Abstract:

The present study aimed to investigate the type of parental involvement in homework of children with learning difficulties during distance learning in the period of Covid-19. At the same time the role of parents’ fear of Covid-19 and resilience in their involvement in their children’s homework was examined. The study involved 271 parents (140 mothers, 131 fathers), whose children had been diagnosed with learning difficulties and studied in the fifth and sixth grade from schools located in economically diverse districts of Thessaloniki (Greece). Parents completed a self-report questionnaire, which included a scale on parental involvement in students’ homework which has been developed in the Greek educational context (Parental Involvement in Students’ Homework Scale; Paraschi & Gonida, 2012), a scale on fear of Covid-19 (Fear of COVID-19 Scale; Ahorsu, Lin, Imani, Saffari, Griffiths, & Pakpour, 2020), as well as a short version of a scale on resilience (The Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale - CD-RISC; Campbell-Sills & Stein, 2007; Connor & Davidson, 2003). According to the results, it was found that, regardless of children’s sex and grade, parental involvement in children’s homework is reflected to a greater extent in terms of parental control and interference, compared to their autonomy support and cognitive engagement. Parents’ demographic characteristics did seem to differentiate neither their type of involvement in children’s homework nor their high fear of Covid-19 and their low sense of resilience. Furthermore, it was revealed that parents’ sense of resilience predicted in a direct and positive way their involvement in children’s homework in terms of parental control and interference. However, based on the path analyses models, it was revealed that parental control and interference were predicted indirectly by parents’ fear of Covid-19, through the negative mediating role of their perceived sense of resilience. The findings shed light on the types of parental involvement adopted towards children with learning difficulties during distance learning, trying to explain how sentimental factors affect parental involvement in homework during the lockdown in the period of Covid-19. The latter possibly imply the need for psychological support for many parents during the period of pandemic in order to be able to support effectively their children’s learning.

Keywords:

Parental involvement in homework, distance learning, children, learning difficulties, fear of Covid-19, resilience.