Peer-reviewed article
COVID-19 and Remote Learning: Experiences of Parents with Children during the Pandemic
Amber Garbe, Üzeyir Oğurlu, Nikki Logan, Perry A. Cook ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study surveyed parents in the United States about their experiences supporting their children's learning during COVID-19 school closures in spring 2020. Parents generally supported the closure decision and were satisfied with school district support, but reported significant challenges including balancing work and childcare responsibilities, keeping children motivated to learn, accessing remote learning resources, and concerns about learning outcomes. The research used online surveys and thematic coding to analyze parental responses about their greatest educational struggles during remote schooling.
Key points
- Parents generally agreed with school closure policies to control COVID-19 spread
- Parents were mostly satisfied with the level of support provided by school districts
- Major parental struggles included balancing multiple responsibilities while managing remote learning
- Parents reported difficulties with maintaining learner motivation during remote schooling
- Accessibility issues and concerns about learning outcomes were significant challenges
Limitations
This study captures parents' perceptions and reported experiences but does not measure actual learning outcomes or compare different levels of school or family support. It is unclear how representative the online survey sample is of all parents, particularly regarding access to technology and internet connectivity.
Abstract
In the spring of 2020, schools across the globe closed their doors to decrease the spread of the viral outbreak during the COVID -19 pandemic. This physical closure led to a rapid shift to remote learning which placed more responsibility for learning on parents and guardians. As one of the major stakeholders in the education process, experiences of parents with their children during remote learning are worth examining to inform future policy decision making. This study aimed to investigate parents’ experiences and struggles during school closure using an online survey. Thematic coding was conducted to analyze parental responses regarding their greatest educational struggle experienced during the COVID school closure. The results indicate parents agreed with the school closure policy and were generally satisfied with the level of support provided by school districts whilst describing some areas of struggle. Parents described having difficulties with balancing responsibilities, learner motivation, accessibility, and learning outcomes. The results of the study suggest some important implications and recommendations for educators and policymakers.