Parents’ perceptions of remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

This mixed-methods study aims to explore parents’ perceptions of parental involvement in the education of primary school-aged children in the home environment during the COVID-19 pandemic. 100 questionnaires were gathered and four semi-structured interviews were conducted with parents of children from Year three to six attending four state schools, four church schools and four independent schools across Malta. Data analysis shows that parents engaged in pedagogical roles to support their children during the remote learning period. The results also show that the Partnership Model of parental involvement was found to be less widely adopted in schools than the Expert and Transmission Models. Moreover, a number of obstacles hindered parental involvement during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as the use of telework and a low level of education of some of the parents. Parents suggested, amongst other things, that educators should have more face-to-face contact with them, that schools should provide teacher training on collaborating with parents as partners and that schools raise awareness on the potential impact of online resources on learning. Implementing these recommendations could significantly improve the role that parents have in their children’s education and ultimately, the current state of the local education system.