Educators believe too little is being spent on #EdTech

Nationwide education survey highlights growing financial concerns as over half of school leaders say budgets will make it difficult to achieve objectives

Highlighting serious financial challenges in the education sector across the UK and Ireland, 54 percent of school leaders have reported that budgets will make it difficult for their school to realise its strategic objectives in the year ahead.

Over the past four years, the Promethean State of Technology in Education Report has delved deeper than the realms of technology to gain a broader understanding of the challenges and successes educators are experiencing – plotting real trends in educator opinions. This year, the survey of over 2,000 educators across the UK and Ireland has pointed toward growing pressures around school budgets and the impacts they might have on teaching and learning.

• 72 percent of school leaders say budgets will have the biggest impact on student education in the year ahead.
• Compared to last year, almost five times as many school leaders say operations and maintenance will be the top spending priority after salaries (11 percent in 2018/19 up to 49 percent this year).
• Additional learning support will see a significant increase in priority, rising from 5 percent in 2018/19 up to 30 percent in 2019/20).
• Technology spend rises to fourth place in budget priorities – 16 percent of school leaders say they will spend most of their budget on technology in the coming year (compared to 4 percent in 2018/19). 
• 46 percent of respondents believe too little is spent on tech – the highest level in the four year period.

The findings of the State of Technology in Education Report 2019/20 reaffirm the budgetary challenges schools are facing and demonstrate how there is a consensus that financial difficulties are intensifying. The biggest changes to spending are towards operational necessities such as building maintenance and adequate support for pupils with additional learning needs. A rise in the placement of technology in spending priorities, coupled with educators believing too little is being spent on tech, suggests more investment in technology is also needed in schools.

“The issue of budgetary constraints in schools is not a new concept and unfortunately is something that has made headlines regularly in recent years. What is interesting from the results of the State of Technology in Education Report 2018/19, is that we are seeing an increase in the concern voiced by educators over the four years the report has been running. There are more signs that budgets are creating barriers to teaching and learning through limited budgets being soaked up on vital operational costs such as salaries and maintenance or learning support.

“Given the pressures schools are facing, it is more important than ever that educational suppliers work closely with schools to understand their needs and allow them to get the most out of investments,” commented Rachel Ashmore Head of Promethean Academy.

About the Promethean State of Technology in Education Report 2019/20: Run annually by global education technology company, Promethean, since 2016, now in its fourth year, the report findings are plotting real trends in the education sector, not only on technology adoption and usage, but also wider challenges facing schools.

The 2019/2020 survey:

• Ran online from April to July 2019
• Had a sample size of 2,028
• Canvassed opinions from teachers, school leaders and IT managers
• Covered England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland