Attitudes towards e-learning in vocational education and training in the field of child protection: Survey of changes in the context of the coronavirus pandemic

Corona pandemic, e-learning, child protection, education, training, further education

01.12.2020 - 30.09.2021

Background

2020 saw both a boom in topics relating to child protection and a change in the importance of e-learning in the context of the coronavirus pandemic:

On the one hand, lockdowns and distancing measures in the context of the coronavirus pandemic meant that almost all face-to-face training courses were cancelled from March 2020. At the same time, quarantine orders, cancellation of business trips and reduced home office operations also resulted in increased time capacities to take part in training courses. In this context, the strengths of e-learning programmes, such as flexibility in terms of time and location, are particularly evident.

On the other hand, stakeholders in child protection and initial studies have pointed to an increased risk of violence against children in the context of the coronavirus pandemic in Germany. The resulting increased need for further training in child protection was widely discussed publicly and politically. The Baden-Württemberg Child Protection Commission also issued recommendations on the use of digital media in professional training in child protection. It was recommended that the topic of child protection should be included in the basic, advanced and further training of all professionals who work with children and young people. Due to their wide availability, e-learning programmes were mentioned here as a further training option.

In the context of the project, various surveys were conducted to analyse the attitudes of adults towards e-learning, their experience with e-learning in a professional context and the subjectively perceived effects of the coronavirus pandemic on these constructs. One focus was on surveying people who work in social professions or with children/young people.

To this end, graduates of e-learning courses on child protection topics at the Ulm Clinic for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychotherapy were surveyed online, people interested in the topic of child protection were also surveyed online and, finally, a population-representative survey was conducted by the market and social research institute USUMA in face-to-face interviews with an associated self-completion questionnaire section. In addition, qualitative telephone interviews will be conducted with people in order to explore in greater depth the issues surrounding the continuation of digital learning programmes and possible access to new target groups.

Project description

The quantitative surveys provide data from a total of over 2,800 people. Initial analyses show that professionals in the social professions are open to e-learning as a training method and that e-learning can be attractive to people with different socio-demographic backgrounds. People who have already taken part in e-learning training have a more positive attitude towards e-learning than people without e-learning experience. The disadvantages and advantages of e-learning are confirmed by the aspects already described in the research (disadvantage: no exchange; advantage: flexibility). It became clear that access to e-learning programmes and (anticipated) support from the working environment should be expanded.

Corresponding publications are in preparation.