Date of Conferral
8-25-2025
Degree
Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)
School
Education
Advisor
Alia Sheety
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic created an educational crisis when schools across the United States closed abruptly, requiring parents to assume new roles as facilitators of online learning without adequate preparation. Guided by Bandura’s social learning theory, the purpose of this retrospective basic qualitative study was to investigate parents’ perceptions of their roles as instructional and curriculum facilitators for elementary-level students during COVID-19 distance learning. Research questions examined how parents described their roles as online instructional facilitators, what challenges they faced in supporting curriculum and instruction virtually, and what types of support they needed to succeed in their new educational roles during the pandemic. Ten parents of third and fourth-grade students from a local school district who had experienced online learning during the pandemic completed semistructured interviews about this topic. Thematic analysis of interview data employed deductive and inductive coding to identify emergent themes. Results indicated that parents struggled to navigate the online learning platform and understand the curriculum during their time as online facilitators of learning during the pandemic. They reported challenges managing time and balancing their obligations to their children. Parents reported feeling ineffective in the instructional facilitator role and desired more support from the school. Based on these findings, a comprehensive 3-day digital literacy training program for parents was designed to enhance competencies and confidence of parents in virtual educational environments. By empowering parents with the digital literacy skills they desire, home-school partnerships are strengthened and educational inequity can be reduced, thereby enhancing student success opportunities regardless of the learning environment and producing positive social change over time.
Recommended Citation
Amprey, Keli Louise, "Parent Roles Supporting Curriculum and Instruction With Virtual Learning During the COVID-19 Pandemic" (2025). Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. 18333.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/18333
