Abstract:

Background:
In 2020, in Ontario, a range of government interventions were implemented to contain the spread of the COVID-19. One of the many changes was the transition from in person schooling to virtual learning. Our study aimed to understand the challenges immigrant families living in apartment buildings encountered with these changes.      

Methods:
Our qualitative interpretive descriptive study was conducted during the summer and fall of 2020 and included semi-structured phone or online interviews with 72 immigrants who resided in apartments within the Greater Toronto Area. The interviews were conducted in 19 languages, audio-recorded with consent, then translated and transcribed, and analyzed using thematic analysis.   

Results:
Computer access and the internet access and quality were key concerns for families with several children. Parents and children also struggled to access resources from school to satisfy their learning goals and needs. Some parents lacked computer literacy expected of them to support their children’s online learning as well as experienced the added burden of being a substitute teacher. Many parents also wondered how their children could learn Canadian values and beliefs that can take place through in person peer-to-peer and teacher-to-student interactions. Parents also expressed that prolonged screen time might lead to deteriorating physical and mental health.

Conclusions and implications:
Our findings show that many immigrant families do not have material, technical, and educational resources to fully support their children’s learning and education online. It is important to consider the impact of these challenges on immigrant parents and their children and make necessary changes to ensure that immigrant children are able to receive quality online/virtual education that can meet their learning needs during the current and future pandemics.

Keywords:

COVID19, Canada, Toronto, immigrants, children, parents, online learning challenges.