COVID-19 Virtual Dilemma: Parents' Perspectives on Math Learning at Home

Introduction

Mathematics instruction can be a challenge for many parents even in normal times. However, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced schools to provide instruction remotely, parents faced new roles and responsibilities in supporting their children’s mathematics understanding. In the United States, school closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic began in March of 2020 and affected over 55 million students in public and private schools (Education Week, 2020). By mid April of 2020, several state governments across the country extended mandatory K-12 school closures for the remainder of the 2019-20 school year (Education Week, 2020; Office of the Arkansas Governor, 2020). Even with on-site instruction cancelled, government officials expected children to continue their learning at home via alternative methods provided by school and sometimes state agencies (Office of the Arkansas Governor, 2020).

The purpose of this study was to explore parents’ roles in their children’s mathematics learning. Specifically, how parents supported learning during remote instruction due to the COVID-19 pandemic was examined. This study was guided by the following research questions:

• 1.

  During remote instruction, what role do parents play in their children’s mathematics learning?

• 2.

  During remote instruction, what challenges and successes do families encounter?

Literature Review

Online learning is often viewed as inferior to traditional face to face instruction, and Hodges and colleagues (2020) believed the quick change to remote learning in the spring of 2020 would confirm those existing beliefs for many. However, Hodges et al. argued well prepared and planned online learning is not the same as remote learning during a crisis. Remote learning is a large umbrella term for many types of instruction. Modality, synchrony, pacing, class size, pedagogy, assessment, feedback, and roles of students and teachers can all impact the type of remote learning. Due to the quick change to remote learning, Hodges et al. believed this type of remote instruction should be referred to as emergency remote teaching (ERT), defined as a “temporary shift of instructional delivery to an alternate delivery mode due to crisis circumstances.” In the Spring of 2020, the goal of teachers and schools was to provide quick, temporary, and reliable access to instruction and instructional resources, making it inevitably less robust than previous learning experiences (Hodges, et al., 2020).