Study on the factors that influence parental attitude and involvement in children's home learning: An exploratory study

Abstract

Due to the sudden closure of schools during the Covid-19 pandemic, parents were required to promote home learning in order to support their children's online learning. As a result, the quality of online learning activities provided to primary school students is dependent on parental participation. Thus, this research focuses on studying the extent to which parental factors influence the management of home learning for students. The study adopted a descriptive research design and used a purposive sampling technique to select the respondents. The data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire and semistructured interviews were distributed among the sample of students (n = 30) and parents (n = 20) whose children are studying in primary classes at a school in the district of Rathnapura, Sri Lanka. In the questionnaires, participants were asked to rate how much they agreed with the statements on a five-point Likert scale, ranging from ‘strongly disagree’ to ‘strongly agree’. The quantitative data was statistically analyzed using charts and graphs, while the qualitative data was analyzed using content analysis. This study found that parents' awareness, education level, and socioeconomic background have a significant impact on children’s home learning. The findings suggest that seminars, training programs, and workshops for parents would help enhance the knowledge and skills related to home learning. Keywords: Covid-19, Home learning, Online, Parents, Determinant factors