Parental involvement in homework of children with learning disabilities during distance learning: Relations with fear of COVID-19 and resilience.

Abstract

The present study investigated parental involvement in the homework of children with learning disabilities, during distance learning due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic. Also, the role of parents' fear of COVID‐19 and resilience in their involvement in homework was examined. The study involved 271 parents (140 mothers and 131 fathers) of children with learning disabilities, who studied in the fifth and sixth grade from4 schools of Thessaloniki (Greece). Parents completed a set of self‐reported questionnaires, which included a scale on parental involvement in homework, a scale on fear of COVID‐19, and a scale on resilience. According to the results, both mothers and fathers expressed a high fear of COVID‐19, a low sense of resilience, and were involved in homework mostly in terms of parental control. Parental involvement in homework was not significantly differentiated by children's gender and grade. Furthermore, the path analysis model showed that parents' fear of COVID‐19 predicted, indirectly and positively, parental control through the mediating role of resilience. The findings show how parents' current emotional state affects their involvement in the homework of children with learning disabilities. Finally, the findings imply the need for parental counseling during the pandemic, to feel more resilient and consequently supportive towards children's learning.