Attitudes of parents of primary school students of the City of Zagreb on the use of ICT in distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic

Informacijsko-komunikacijska tehnologija (IKT) uključena je u sve društvene slojeve, a njezina se uloga u odgoju i obrazovanju intenzivirala. Spremnost učitelja kao odgojno-obrazovnih profesionalaca ključan je element za uporabu i implementaciju IKT-a u odgojno-obrazovni proces. Iznenadnom pandemijom bolesti COVID-19 učitelji su stavljeni pred zadatak osmišljavanja i provedbe nastave na daljinu. S ciljem utvrđivanja stavova roditelja o uporabi IKT-a u takvom obliku nastave, tijekom proljeća 2020. godine provedeno je istraživanje na uzorku od 465 sudionika na području Grada Zagreba. Utvrđeno je da najveći broj sudionika postiže prosječne rezultate koji su iznad srednje vrijednosti, što znači da je njihov stav o uporabi IKT-a u provedenoj nastavi na daljinu generalno pozitivan. Pronađene su statistički značajne razlike u pojedinim varijablama stavova o uporabi IKT-a u nastavi na daljinu s obzirom na spol, dob i stupanj naobrazbe sudionika te s obzirom na razred koji djeca sudionika istraživanja polaze. Kvalitativnom analizom pitanja otvorenoga tipa ustanovljena je potreba standardizacije nastave na daljinu u smislu uporabe istih ili sličnih digitalnih alata kako bi se osigurale jednake šanse za sve učenike.Information and communication technology (ICT) is included in all social strata, and its role in upbringing has intensified. The readiness of teachers as educational professionals is a crucial element for the use and implementation of ICT in the educational process. With the sudden COVID-19 pandemic, teachers were faced with designing and implementing distance learning. This research aimed to determine parents’ attitudes on using information and communication technology in distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic; a survey was conducted on 465 participants. It was found that the largest number of research participants achieve average results that are above the mean value, which means that their attitude about distance learning is generally favorable. Statistically significant differences in the use of ICT were found in individual variables of attitudes towards distance learning concerning gender, age, level of education of participants, and the class attended by the participants’ children. Qualitative analysis of open-ended questions identified the need to standardize distance learning using the same or similar digital tools to ensure equal opportunities for all students