 2022 acknowledges this in its quality framework. In February 2020, a review of tablet devices and how they were used in one school was formally published. There was no opportunity to discuss the findings and recommendations of this review because the country was in the grip of a pandemic. We are now in the grip of a cost-of-living crisis. More schools require students to purchase a mandated device to participate in classroom activities and complete parts of the State examinations. We need wider societal dialogue about how technology is embedded in our schools.

The use of ICT has been embedded into all six key skills for junior cycle. This is progressive, especially as technology becomes more and more embedded in many aspects of our daily lives. The digital strategy for post-primary is ambitious and provides a comprehensive roadmap that endeavours to ensure that our school system is preparing our school communities for the modern world.

International research recognises the need for appropriate investment in technology in education. In the final report of the expert group on quality education for the European Commission, the authors recommended that significant policy attention should be given to and investment should be made in improving the digital infrastructure in schools. This involves hardware, technical support and software. The Department of Education has increased the level of investment in the digital strategy for schools in recent years. However, given the level of funding available and the autonomy of schools, there remains a great deal of inequality in terms of how technologies are used to provide a quality and equitable education for all.

The three most common scenarios in schools are as follows. In scenario A, the school is a one-to-one device school. Every student must purchase a specific device for classroom work. Some 23% of parents responding to the 2022 Barnardos survey stated that they had to pay more than €300 for digital technology for their child. For many parents, the cost is closer to €1,000 when other costs are factored in. This scenario puts a financial burden on parents that varies widely depending on the school. Not all one-to-one device schools are using the same quality of digital content. In some schools, teachers cannot use textbooks or ebooks. Teachers may have to develop their own digital resources. This expectation of such content development is leading to several problems, including copyright concerns and an undue burden on teachers to become instructional designers.

In scenario B, the school has a bring-your-own-device, BYOD, policy. This range of devices being used varies hugely.

The school has little control over what social media is accessed during the school day. It is much more difficult to implement any kind of digital policy in this scenario. The risk of child safeguarding issues is much higher. This scenario essentially forces some families to buy their 12-year-olds a smartphone. Research, which includes research carried out by the ESRI, provides evidence that children under 13 with a smartphone are negatively impacted. There is also a financial cost to parents. In scenario C, the school has appropriately equipped ICT labs or an adequate trolley system in place or both for the use of technology in class. Everything is monitored and safer. No personal devices are used. This type of scenario requires significant funding, however. The new digital strategy is our best roadmap to date in terms of building digital skills and competencies. Devices are an attractive option for many schools. as having a tablet or a laptop can negate the problematic issues that can arise with smartphones. However, changing the current systems to improve the value of these purchases for both teachers and students at post-primary level is critical if equity of the digital experience is to be achieved. The Department should consider a centralised approach to both the procurement and provision of digital devices and the necessary ICT systems in order to support well-informed digital school policies and investments. The Department should also provide a recommendation regarding a common minimum standard for both student and teacher devices. A circular was published in 2017 providing recommendations on uniform purchases. A similar approach is necessary for the purchase of technology and associated services until a centralised approach and formal tendering process can be devised.