Perceptions of Online Learning: Parental Views of Online Instruction During COVID-19

Introduction

In the middle of March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in many cities across the United States as it had already spread across many countries in the world. The impact of the virus was profound as businesses across the nation began to close and schools in every grade-level began to migrate to some type of virtual instruction in order to salvage the school year. While all levels of schooling were impacted, K-5 schools, likely had the most challenging instructional shift. Students in middle and high school tend to be more independent workers and thus moving online, while disruptive and not ideal, was something that older students could better manage (Sharpe, Beetham & De Freitas, 2010). One major challenge with online learning is that the learning environment of the vast majority of K-12 schools is better cultivated in a face-to-face format, with the use of technology typically only utilized to supplement instruction (Moore, Dickson-Deane & Galyen, 2011). Regardless which students were better prepared, the move to virtual learning for all students in the United States was met with significant challenges as the expertise for online instruction is lacking, as few educators have adequate training in online learning and many have never even experienced a completely virtual learning environment (Outlaw, Rice, & Wright, 2017). In addition, the digital divide, which has not been successfully eliminated, created situations where not all students had the necessary technology tools to be successful in their learning (van Dijk, 2020). Inequalities in learning were only further expanded as some children had additional support from tech-savvy parents or parents who now had time to work with their child to assist in learning and navigating the new virtual environment. On the flip side, there were other students and families who were less tech-savvy and may have been in situations where they could not support their child. Thus, while some students received support and assistance in their learning at home, others might have had new obstacles which impeded their learning. The result of this has been predicted to only further the achievement gap in our schools (Dorn et al., 2020). Unequal learning which occurred during the remainder of this year and what students face in the 2020-2021 school year will likely have a significant impact on future educational opportunities for students. While some students were able to continue on their learning trajectories, others may find themselves behind as they advance in their academic careers.

One major alteration to the American School System is changes in how current and future education is done. For one, the physical environment is likely to have significant changes which could last for years. We are already seeing schools try to implement social distancing, enforce and mandate face mask wearing, and utilizing more flexible learning environments including a more robust use of some form of hybrid instruction. Some schools have returned with a portion of their class using a type of online platform (e.g., Zoom) while the other portion of the class is physically in the school building. Obviously, this is taxing on teachers who not only may lack technology skill but are also being asked to teach using two different modalities at the same time. It is unclear how these changes impact current learning, but it is predicted that this will also contribute to achievement gaps in children (Dorn et al., 2020). Regardless of the temporary changes to the learning environment for students, many school leaders are speculating if a major push to advance online learning is now the future that many had feared (Wagner, 2020).