Difficult situations and ways of coping with them in the experiences of parents homeschooling their children during the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland

Abstract

The aim of the research project is to present parents' perceptions and experiences related to home education during the coronavirus pandemic, and the ways of coping with difficult situations, taking into account sociodemographic factors. At the end of March and beginning of April this year, a survey was conducted on a group of 278 parents living in Polandin a large city, small town and in the countrysideand affected by this problem. The findings indicate that a significant group of respondents described the existing situation as difficult, and the responsibilities related to home schooling as being beyond their capabilities. Parents are generally not confident about their competence and solutions they adopt; they express anxiety about the future of their children. Significant differences were observed in the ways of perceiving difficult situations and of coping with them with respect to gender and place of residence. The undertaken research is important because the voices of parents shed light on the problems of Polish education in a crisis situation, and at the same time indicate the direction of necessary changes.

COVID-19 and Higher Education: First-Year Students’ Expectations toward Distance Learning

“…Since March 2020, according to outlines given by the Polish Ministry of National Education, schools have switched to remote teaching, and schools' headmasters have become responsible for organizing the education process [13]. It is worth emphasizing that the switch focused not only on higher education institutions but also on the lower level schools and kindergartens, which closed for students and pupils overnight [14]. The school lockdown in Poland at the first stage of the COVID-19 pandemic was considered to be unprepared, unorganized, and chaotic [13].…”

Emergency remote teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic: Parents experiences and perspectives

“…While little research has been conducted to understand parents' views during this kind of learning experience, parents' perspectives and experiences of emergency remote teaching can influence the quality and quantity of online learning in the future. The studies conducted to understand parents' beliefs, attitudes, and experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic (e.g., Dong et al, 2020;Garbe et al, 2020;Parczewska, 2020;Trzcińska-Król, 2020) belong to certain grade levels and are conducted in certain countries; such as China, United States, and Poland. To fill this research gap, this particular study has reached a very large group of parents whose children attend various grade levels in Turkey.…”

Clase social y estrategias parentales de apoyo a los estudiantes en pandemia. Resultados para Chile del International COVID-19 Impact on Parental Engagement Study

“…Por un lado, un conjunto de trabajos en distintos países del mundo ha estudiado la experiencia de los padres y madres ante la educación en casa. Estas investigaciones han remarcado de manera consistente las dificultades del proceso de enseñanza en el hogar, dando cuenta de situaciones de estrés y agotamiento de parte de las familias en el marco del desafío de balancear sus nuevos roles educativos con las responsabilidades laborales, así como también de los retos que éstas enfrentan por la falta de habilidades pedagógicas y digitales para apoyar a sus hijos o hijas en la enseñanza remota (e.g., Bhamani et al, 2020;Bubb y Jones, 2020;Fontenelle-Tereshchuk, 2021;Parczewska, 2020;Pozas, Letzel y Schneider, 2021). Por otro lado, un segundo grupo de reportes internacionales e investigaciones empíricas se ha enfocado en las condiciones estructurales presentes en los hogares para dar respuesta a las necesidades de la educación remota, relevando las brechas entre clases sociales en aspectos como el tamaño de los hogares, los dispositivos tecnológicos disponibles y la conectividad a internet (e.g., Bonal y González, 2020; OECD, 2020).…”