Distance Learning through the Lenses of Parents

Distance Learning through the Lenses of Parents: The Experiences and Insights of the Parents of

Marcelo H. Del Pilar Junior High School Students towards Distance Learning

Jopio, Karl Cyrill

Domingo, Dan Michael

Elopre, Marc Remar

Esguerra, Mark Angelo

Marcelo H. Del Pilar National High School

Senior High School Department

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics

2020-2021
Distance Learning through the Lenses of Parents

Table of Contents

Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1

Review of Related Literature ...................................................................................................... 2

Statement of the Problem ............................................................................................................ 7

Definition of Terms ..................................................................................................................... 7

Significance of the Study ............................................................................................................ 8

Scope and Delimitations.............................................................................................................. 9

Methodology ................................................................................................................................... 9

Research Design .......................................................................................................................... 9

Respondents and Sampling Method ............................................................................................ 9

Instruments ................................................................................................................................ 10

Data Collection Procedure and Ethical Considerations ............................................................ 10

Data Analysis ............................................................................................................................ 11

References: .................................................................................................................................... 12
Distance Learning through the Lenses of Parents 1

Introduction

The global spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has had a significant

impact towards educational institutions, prompting a range of public health measures. Along with

this, schools across the world were forced to close their campuses in order to prevent the further

spread of the virus. The school shutdowns were part of several countries’ disease containment

strategies and carried with it high social and economic impact for people across communities

(UNESCO, 2020). On a global scale, UNESCO (2020) has reported that over 1.6 billion learners

across 190 countries were affected by the school closures at the peak of the crisis, along with 100

million teachers and school personnel.

To tackle issues brought by the pandemic, specifically the disruption in education,

academic institutions and other stakeholders within countries around the world have taken action

at national levels. Most countries, such as Argentina, China, Japan, Korea, and United States, have

utilized the internet and online platforms for continuous education. On the other hand, countries

such as Thailand, Vietnam, Mexico, and Spain are employing massive open online course

(MOOC) styled lessons which are delivered through TV and other media. In Costa Rica and Iran,

existing apps are used to maintain communication between teachers and students (Chang & Yano,

2020).

While these initiatives have been helpful in addressing the needs of the time, such as

preventing the transmission of coronavirus, it has placed a burden on parents who are working

from home while also being responsible for ensuring that their children’s learning process

continues smoothly during the pandemic. Currently, studies regarding the experiences and

attitudes of parents towards distance learning have been done in certain countries such as those
Distance Learning through the Lenses of Parents 2

done by Dong et al. (2020) in China and Lase et al. (2020) in Indonesia, however, very little is

known about the same topic in the context of Philippines.

Thus, the goal of this study was to learn about the lived experiences of parents, specifically

parents of Marcelo H. Del Pilar Junior High School students, under distance learning during the

times of COVID-19.

Review of Related Literature

The Philippines has been severely affected by the public health disaster brought by the

COVID-19 pandemic. Having been described as the country with one of the longest and strictest

lockdowns in the world (Hapal, 2021), the Philippines has seen significant damage in both its

economic growth and employment sector (International Monetary Fund, 2020). Meanwhile, the

pandemic also resulted in unprecedented challenges for the educational sector. On March of 2020,

the Philippine government introduced public health measures that included temporarily closing

school institutions nationwide and pausing educational activities for students for an indefinite

period of time in an effort to limit the spread of COVID-19. As a result, more than 28 million

students, ranging from preprimary to tertiary level, across the country had been affected by the

sudden shut down of schools and were forced to stay at home to comply with the quarantine

measures (UNESCO, 2020).

Responding to the school closures across the country, the Department of Education

(DepEd) issued the DepEd Order No. 12, s. 2020 dated June 19, 2020, titled “Adoption of the

Basic Education Learning Continuity Plan for School Year 2020-2021 in Light of the COVID-19
Distance Learning through the Lenses of Parents 3

Public Health Emergency”. In the continuity plan, it is stated that face-to-face classes will

remain prohibited until conditions in the country are deemed safe while classes will instead take

place through distance learning modalities. In the outcome of this policy, over 23 million students

nationwide were enrolled under distance learning for the school year 2020 to 2021 (CNN, 2020)

The use of online platforms such as Google Classroom, Messenger, Zoom, and Facebook, along

with the use of printed modules, have been adopted as the new normal of learning in the Philippine

education system (Tria, J., 2020).

However, the implementation of distance learning posed a series of problems among

students with limited internet connection, no gadgets, and the poor (Baticulon, 2021; Cuisia-

Villanueva & Nunez, 2020). According to a report by Akamai (2017), the Philippines was ranked

100th on global average connection speeds and was the slowest in Asia-Pacific with an average

connection speed of 5.5 Mbps. It also presented difficulties to parents who were accustomed to

traditional face-to-face learning and lack the technological equipment, knowledge, and skills and

are currently facing difficulty following lessons under the distance learning setup (Ocal et al.,

2021).

With the limitations posed by distance learning, much of the responsibility of guiding and

assisting students have been passed to the parents who now take the role as learning facilitators

and pseudo-teachers (Garbe et al., 2020).

Amidst the emergency distance learning in the Philippines, parents can be considered as

one of the most critical stakeholders in education. As teachers and students lack the capability to

directly interact with each other under remote learning, it is up to the parents to take the

responsibility of guiding them as they are the only ones who can physically accompany their child.
Distance Learning through the Lenses of Parents 4

Since the pandemic, children’s homes have become their new learning environment, parents can

help shape their children’s learning by providing necessary tools, creating a positive learning

environment, and learning how to guide their children as they study. According to Durisic &

Bunijevac (2017), parents should be considered as partners in their children’s education as they

share similar goals in terms of wanting their children to reach their full potential in school.

Parental involvement is important in a child’s education as it helps them perform better

academically. Students whose parents had better communication generally demonstrate better

outlook in school and more academic success (Alonso et al., 2017). Further research and meta-

analyses have demonstrated that parents are a vital asset in a child’s intellectual growth since their

active involvement at home provides a positive impact towards a student’s performance (Altschul,

2011; Topor et al., 2011; Castro et al., 2015). This means that as the method of learning shifts to

the newly adopted distance learning, parents may play an even more crucial role in guaranteeing

the effectiveness of the distance learning setup to help ensure that students can obtain necessary

knowledge and competencies.

Parental involvement can be influenced by several factors. One example is a parent’s

socioeconomic status which includes the parent’s level of education, occupation status, and

income. According to a study done by Magwa & Mugari (2017), it is reported that students with

parents from poor social backgrounds are less involved and less informed on their child’s

schoolwork. One teacher from the study stated that parents from higher socioeconomic

backgrounds tend to more involved in their children’s academic studies as they are able to provide

for learning materials and support better than parents with lower economic status. Parents with

lower income also have less time to contribute to their children’s studies as they often work longer
Distance Learning through the Lenses of Parents 5

hours. Another finding by Magwa & Mugari revealed that some parents, especially at high school

level, resist parental involvement. One participant said that some high school students feel that

parents do not have the knowledge that can help assist them with their schoolwork. The findings

in this study are also consistent with the findings of the research done by Pena (2000). According

to Pena, the largest obstacle that families faced in being involved in their child’s schoolwork was

their work schedule. Parents recognized that their work schedule usually conflicted with the school

activities. Another factor from the study that is said to influence parental involvement was the

parent’s educational level. A study done by Hornby & Lafaele (2011) revealed further factors

influencing parental involvement. One is the age of the student in which parental involvement

tends to decrease as their children grow older. Another factor is a child’s academic performance -

parents are more inclined to be involved in schoolwork when their child is struggling with it due

to learning difficulties or disabilities.

Parents have conflicted feelings regarding distance learning. According to Selwyn (2011),

some parents felt more engaged in their child’s schoolwork sharing that online learning platforms

offered opportunities for enhanced communication between home and school. Parents also praise

that fact that they were able to have the opportunity to review and stay updated with day-to-day

activities of the school through the use of online learning platforms. On the other hand, some

parents saw it merely as an additional burden. Kong’s (2017) study revealed parent’s concerns

over e-learning such as risks of exposing unsuitable or inappropriate content to their child and its

negative effects towards the physical well-being of their child as they spend hours on ICT use.

In a research done by Abuhammad (2020) in Jordan on 1,775,469 respondents, he

identified four barriers on distance learning faced by parents during the coronavirus outbreak,
Distance Learning through the Lenses of Parents 6

namely personal barriers, technical barriers, logistical barriers, and financial barriers. First,

personal barriers were related to the parents’ lack of training and support and lack of expertise.

According to parents surveyed, the parents expressed their lack of knowledge on handling the

distance learning materials and the technologies needed to facilitate it. They also stated that their

lack of education hindered them from assisting their children in specific subjects. Second, technical

barriers referred to insufficient internet connectivity. In a nationwide survey conducted by DepEd,

6.9 million parents and guardians stated that unstable mobile or internet connections were the

biggest challenge that may affect their children’s distance learning. Third, logistical barriers

involved the lack of students’ preparation and difficulties in using distance learning while, lastly,

financial barriers pertain to the parent’s inability to purchase devices and pay for internet services.

In addition to said barriers, parents also faced struggles regarding their mental health.

Research findings have shown that pandemic disasters and disease-containment responses may

create conditions that parents find traumatic. According to Hawryluck et al. (2004), being placed

in long durations of quarantine were associated with increased prevalence of PTSD and depressive

symptoms. Moreover, parents today may experience higher levels of stress as they are faced with

more daily hassles (e.g. working from home) and additional tasks (e.g. homeschooling for their

children) (Janssen et al., 2020).

In order to acquire a better understanding of the current educational situation, an

investigation on the parent’s lived experiences as they participate in their children’s distance

learning during the COVID-19 pandemic is important. Studying the impact of distance learning

on parents can provide useful information that may contribute in the development of future policies

and curriculum to help develop a better and more efficient distance learning environment and to
Distance Learning through the Lenses of Parents 7

help alleviate some of the burden experienced by parents. Hence, considering the circumstances

above, this research aims to investigate what are the lived experiences of parents in the distance

learning of their children during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Statement of the Problem

This study aims to determine the experiences and insights of the parents of Marcelo. H.

Del Pilar Junior High School students towards distance learning.

Specifically, it sought to answer the following questions:

1. What are the challenges and difficulties that the parents experienced under the

distance learning?

2. What are the parents’ concerns and desires regarding their children’s distance

learning?

3. What are the perspectives and insights of parents towards distance learning?

Definition of Terms

Distance learning – a type of education wherein students and teachers are physically separated

during classes and student-teacher and student-student communication are facilitated through the

use of various technologies.

Junior high school – pertains to grade levels 7 to 10.

Distance Learning through the Lenses of Parents 8

Parental involvement – refers to a situation in which parents are directly involved in the learning

process of their children and where they fulfill the responsibilities in assisting the learner as much

as they can. (Ntekane, 2018).

Significance of the Study

As a result of school closures throughout the country, education rapidly shifted to distance

learning at home, placing more responsibility for facilitating learning on parents and guardians.

Parents, being one of the most important stakeholders in today’s learning landscape, are worth

investigating in order to guide future policy decisions. Using online interviews, this study aims to

investigate the lived experiences of parents under distance learning. This study will be beneficial

to:

• To parents. With this study, the researchers aim to understand the experiences that

parents are currently going through under the pandemic with the distance learning. This

study will also help parents voice their perspectives and concerns regarding the distance

learning setup.

• To teachers and administrators. The results of this study may serve as a guide in the

development of future policies and curriculum to help develop a better and more

efficient distance learning environment which could further benefit both parents and

students.

• To future researchers. This paper can contribute to the growing literature of the

impact of distance learning to society.

Distance Learning through the Lenses of Parents 9

Scope and Delimitations

The scope of the study focuses on investigating the lived experiences of the parents of

Marcelo H. Del Pilar Junior High School students under the distance learning setup.

This study will be exclusively conducted among the parents of junior high school students

who study at Marcelo H. Del Pilar National High School. Twenty (20) parents will serve as the

respondents for the study. The study will also be done mainly through online social media

platforms such as Zoom, Google Meet, and Messenger where interviews will be conducted as

personal interviews remain impossible under the community quarantine.

Methodology

Research Design

This study will utilize a qualitative phenomenological design. Phenomenology is a type of

qualitative research that aims to examine the lived experience of individuals (Neubauer et al.,

2019). According to Lester (1999), phenomenology involves gathering deep information and

perceptions through the use of qualitative methods such as interviews and discussions and

presenting the information gathered from the participant’s perspective and interpreting it through

extracting common themes.

Respondents and Sampling Method

This research will employ a non-probability sampling to determine the participants of the

study. Using criterion sampling, twenty (20) participants will be chosen. According to Patton
Distance Learning through the Lenses of Parents 10

(1990), criterion sampling is used wherein criteria is set to determine the possible

participants of the study. In the selection of respondents, each parent must fit the criteria that is

that the participant must be a parent whose child is studying in Marcelo H. Del Pilar National High

School at a junior high school level. The parents will be represented by labels “parent 1” to “parent

20”.

Instruments

The researchers will conduct an in-depth semi-structured interview to explore the authentic

experiences of the participants. The interview guide will consist of questions that will explore the

parents’ lived experiences, their challenges, concerns under distance learning and, additionally,

what suggestions would they have for improving the distance learning setup.

Data Collection Procedure and Ethical Considerations

With the restrictions brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, personal interviews were not

possible, instead the researchers will perform the interviews through online communication

methods such through Zoom or Google Classroom. The data collection may also be done through

text-based interviews in order to accommodate parents with unstable and slow internet connections

where online meetings will be difficult to facilitate. The interview process will be held in privacy

to maintain confidentiality and will also be recorded with prior consent of respondents.
Distance Learning through the Lenses of Parents 11

Data Analysis

Data gathered from the interviews will be transcribed manually by the researchers. The

processed data will then be analyzed through thematic analysis where the researchers will closely

examine each document and identify common themes that appear within the data.
Distance Learning through the Lenses of Parents 12

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