FAMILIAL APPROACH, AND ASSOCIATED FACTORS, TO NON-TEEN CHILDREN’S EDUCATION DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Abstract

The American education system is a long established and structured portion of American society. For the majority of everyone’s lives, this system has remained fairly consistent and unchanging, that was until March of 2020 when the novel coronavirus disease, 2019, (COVID-19) swept through the world, forcing everyone into social isolation and forcing the majority of the education system to move to an online format. The pandemic, and its associated changes, especially affected the way that K-12 schools delivered their material to young people throughout the United States. This study sought to explore the decision making of parents that have children younger than high school, specifically the decisions made around the modality of their child’s education throughout the pandemic. One semi-structured interview was conducted with a parent of two elementary-aged children, covering the decisions made throughout different periods of the COVID-19 pandemic, and what may have influenced those decisions. Results indicated that decisions were made around maintaining structure, as well as meeting each child’s educational needs. Results also indicated that the concept of familial interdependence, which states that decisions made by one member of the family will ultimately affect all members of the family, was extremely present and played a huge role in how decisions were made in regard to educational approaches.