The global spread of COVID-19 has caused disruptions in many aspects of our lives. Education systems worldwide have changed dramatically. Numerous countries have encouraged schools to shift to e-learning and, as a result, parental involvement in their children’s education has changed. This study focused on parental involvement in children’s education during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study applied a qualitative phenomenological approach following a constructive social framework, whereby the researcher pursued an understanding of the world in which she lives and works. The primary tool employed to collect relevant data was in-depth interviews with six parents who voluntarily participated in the study in the western province of Saudi Arabia. Thematic analysis is applied to analyse the collected data. The study found that parental involvement in children’s schooling has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, the interviews revealed that parents would prefer to keep to their chosen role rather than fulfil the teaching role imposed on them by COVID-19. This paper contributes to the application of Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler’s model of parental involvement in children’s schooling, illustrating that an external force drives parental involvement. More specifically, many parents have been forced to change the form of their participation due to the unforeseen shift to e-learning.

Parental choices in non-compulsory pre -primary education are typically analysed in relation to dispositions influenced by class-related cultural capital. In Saudi Arabia, where early childhood education is yet to be fully institutionalised, other local socio-cultural dynamics enter in the formulation and approval of choice. This article focuses on choices and their justification expressed by a group of mothers from the wealthy Saudi middle class encountered at a private preschool in the city of Al-Madinah. The article reports the complexity of strategies of distinction in a conservative society that tends to exacerbate the weight of others on individual decisions. In particular, the protective importance of social networks is revealed when singular models of education are chosen, which, albeit promoted by the government in the name of modernity, remain disapproved of by many across the social spectrum.

Transitioning from secondary to higher education is not a natural step for many first-year university students. Most female students who join Taibah University did not have the chance to visit the university and get to know the programs offered there before they applied. Therefore, the Childhood Studies Department within the College of Family Sciences has initiated the present program – My Uni-Buddy. The program was applied on a small scale to create connection between first-year students and their fellow students in the third year. The aim of the program is to support new students and help them adjust quickly to their new life. The study employs a qualitative approach in which interviews were carried out to collect the relevant data. The findings show that first-year students hughly benefited from the program in the academic and social aspects.

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