UK PARENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF ENGAGEMENT THROUGH DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: A PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS

Parent involvement in and engagement with children’s learning play an important role in influencing student engagement, achievement, and school completion, not least during the COVID-19 pandemic that swept the world in early 2020. Given the paucity of research exploring parental attitudes to and experiences of blended and online learning, both before and during the pandemic, a case study of UK parents (n = 552) was conducted from June to September 2020, using an online survey, with both closed and open-ended questions, as well as semi-structured interviews (n = 14). Designed and analysed against a bioecological model of student engagement [1], 40% (n = 221) of participants were parents of students in primary school only, 29% (n = 158) were parents of students in secondary school, and 31% (n = 173) had children in both primary and secondary school, representing 1,038 school-aged children. The results revealed that students mostly used a laptop, tablet or smartphone to undertake their learning, with parents reporting a rise in the use of videos (both synchronous and asynchronous), Google Classroom, and online communities, reflecting the tools that parents found most useful for their children’s learning, as well as the most engaging. Whilst parents reported feeling slightly more aware of their children’s school work, they felt less connected to the school community, and that students did not experience increased engagement or better learning, when technologies mediated education. Findings and implications are discussed against literature published both before and during the pandemic, and an insight into future policy, research and practice implications will be provided