A Preliminary Examination of Key Strategies, Challenges, and Benefits of Remote Learning Expressed by Parents During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Among the many impacts of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, one of the most dramatic was the immediate closure of in-person schooling in March/April 2020 when parents were faced with much greater responsibility in supporting their children's learning. Despite this, few studies have examined parents' own perspectives of this experience. The aims of this preliminary study were to (a) identify challenges, benefits, and useful strategies related to remote learning and (b) examine differences in findings across two countries, between parents of youth with and without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and between parents of children and adolescents. To address these aims, parent responses to open-ended questions on the Home Adjustment to COVID-19 Scale (HACS; Becker, Breaux, et al., 2020) were examined across three studies conducted in the United States and Australia (N = 606, children: 68.5% male, ages 6-17 years). The challenges most frequently expressed by parents included the child's difficulty staying on task (23.8% of parents), lack of motivation (18.3%), remote learning factors (17.8%), and lack of social interaction (14.4%). The most frequently expressed strategy related to using routines and schedules (58.2%) and the biggest benefit was more family time (20.3%). Findings were largely consistent across countries, ADHD status, and age, with a few notable group differences. Given that the most common challenges involved child-(e.g., difficulties with staying on task and motivation), parent-(e.g., balancing remote learning with work responsibilities), and school- (e.g., remote instruction difficulties) related factors, there is a need for improved support across these systems going forward.

Automated summary

The COVID-19 pandemic led to the immediate closure of in-person schooling, placing greater responsibility on parents to support their children's learning. A study examining parents' perspectives found that common challenges include difficulty in staying on task, lack of motivation, remote learning factors, and lack of social interaction. The most frequently expressed strategy is the use of routines and schedules, and the biggest benefit is increased family time. These findings were consistent across countries, ADHD status, and age.