Participation of parents in the remote teaching process – revealed problems and valuable innovation in the opinion of school principals in the Wielkopolska region (Poland)

Abstract

The findings presented in this paper are part of the comprehensive research carried out within the “Diversification of Social Attitudes in the Sphere of Educational Services during a Pandemic” project. This study examines the challenges that emerged during remote learning, focusing on parents’ involvement in their children’s learning process, as perceived by school principals. The conclusions are based on questionnaire interviews with principals of 36 randomly selected schools throughout the Wielkopolska region (Poland). The study spanned the second semester of the 2019/2020 school year and the first semester of 2020/2021. Several issues were identified in the interviews, including communication difficulties with students, lack of skills of teachers and students to work remotely, insufficient IT infrastructure at school and home, financial deficits impeding the purchase of new equipment, and a decline in students’ mental health. These problems were primarily related to the family (home) situation of students and the participation of parents in solving these problems. No significant spatial differences were identified with respect to the opinions of school principals from different poviats of the Wielkopolska region. However, differences in opinions were observed depending on the level of the school. A distinctive issue raised mainly by primary school principals was the participation of parents in lessons and their tendency to complete tasks or even write tests for children, as well as the frequent baseless excuses for absences and unfinished tasks. In contrast, principals from both general and vocational secondary schools generally agreed that parental assistance was marginal.