EVALUATION OF PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT IN STUDENTS ONLINE LEARNING AND HOMEWORK: CHALLENGES IN THE COVID-19 ERA

Abstract

The study evaluated parental involvement in online learning and homework of their children and the
challenges during COVID-19 era. A survey research design was adopted for the study. The
population of the study consist of parents in all primary and secondary schools in Port Harcourt
metropolis. Stratified random sampling technique was adopted to draw a sample of 200 parents
from primary and secondary schools in Port Harcourt metropolis, Rivers State, Nigeria. The
instrument for data collection was a questionnaire titled: “Parental Assistance in Online Learning
and Homework” (PAOLH). The instrument was validated by two experts in educational measurement
and evaluation. The reliability of the instrument was determined using Cronbach Alpha and a
reliability coefficient of 0.71 and 0.73 was obtained from section B and C respectively while the
reliability coefficient for the entire instrument was 0.76. the instrument was administered via Google
form. Percentages was used to answer the research questions while independent t-test was used
to test the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study revealed that
parents faced challenges in online learning during COVID-19, including understanding assignments,
balancing responsibilities, financial challenges and managing digital tools. Younger children and
secondary students required more support, while fathers provided resources and mothers handled
learning tasks. Better school support is needed to ease these difficulties