Impact of COVID on education, aspirations and expectations

Outside the obvious impacts such job losses and school buildings being closed, learners globally reported that the pandemic has affected their expectations and aspirations.

Sadly, a quarter of those surveyed reported that they had lost their job or faced reduced income as a result of the pandemic. Other negative impacts included mums who had had to give up their own education in order to support their children's homeschooling, school leavers who had to drop out of further education due to their parents losing their job. For other students the pressure of being their family's sole breadwinner meant there was limited time left for study. Learners also mentioned that plans to progress to an overseas university had been thwarted. However, many people also commented that ABE's quick transition to open-book exams and flexibility, in allowing units to be booked one at a time, had enabled them to continue learning albeit at a slower pace in some cases.

On the work front, there were also some who had seen opportunity. Many of these people set up online businesses, often areas traditionally catered for by retail outlets. There was also a strong feeling that business and entrepreneurship skills were more crucial than ever. Over half of all those surveyed felt it was now more likely they would need to work for themselves at some point in the future.

Respondents recognised that technology was now more crucial to successful learning but 61% found poor internet connectivity was a barrier, this included those in the UK, Germany and Hong Kong.

87%

AGREE

COVID has made business and entrepreneurial skills are more important than ever

86%

AGREE

Education and professional development are more important than ever

51%

AGREE

COVID has made it more likely I will work for myself

Despite responses from a wide cross-section of people, from those who had been unable to complete their qualification to those who had graduated from ABE for some time, against all our metrics, well over 90% of participants felt their ABE studies had been worthwhile and of long-term value. Here's what learners told us:

I have business and management skills which that will be useful throughout my career

96%

agree

95% I feel more confident about progressing academically

agree

I feel more confident about moving into a management role

95%

agree

I would recommend ABE

93%

agree

"Well I can only say, thank you for not cancelling the exam session during the Pandemic otherwise we wouldn't have progressed to the level we are at. Open book exams are not as easy I thought but a better alternative considering the circumstances." Angel, L5, Zambia