1. Emergency Remote Learning for Children with Disabilities during the Pandemic: Navigating Parental Roles and Supports.
- Author
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Yang, Xueyan, Wong, Meng Ee, and Poon, Kenneth K.
- Subjects
SOCIAL support ,RESEARCH methodology ,CHILDREN with disabilities ,INTERVIEWING ,PARENTING ,LEARNING strategies ,EPIDEMICS ,SCHOOLS ,RESEARCH funding ,HEALTH self-care - Abstract
The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic resulted in worldwide school closures, moving children's education to the home setting, with parents taking over the responsibility of supporting their child's learning while managing other aspects of living with the pandemic. The impact of emergency remote learning has increased significance for children with disabilities who, abruptly, no longer had access to the specialized instruction and expertise of educators and service providers in the school setting. Employing an ecological systems framework, this study sought to examine the impact of emergency remote learning on the families of school-aged children with a range of disabilities in Singapore. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 42 parents of children with disabilities from primary and special schools. Findings revealed parents took on multiple roles while balancing several responsibilities in supporting their child's emergency remote learning, with the additional or intensified demands heightening challenges. Several factors were found to either facilitate or challenge parents' ability to engage in supporting their child's emergency remote learning such as flexibility in meeting schoolwork deadlines, having regular check-ins with the child and family, technological familiarity, and, at a macro-level, having supportive employers. Implications for practice and policy include the need to equip students with technology and self-management skills, providing more coordinated supports for students and their families across government and educational bodies to reduce learning loss while alleviating pressure on parents. Highlights: Parents of children with disabilities across primary schools and special schools in Singapore participated in semi-structured interviews regarding their experience of emergency remote learning. Key parental challenges during the pandemic lay in new or abruptly intensified work and family responsibilities. Coordinated supports at the various levels of the ecological systems framework are needed to support families through large-scale school closures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
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