Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1496720
15 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 9 APRIL 2023 63.2% appreciated the increase in family time. However, in Survey 2 in 2021, 58.4% of the parents claimed that they were more stressed during the scholastic year 2020-2021 than in the previous year. While some parents report- ed that, likewise, their children felt less stressed to get ready for school and enjoyed more family time, as well as learned to be more independent, on the other hand in 2021, there were also parents who claimed that children found it difficult to understand what was expected of them, and demanded more support from the educators. For example, in 2020 parents complained that they were strug- gling more with finding balance between helping their children with schoolwork and life (56%), a concern that was also voiced in 2021, where however, some par- ents highlighted their struggle to meet their work commitments while supporting their children. "The findings consistently showed that one of the major downfalls of the pandemic was that children missed interacting with their friends considerably," the authors say. "In 2020 some parents com- mented about the stressful situ- ations they were going through and argued that the well-being and mental health of their family members were negatively affect- ed during the pandemic. Some parents were more specific and claimed that they found it stress- ful to juggle between working online, meeting family needs and supporting their children during online learning." Schooling transition While the majority of parents did not agree with the children having had their education halted when schools closed, most par- ents in the 2020 and 2021 surveys said they were satisfied with the way schools shifted teaching and learning to remote modes – from 58.8% of parents showing satisfac- tion in Survey 1, this increased to 70.4% in Survey 2. More than half of the parents (55.7% and 62.5%) claimed their children preferred real-time, syn- chronous online sessions. Yet parents complained that there was inequity of provision between the three education sec- tors. Parents considered that church and independent schools were more prepared than state schools to shift to online modes of learn- ing and to provide support to chil- dren. 80.2% (in 2020) and 89.6% (in 2021) of the parents claimed that Maths was the most taught sub- jects in primary classes, while 67.1% and 71.9% claimed that PSCD together with foreign languages (96.5%) was the least taught. Language lessons were al- so very frequent with English be- ing taught more than Maltese in both surveys. Lack of face-to-face interaction, lack of children's engagement, lack of motivation reduced con- tact time and lack of support for children were amongst the main concerns of parents during online teaching. Parents were generally more positive in the second survey about the way schools and educa- tors prepared for remote modes of teaching, the way they managed online learning, and the level of support they provided. A new learning reality Most parents had to make changes to their home environ- ment to create a learning space for their children to follow online activities. Most parents claimed their children had to share their learning space with their sibling or a parent working from home; however, most of these parents stated that in their view, their chil- dren had enough personal, undis- turbed space to follow online ac- tivities or lessons. 69% of the parents in Survey 1 claimed that their children had to share a computer or laptop; this percentage decreased considera- bly to 54.8% in Survey 2, indicating that parents were more prepared for the second lockdown and had invested in buying technological equipment for the children to fol- low online learning. The pandemic also pushed par- ents to learn how to access online platforms, Powerpoints and Apps. Children worked with different virtual spaces during online learn- ing. They mainly were exposed to the use of Apps for quizzes, Powerpoints programmes and videoconferencing to learn. Par- ents mentioned MS Teams and Teleskola as the most common platforms used by children. But the majority in 2021 indi- cated that they preferred to have their children to be in school and learn through the traditional, face- to-face interaction rather than through online means. "It was interesting to note that in Survey 1, which was still ear- ly days in the pandemic, 43% of the parents at the time, preferred a blended approach, where they suggested for learning to be partly carried online and partly face-to face while 35.8% indicated that they would opt for online learn- ing," the authors said. Need for equitable solutions The academics conclude that beyond COVID-19, all schools should get equitable resources and training in digital skills, continu- ous professional development and support for all educators in all the three sectors of the state, church and independent, that will provide educators with the necessary skills and confidence they need. "Going forward to post-pan- demic times, educators should be provided with the necessary training that will not only help them implement the emergent curriculum or an active pedagogy in class but also, to be able to do so remotely." With most parents complain- ing that online learning was not engaging enough for children, online learning should be used the least time possible and only if and as necessary with young chil- dren. More importantly, provi- sions should be made for children to meet their friends remotely in a social way to make up for lost time. "Beyond the pandemic, educa- tors and parents should remem- ber the importance of play for children to socially interact with their peers and provide them with more time and space to play with each other to make up for the play lost during the pandemic. Moreo- ver, play-based activities and ex- periences should be introduced in schools as well as in after school programmes, with immediate ef- fect." The authors also said that more effort should have been made to reach out to vulnerable children. "These children should have been contacted and provided with ad- equate online support, while en- suring that they had basic care. Vulnerable children and their families should be provided with coping strategies to help them get back on track and achieve better outcomes. Furthermore, edu- cators need to be trained in be- ing sensitive to family issues and their socio-economic and cultural background, to understand them and address their pandemic needs better." They also said that schools should be providing training for those parents who lack basic lit- eracy skills to be able for them to navigate the internet, communi- cate with educators, participate in society and employment, as a source of personal enrichment and to be able to support their children. mvella@mediatoday.com.mt