Fostering Learning at Home: Examining Parental Involvement in Education Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract The purpose of the study was to assess parental involvement in educating their children during Covid-19 pandemic at Nakambala Private School and Mukuyu Primary School in Mazabuka District, Zambia. A descriptive survey research design was adopted for this study. Data were collected through a questionnaire and interviews from parents and learners. The sample size of the study was one hundred (100) parents and ten (10) learners from selected basic schools in Mazabuka district giving a total of 110 participants. The sampling technique used was purposive sampling with the sample criteria being parents who have children at Nakambala Private School and Mukuyu Primary School. Random sampling was also used to select parents and students to be interviewed for the study. The findings of the study were that a good number of parents with children from Nakambala Private School situated in Mazabuka Urban and Mukuyu Primary situated in Mazabuka rural of Mazabuka district were involved in ensuring that their children receive education during Covid-19 pandemic by helping their children with school work at home and providing facilities in the form of mobile phones and Internet service coverage during online learning. The results also showed that parents interacted with their children by spending quality time teaching their children and helping in doing school work. Parents faced challenges in ensuring that their children continue receiving quality education during Covid-19 pandemic. These were: lack or limited access to internet and the poor internet connection in the area, inadequate time to be with the children because of busy schedule, balancing responsibilities, lack of smart phones, and challenges in sourcing for data bundles. It is recommended that parents get prepared in advance by acquiring smart phones and balancing responsibilities in case the pandemic resurface in future. The study also recommend that network providers to improve in the provision of internet in rural areas so that people in rural areas have quality access to internet, and also teachers to develop their own hybrid model of teaching and learning suited to specific educational needs in times of Covid-19 pandemic.