Perceptions of Parents about Online Learning and Physical Activities of their Children during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Qurratulain Rehan
Kinnaird College for Women Lahore, Pakistan.
Maria Shiraz
Kinnaird College for Women Lahore, Pakistan.
Mazna Toosy
Kinnaird College for Women Lahore, Pakistan.
Shahzaman Khan
Department of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, Sukkur IBA University, Pakistan
Shahzada Qaisar
University of Education, Lahore Punjab, Pakistan
Alamgir Khan *
Department of Sports Sciences & Physical Education, University of the Punjab, Pakistan.
Muhammad Zafar Iqbal Butt
Department of Sports Sciences & Physical Education, University of the Punjab, Pakistan.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
The present study aimed to assess the perceptions of parents about online learning and physical activity of their children. A qualitative study was undertaken to determine the perceptions of parents about online learning during COVID-19 to get a deep insight into real-life experiences. Open-ended questionnaires were administered online to forty-five parents who could be accessed easily and had children studying in Grades 1-3. The major themes that emerged from the data analysis included the following: increased monitoring role of parents, need of IT skills, provision of additional support from schools, challenging nature of online learning and sedentary behavior of their children. With a purpose of understanding perception of parents and their viewpoints about online learning, it was deduced that parents initially had to face many challenges but soon adjusted well with the new method of teaching as it was the need of hour during COVID-19 Pandemic.
Keywords: Online classes, parents, COVID-19, physical activities, challenges