Connection before content: using multiple perspectives to examine student engagement during Covid-19 school closures in Ireland

The impact of the Covid-19 school closures on children and young people has been significant, with research suggesting that it has disproportionately negatively affected students from areas of socio-economic disadvantage. With the move to remote schooling, the focus on ensuring classes continued to 'cover the curriculum' left little space for considering how students were engaging with learning, or the factors that influenced their engagement. This paper aims to examine the extent to which student-teacher relationships, and modes of online teaching and learning, impacted on student engagement during Covid-19 school closures in Irish second-level schools. Using data from two research studies, this paper provides insights into the teacher experience of school closures and a more focused view of the experiences of second-level students attending schools in areas of socio-economic disadvantage. The findings highlight two things: firstly, that meaningful connection between teachers and students matters for student engagement in remote learning, particularly for students at risk of educational disadvantage. Secondly, where teachers use innovative teaching and learning methods and encourage the development of students' key skills there is increased student engagement. This paper acts as a timely reminder of the importance of relationships in student engagement especially during periods of crisis.