The ‘Our Lives Online’ CSO Pulse Survey was carried out online between Tuesday 02 November and Tuesday 16 November 2021 and was open to anyone aged 18 years and over living in Ireland. The online electronic questionnaire was available on the CSO.ie website and on all CSO social media platforms. There were 10,797 responses.

The first publication from this Pulse Survey Our Lives Online: Snapshot of Results was released on 29 November 2021. The second report Our Lives Online: Remote Work issued on 18 January 2022. This is the third, and final, publication planned from the series.  

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020) more of our work, education and social lives took place remotely. The main purpose of this publication is to give insights into the education and learning that took place online. Respondents were asked a series of questions about their online education and learning experiences during the pandemic and questions that relate to a future with remote and blended learning. We hope that this series of publications provides relevant, timely and insightful data for the public.

This report is a Frontier publication. The results in this report reflect only the responses of those who completed this Pulse Survey questionnaire. While results are benchmarked to Irish population totals, the findings cannot be fully generalised to the entire Irish population, as the people who answered the questionnaire were not chosen at random from the population. Even with this caveat however, we hope that this report provides a valuable insight into remote learning in Ireland. See the Background Notes for further details on the survey methodology.

As the COVID-19 pandemic took hold in Ireland (March 2020) 16% of respondents were in education (9% full-time and 7% part-time). Of these more than nine in 10 (93%) said their course continued online.

Overall, more than four in 10 (42%) respondents in full or part-time learning whose educational course continued online as pandemic restrictions were introduced rated their online education experience as Excellent or Good. See Table 1.1.

Almost half (46%) of female respondents rated their online education experience as Excellent or Good compared with just 38% for male respondents. See Table 1.1.

Two-in-three (66%) of those aged 45 years and older rated their online education experience as Excellent or Good, whereas for those aged 18 to 24 years just over one-in-four (26%) rated their online education experience that way. See Table 1.1.

Similarly, less than three in 10 (29%) respondents in full-time education rated their online education experience as Excellent or Good with this figure rising to more than six in 10 (61%) for those in part-time education. See Figure 1.1 and Table 1.1.

Just over one in 10 (14%) respondents in education with three or more children (including adult children) living with them rated their online education experience as Poor or Very poor. This figure rose to one-in-three (33%) for those who had no children living with them. See Table 1.1.

Over half (52%) of respondents in full or part-time education from the Border Region (Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Monaghan and Sligo) rated their online education experience as Excellent or Good. See Figure 1.2 and Table 1.1.

Those who rated their own General Health as Fair, Bad or Very bad (37%) were more likely to rate their online education experience as Poor or Very poor compared to those who rated their General Health as Good or Very good (27%). See Table 1.1.

Less than one in 10 (9%) respondents in retirement rated their online education experience as Poor or Very poor, whereas for students it was more than four in 10 (41%). See Table 1.1.

Almost half (47%) of respondents in education who rated their home broadband as Poor also rated their online education experience as Poor or Very poor. This figure fell to just one in four (25%) for those who rated their home broadband as Excellent. See Table 1.1.

Respondents living in the South-East (Carlow, Kilkenny, Waterford and Wexford) and Mid-East (Kildare, Louth, Meath and Wicklow) were in the regions most likely to choose a course that consisted of remote or blended learning. See Table 1.2.

Respondents In employment (76%) were the Primary Economic Status most likely to choose a course that consisted of remote or blended learning. See Figure 1.4 and Table 1.2.

Those with education Level 8 or above (76%) were more likely to choose a course that consisted of remote or blended learning than those with Level 7 or below (69%). See Table 1.2.

More than three-quarters (76%) of those who were not in education when the pandemic began said they would be more likely to choose a course that consisted of remote or blended learning in the future. See Table 1.2.

Overall, 35% of respondents, excluding those whose Primary Economic Status was Student, who when initially asked if they plan to return to education in the future said no, indicated that they would reconsider it if remote or blended learning was available. See Table 1.3.

Those aged between 18 - 34 years were in the age group most likely to return to education in the future if remote or blended learning was available. As age increased the likelihood of a consideration to return to education if remote or blended learning was available decreased. See Table 1.3.

As the number of children (including adult children) living with a respondent increased so too did the likelihood of consideration of a return to education should remote or blended learning be available. One in three (33%) of those with none or one child said they would consider it compared to more than four in 10 (41%) for those with three or more children living with them. See Figure 1.5 and Table 1.3.

Those currently with Level 8 education or above (40%) were more likely to consider a return to education if remote or blended learning was available than those with Level 7 education or below (29%). See Table 1.3.

More than four in 10 (44%) respondents whose Primary Economic Status was Unemployed or In receipt of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment said they would consider a return to education if remote or blended learning was available. See Table 1.3.

More than one in three (34%) respondents who rated their home broadband as Excellent compared to just under three in 10 (29%) who rated theirs as Poor would consider a return to education if remote or blended learning was available. See Table 1.3.

A higher proportion of female parents (30%) rated their primary school children's online education experience during the pandemic as Excellent or Good compared to male parents (26%). See Table 1.4.

Parents aged 18 to 34 years were in the age group that was least satisfied with 41% of them rating their primary school children's online education experience during the pandemic as Poor or Very poor, while parents aged 35 to 44 years were in the age group who were most satisfied with 32% rating their primary school children's online education experience during the pandemic as Excellent or Good. See Table 1.4.

Parents who were Unemployed or In receipt of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment were the Primary Economic Status most satisfied with their primary school children's online education experience during the pandemic with almost half (48%) saying their experience was Excellent or Good. This compares to just over one in four (26%) who were In employment and 17% who themselves were Students. See Table 1.4.

More than one in three (34%) who rated their home broadband as Excellent also rated their primary school children's online education experience during the pandemic as Excellent or Good. However, for those whose self-rated broadband was Poor, they saw their satisfaction with their primary school children's online education experience fall to just 18%. See Table 1.4.

Post-primary school (secondary)

Overall, more than three in 10 (31%) respondents who were parents of children in post-primary (secondary) school rated their children's online education experience during the pandemic as Excellent or Good. See Figure 1.6 and Table 1.4.

A higher proportion of parents with Level 8 education or above (35%) rated their post-primary (secondary) school children's online education experience during the pandemic as Excellent or Good when compared to those with Level 7 education or below (27%). See Table 1.4.

Just 14% of parents with children in post-primary (secondary) school who rated their children's online education experience during the pandemic as Excellent or Good rated their home broadband as Poor. Whereas, for those with Excellent broadband the proportion rose to almost four in 10 (38%). See Figure 1.8 and Table 1.4.

Third Level

Overall, 35% of respondents who were parents with children in third-level education rated their children's online education experience during the pandemic as Excellent or Good. See Figure 1.6 and Table 1.4.

A higher proportion of male parents (38%) rated their children's third-level online education experience during the pandemic as Excellent or Good when compared to female parents (33%). See Table 1.4.

More than four in 10 (41%) parents aged 35 to 44 year with children in third Level rated their children's online education experience during the pandemic as Excellent or Good. This proportion fell to 32% for those parents aged 45 to 54 years. See Table 1.4.