Mandatory Home Education During the COVID-19 Lockdown in the Czech Republic: A Rapid Survey of 1st-9th Graders' Parents

Abstract

Schools have been closed in many countries due to the on-going COVID-19 pandemic, but education continues online. Little is known about how parents cope with educating their children in this unprecedented situation. Here, we present the results of a rapid survey examining the experience of Czech parents of children in Grades 1-9 (Age ∼ 6-15; N = 9,810) with respect to home education during the COVID-19 lockdown. This survey was distributed widely, but only online and parents participated voluntarily. Mainly families with an internet connection and interested in their children's education (i.e., the majority of families with school-aged children in the Czech Republic) took part in the survey. The results show that these families tend to cope well with the current educational situation and view the overall schoolwork transferred to homes as useful. Most children spend 2-4 h a day studying, while parents help them at least half the time. Parents mostly explain task instructions, check the work their children have done, and teach new topics. To a lesser extent, they help their children solve tasks. Teachers appear to assign tasks more often than they provide feedback and/or interact with children. Some parents face difficulties, but those are generally not severe. These include, most notably, a lack of time, issues with technologies, and inadequate teaching skills and content knowledge. Altogether, this work maps the current educational situation in a large segment of Czech families and highlights possible pitfalls to be avoided: in the Czech Republic and beyond.

Immediate Psychological Effects of the COVID-19 Quarantine in Youth From Italy and Spain

“…Esposito and Principi (2020) highlighted alternative strategies, such as reducing class size or physical distancing, considering the adverse effects of school closure on children and their families (e.g., the economic consequences for parents who remain at home to take care of their children, or problems in implementing distance learning in the poorest areas of some countries). However, a recent study examining parents of Czechia children show that families tend to cope well with education at home during the COVID-19 confinement, although they consider that children would need more time for learning activities (Brom et al, 2020). This is the first time that a quarantine to control a pandemic has been implemented in Italy and Spain, as well as in most countries worldwide.…”

Missing Early Education and Care During the Pandemic: The Socio-Emotional Impact of the COVID-19 Crisis on Young Children

“…Given the unprecedented nature of the COVID-19 pandemic and widespread lockdown, it is important to gather empirical evidence relating to the potential psychological effects of the current crisis on very young children and their families. Published empirical research of the effects on families is just beginning to emerge (e.g., Brom, et al, 2020;Spinelli, et al, 2020). For example, Spinelli et al (2020) reported findings from data gathered during lockdown in Italy from parents, and found that parental stress and perceptions of quarantine were associated with children's behavioural and emotional problems.…”

Spolupráce rodiny a školy v době uzavřených základních škol

“…Deskriptivní analýzy získaných kvantitativních dat (Brom et al, 2020a(Brom et al, , 2020b poskytly informace o tom, kolik času tráví žáci aktuálně školní prací, jaké pomoci se jim dostává od rodičů a zda jsou úkoly, které dostávají ze školy, z pohledu rodičů přiměřené. Výsledky napověděly, že u respondentů výzkumu nezpůsobuje vzdělávání doma žádné větší problémy.…”

“…Ve výzkumném souboru byly zastoupeny vyšší měrou případy dětí, kde aspoň jeden z rodičů/vychovatelů dosáhl vysokoškolského vzdělání. Tyto případy tvořily v souboru 60 %, přičemž odhadovaný podíl v populaci dětí v povinném vzdělání je 40 % (Brom et al, 2020a(Brom et al, , 2020b. Na základě statistické analýzy našich dat jsme však záhy zjistili, že vzdělání rodičů mezi odpověďmi příliš nediferencovalo.…”