Leadership

Wider Harms of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Learners, Students and Staff Within Higher Education

Covid-19 has resulted in some educational experiences not fully covering the required breadth of knowledge and experience in order for students to develop the necessary skills required for the workplace.

This paper by the Scottish Government considers the indirect, wider harms of the pandemic on students, learners and staff within the Further Education, Higher Education and Community Learning and Development sectors from the perspective of stakeholders and drawing on the findings or relevant reports relating to these sectors.

The Covid-19 pandemic has affected Further Education (FE), Higher Education (HE) and the Community Learning and Development (CLD) sector for the past three academic years. During academic years 2019-20 and 2020-21 there were significant public health measures in place that affected students for long periods of time.

For the 2021-22 session, although the student experience has been closer to what it was pre-Covid, there has still been an ongoing cumulative wider impact on students and learners, where institutions have been implementing voluntary additional measures going beyond the requirements of the statutory guidance.

During the past three academic years, in-person teaching and learning has been subject to a range of protective measures, some of which have led to significant changes to the format and experience of learning, both negatively and cumulatively affecting the quality of the learning experiences of Scotland’s students and learners.

The vast majority of students’ educational experience has been adversely affected by reduced levels of in-person teaching and learning. However, the most significant deficits are likely to have been experienced by the most socially disadvantaged and vulnerable students and learners, and by those who have studied vocational courses or courses with significant practical elements where there has been a lack of access to work placements.

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