Secondary school students’ perception of the online teaching experience during COVID-19: The impact on mental wellbeing and specific learning difficulties

Background Student engagement and concentration is critical for successful learning. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a dramatic increase in the use of online learning which may affect engagement and concentration, particularly for those students with specific learning difficulties. Aims Students would show lower scores on all the measures of student experience when judging these during online learning versus learning within the classroom. This negative impact of online learning on concentration, engagement, perceived learning, and self-worth compared to classroom education would be more significant for those with specific learning difficulties. The drop in student experience scores due to online learning would be associated with poorer mental well-being. Sample Four hundred seven pupils aged 11–18 years at a secondary education school in Wales. Methods A retrospective online survey comparing pupils’ normal classroom experience to learning online during the first national lockdown in the United Kingdom (March–July 2020). Results Pupils’ learning experiences (concentration, engagement, ability to learn, and self-worth from learning) were significantly lower for online learning compared to the classroom learning. These differences were more marked in students with specific learning difficulties. Perceived ability to learn and engage during classroom and online learning were also associated with mental well-being. Conclusions The move to online learning appears to have affected students’ ability to concentrate and engage in their schoolwork and appears to have reduced their ability to learn and get self-worth from their work. These decreases are associated with a decrease in mental well-being. The effects appear to be exacerbated in some students with specific learning difficulties