Abstract:

In response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, by February 2020, Italy, as well as other 107 countries around the world, had implemented school closures (Viner et al., 2020). During the months of lockdown, education has not stopped. The school response to the emergency and the consequent educational crisis has been distance teaching/learning. Nearly overnight, teachers have been asked to rethink and convert in a digital format their educational and didactic practices. Meanwhile, children and young people, segregated in their homes, have started to follow video recorded or synchronous lessons and to receive telematic communications, homework and activities to be carried out at home and using the technological devices available. The health emergency has shattered the idea of school as we know it, representing a severe disruption in the lives of millions of students and teachers. However, those months of homeschooling have had a critical impact also on another group of school stakeholders: parents, whose perspectives deserve to be explored. This is the aim of the present paper, that illustrates the first results of the quantitative survey "What do you think? Distance teaching/learning from the parents' point of view". Through an online questionnaire disseminated on social channels, the survey involved almost 7000 Italian parents of primary and secondary school children. The data collected offer a faceted picture of how parents perceived this experience, as well as significant suggestions that can contribute to orientate policymakers in decisions regarding school reopening.

Keywords:

Covid-19, parents, survey, distance learning.