Pressure On Parents To Buy Laptop Or Tablet.

Pressure On Parents To Buy Laptop Or Tablet.

Together with Kassa we investigated how schools handle buying a laptop or tablet. Parents mainly have high costs at secondary school. They also feel quite a bit of pressure from school.

Many schools digital

Many schools use a laptop or tablet to support teaching or have fully switched to digital education. Especially at secondary school, as many as 9 out of 10 parents say their child needs one or both devices. At primary school, this applies to 63% of parents.

Parents at secondary school mostly pay

The survey shows that parents with children at secondary school mainly have to pay for a laptop or tablet themselves. Primary schools provide many laptops or tablets themselves. Almost half of these parents say the school provides this. Only one in seven is asked to pay themselves. At secondary school it is the opposite: 8% of parents say the school provides a laptop or tablet. The large majority of 84% have to buy a laptop, tablet, or even both themselves.

High costs for parents

Costs for parents with children at secondary school are high. The costs are almost always over €250. More than half of parents pay over €400, and for 10% costs are even above €700. Parents who need to buy a laptop usually pay more than those who need a tablet.

Besides buying the device, parents often pay extra costs. This applies to 71% of parents. This money usually goes to a protective case, insurance, maintenance, deductible, software, and damage handling. Parents with several children at secondary school have to buy devices for each child in almost half of cases. Costs for parents add up quite a bit.

Too high costs

Half of parents say the costs are too high. Especially parents with children in vmbo or Practical education track think so. Most parents (71%) have trouble paying the costs. Almost half of schools offer a payment plan for these parents. Some parents pay extra costs because of this: they pay more than parents without a payment plan. Many parents also say it is possible to buy the device with a discount via a permanent supplier of the school.

Free choice?

Most parents have no or little free choice when buying a laptop or tablet. Half of parents must buy a certain brand and model. A third of schools give technical requirements for buying. Almost two-thirds of schools do not allow parents to buy a cheaper or other model. A quarter of parents say that buying must be done through the school. More than three-quarters of parents feel pressured by the school, more than half fully agree with this statement.

Alternative

On top of that, most parents say the school does not offer an alternative (49%), or they do not know what happens if they do not buy the device (32%). Alternatives parents mention include books, loan laptops that cannot be taken home, rented laptops, another class, or payment by a fund for low-income parents. Most parents think students are in a special position if they do not have their own laptop or tablet. Almost 90% think the school should provide the equipment if it is needed for school. Do you want to know the rules about this? Then read more about the parental contribution and digital learning tools.

Digital learning tools and school choice

Buying or using a laptop or tablet plays no important role in school choice for most parents. Only one in seven parents considers this. It seems parents are becoming more aware of this topic. Parents of children in lower grades knew beforehand about the use and more often chose a school with digital tools on purpose. In higher grades, parents more often say they found out later.

Kassa broadcast

On Saturday 8 September, the tv program Kassa paid attention to the research. Watch the broadcast here, with Ouders & Onderwijs:

Landelijk Ouderpanel

The questionnaire of Ouders & Onderwijs and Kassa was completed by 1005 parents with children in primary and secondary education. The research was done via the Landelijk Ouderpanel and social media. Do you also want to share your opinion about school, education and participation? Sign up for the Landelijk Ouderpanel.