PARENTAL E-NVOLVEMENT IN REMOTE LEARNING DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic totally changed the face of education forcing schools to shift from to distance learning modality due to the strict prohibition for face-to-face classes. This crisis not only affected teachers and pupils but also the parents whose strong involvement was vital for the online distance learners to survive in this peculiar system. This phenomenological study provides a description of the parents’ experiences amidst this crisis, together with the resolutions they undertake and turn to during challenges. Meaningful insights were drawn from ten interviewed parents whose children were enrolled in Elementary under Online Distance Learning (ODL) to derive individual and composite textural descriptions from their personal life accounts. Results showed that parents experience struggles in: adjusting to the sudden change and coping with multiple tasks alongside the lack of having a stable online resource. Communication and emotional support, being a responsible parent, and managing time efficiently and effectively played a helpful role to survive the challenges. The study also highlighted parental love and emerging parent-child relationships during this challenging situation and the need for school administrators, teachers, and education specialists to address the aforementioned challenges by re-assessing the nationwide implementation of this remote educational process.