Self-assessment by elementary and secondary pupils in Lucerne Canton

In June 2020, about 16,000 pupils, 3,700 teachers, 2,400 parents and 1,200 vocational trainers in Lucerne Canton took part in a survey about distance learning that was commissioned by the canton’s education and cultural departments. The large-scale survey was conducted by LINK.

Based on the respondents’ self-assessment, nearly two-thirds of pupils described the results of their distance learning as being similar to the results of in-person instruction. The assessment by teachers was more critical. But no objective assessment could be done due to the lack of tests.

Dr. David Studer, Senior Project Head for Social Research, Dr. Sabrina Pfister, Senior Project Head for Social Research, and Dr. Sabine Frenzel, the Department Head of Social Research, used this study as a basis for research into the effect that age, knowledge of German and technical conditions had on the self-assessment of pupil performance during distance learning.

The overall results showed that, fundamentally, teachers had a more positive impression of distance learning than expected. The research also found that the opportunities created by distance learning to do such things as address the individual abilities of pupils should be more frequently used in the future.

The entire story can be found in «Bildung Schweiz (2021, issue 1).»