Parents' difficulty in supporting students and lack of Internet access were challenges for remote learning, survey finds TIC Education survey

Among the main measures to face the crisis, schools provided printed pedagogical materials and created groups in apps and social networks to facilitate communication

Parents' or guardians' difficulties in guiding and supporting students in school activities are among the main challenges faced by schools in conducting pedagogical activities during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to 93% of school managers in Brazil, this is indicated by the TIC Education 2020 survey (COVID-19 Edition - Adapted Methodology). Data also indicate that the lack of devices, such as computers and cell phones, and Internet access in students' homes are among the most cited challenges by school managers (86%).

The survey by the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee (CGI.br) is conducted by the Regional Center for Studies on the Development of the Information Society (Cetic.br) of the Brazilian Network Information Center (NIC.br), and was released this Tuesday (8/31). The methodology used in this edition had to be adapted to the limitations imposed by the pandemic and was conducted through telephone interviews with managers of public schools (municipal, state, and federal) and private schools in urban and rural areas.

In 65% of the total school institutions, attending students in social vulnerability conditions was also cited as one of the challenges faced during this period. This percentage was even higher among schools located in the North region (73%), among municipal (77%) and state schools (74%), and among those located in rural areas (73%).

“The data from this edition of the survey clearly show that schools, educators, parents, and students sought ways to adapt to the new scenario, facing infrastructure and connectivity problems to continue pedagogical activities during the pandemic,” ponders Alexandre Barbosa, manager of Cetic.br|NIC.br.

Measures to face the crisis
The survey presents, among other points, an overview of how schools adapted to remote learning. To prevent pedagogical activities from being stopped during the pandemic, 93% of educational institutions reported implementing scheduling strategies so that parents and guardians could collect printed activity and pedagogical materials from the school, while 91% said they created groups in apps or social networks like WhatsApp or Facebook to communicate with students or parents and guardians.

In 62% of schools, partnerships with community leaders for communication with families, and sending educational materials to students were adopted measures. This strategy is cited in a larger proportion by rural schools (71%) and among schools located in interior towns (63%).

Use of digital technologies in conducting remote activities
The proportion of urban schools that have a profile or page on social networks was 82%. Meanwhile, among schools located in rural areas, this percentage was 29%, measured for the first time by TIC Education.

Another digital resource used by schools for pedagogical activities during this period was recorded and made available video lessons to students, according to 79% of schools. The use of this resource showed lower proportions in schools in the North (49%) and Northeast (77%) regions, in schools located in rural areas (59%), among municipal schools (70%), and among smaller schools, with up to 50 enrolled students (63%).

The use of virtual learning environments or platforms as a support resource for the continuity of pedagogical activities during the pandemic was quite cited by state (80%) and private (75%) schools, a percentage that among municipal schools was 42%. Schools located in urban areas (70%) also showed higher proportions of using these resources. According to the 2019 edition of the survey, 28% of urban school institutions had a virtual learning environment or platform.

Connectivity: providing access conditions and use of technologies
According to the TIC Education 2020, 82% of schools have Internet access, a percentage that rises to 98% among schools located in urban areas and is 52% among schools located in rural areas. By administrative dependency, private (98%) and state (94%) schools show higher proportions compared to municipal schools (71%). Schools with a smaller number of enrolled students also show lower proportions of network access: 69% among those with 51 to 150 enrollments and 55% among schools with up to 50 enrollments.

Regarding the presence of digital devices, most schools have desktop computers (91%) or laptops (79%) in operation. The presence of tablets in schools is smaller: 21% of schools have this type of device in operation. Such devices are less present in schools located in rural areas (76% of them have a desktop computer and 65% have a laptop, 37% have no device at all). More than half of schools received new computers in the last five years (57%), and in 23% of schools, the devices were updated less than a year ago.

“The great challenge is to ensure the availability of digital devices for pedagogical use, both in terms of the presence of equipment and the amount and condition of connectivity of these devices,” explains Alexandre Barbosa, manager of Cetic.br|NIC.br. Among municipal schools, 46% do not have any desktop computer and 44% any laptop for student use, while only 22% of them have more than six desktop computers available for pedagogical use, and 6% more than six laptops.

“Besides exemplifying the challenging scenario faced by school institutions since the beginning of the pandemic last year, the statistical data from the TIC Education survey are extremely relevant for the development, by public authorities, of computerization and digital inclusion policies in Brazilian schools,” concludes Marcio Migon, coordinator of CGI.br.

About the survey
The TIC Education survey has been conducted since 2010 by Cetic.br, aiming to investigate the access, use, and appropriation of information and communication technologies (TIC) in Brazilian public and private elementary and high schools. Due to the sanitary measures implemented in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, data collection for this 11th edition was conducted through an adapted methodology. Conducted between September 2020 and June 2021, the survey conducted telephone interviews with 3,678 managers of public (municipal, state, and federal) and private schools. In total, 2,009 schools located in urban areas and 1,669 schools located in rural areas were interviewed.

To access the full list of indicators, visit: https://cetic.br/en/pesquisa/educacao/indicadores/. To review the online launch of the survey, access: https://youtu.be/5xSQ3pNkrA4.

About Cetic.br
The Regional Center for Studies on the Development of the Information Society (Cetic.br), part of NIC.br, is responsible for producing indicators and statistics on Internet access and use in Brazil, disseminating surveys and sectorial studies on the development of the network in the country. Cetic.br is a Regional Study Center, under the auspices of UNESCO. More information at https://cetic.br/.

About the Brazilian Network Information Center - NIC.br
The Brazilian Network Information Center — NIC.br (https://nic.br/) is a private, non-profit civil entity responsible for operating the .br domain, as well as distributing IP numbers and registering Autonomous Systems in the country. NIC.br implements the decisions and projects of the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee - CGI.br since 2005, and all resources collected are from its activities, which are of an eminently private nature. It conducts actions and projects that bring benefits to the Internet infrastructure in Brazil. NIC.br includes: Registro.br (https://registro.br), CERT.br (https://cert.br/), Ceptro.br (https://ceptro.br/), Cetic.br (https://cetic.br/), IX.br (https://ix.br/) and Ceweb.br (https://ceweb.br), as well as projects like Internetsegura.br (https://internetsegura.br) and the Best Practices Portal for the Internet in Brazil (https://bcp.nic.br/). It also hosts the W3C Chapter São Paulo office (https://w3c.br/).

About the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee - CGI.br
The Brazilian Internet Steering Committee, responsible for setting strategic guidelines related to the use and development of the Internet in Brazil, coordinates and integrates all Internet services initiatives in the country, promoting technical quality, innovation, and dissemination of the services offered. Based on the principles of multisectoralism and transparency, CGI.br represents a democratic Internet governance model, praised internationally, where all sectors of society participate equally in its decisions. One of its formulations is the 10 Principles for the Governance and Use of the Internet (https://cgi.br/principios). More information at https://cgi.br/. 

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Communication Advisory – NIC.br
Caroline D’Avo – Communications Manager – caroline@nic.br
Carolina Carvalho – Communication Coordinator – carolcarvalho@nic.br
Soraia Marino – Communication Analyst – soraia@nic.br
Bruna Migues - Communication Analyst - bmigues@nic.br

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