Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Heliyon logoLink to Heliyon
. 2022 Dec 19;8(12):e12158. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e12158

A parental guidance patterns in the online learning process during the COVID-19 pandemic: case study in Indonesian school

Abd Aziz a,∗, Kundharu Saddhono b, Bagus Wahyu Setyawan a
PMCID: PMC9760598  PMID: 36568676

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacts the educational process in schools in Indonesia. Online learning schemes are applied as an alternative to learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. This research aims to map effective patterns of parental guidance during the online learning process amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Using a mixed scheme between case study and literature study methods, this literature study was carried out by analyzing previous studies on the topic “parental guidance pattern” and “online learning during a pandemic”. Data were sourced from several relevant articles published from 2020 to 2021. The data were then analyzed using interactively, quantitatively, and biometric methods with the VOSviewer application. The data analysis showed that the pattern of parental guidance must be tailored to the child's needs. In online learning, parents serve as facilitators, motivators, supervisors, and guides. The level of children's education also affects the pattern of parental guidance. In addition, communication between teachers and parents must also be well established so that the learning process can function effectively and efficiently and achieve optimal learning outcomes.

Keywords: Parental guidance pattern, Online learning, COVID-19 pandemic, Student learning

Parental guidance pattern; Online learning; COVID-19 pandemic; Student learning.

1. Introduction

The face-to-face educational process in the classroom has significantly changed in this COVID-19 pandemic. With the issuance of Circular Number 15 of 2020 concerning Guidelines for Organizing Learning from Home in the Emergency for the Spread of Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19) by the Ministry of Education and Culture, it can be ascertained that the face-to-face learning scheme has been changed into online learning system or online learning. In general, the purpose of implementing the Learning from Home (LFH) system during the COVID-19 emergency is to ensure the fulfillment of students' rights to get educational services (Febrianto et al., 2020; Wardani and Sayekti, 2022). A similar condition happened in China that the government conducted Emergency Remote Teaching-Learning (ERT) as a response of the COVID-19 pandemic. The challenges that teachers, students and parents encountered and the ed-tech strategies that teachers and schools used in terms of effective remote teaching-learning has got the attention from the countries around the world (Zhang, 2021; Han et al., 2022). Even though the COVID-19 pandemic is currently happening, the teaching and learning process must still be carried out, considering that it is one of the rights of Indonesian citizens to obtain an education. LFH can also protect education school members from the adverse effects of the virus and prevent its spread and transmission in educational units (Fauzi and Khusuma, 2020: 60; Fahmalatif et al., 2021; Akbari, 2021). If teaching and learning activities are still carried out directly in schools, it is feared to cause a new cluster of the virus spread, which can endanger students and teachers.

Online learning stipulated by the government is aimed at all levels of education, from kindergarten to tertiary institutions. This alternative was chosen due to the development of industrial revolution 4.0, which required that everyone be connected to an IT network (Bączek et al., 2021). The development of the industrial revolution strongly supports the implementation of online LFH because online learning can eliminate time and distance with the help of an Internet-based digital platform that can support learning to be conducted without any physical interaction between teachers and students (Putra and Irwansyah, 2020; Martin and Borup, 2022). Online learning has been carried out in almost all countries, but so far, learning with an online system has never been done simultaneously (Sun et al., 2020). Therefore, the online learning process requires that all elements of education be able to provide learning opportunities. It also allows learning to be performed face-to-face (Utomo et al., 2020).

The fourth point in the circular is to ensure the fulfillment of psychosocial support for the teacher, students, and parents/guardians (Wangdi, 2022). In this case, it is undeniable that parents are responsible for determining their children's future. The children's education starts from the family, which is important in shaping their characters. Education outside does not mean that parents can simply let go of their children. According to Dong et al. (2020), parents must also play a role in supervising and directing the education that their children take. In addition, parents can also find out their children's abilities in education. Therefore, an initiative-taking action from parents/guardians is needed in assisting their children's learning process, especially in online learning situations in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic.

With the government policy to study at home online, the role usually carried out by the education unit is now at the hand of the family unit (Tao and Xu, 2022). It denotes that home is now the center of activity for all family members. It could have a positive impact because the center of activities returns to its origin, i.e., in the family environment, as one of the agents of early education for children (Kanapathipillai and Narayanan, 2021). However, suppose all activities are only carried out at home. In that case, it will also cause psychosomatic, physical disturbance caused by psychological factors and piles of emotions that can cause shocks in a person in society, such as anxiety and stress, and the social environment, which affects many negative thoughts, for instance, because of hoaxes and others (Lestari et al., 2021). In fact, during online learning for almost one year, several obstacles and problems still exist. The obstacles experienced by parents in assisting their children to study at home include parents' lack of understanding of the material, parents' difficulties in fostering their children's interest in learning, not having enough time to assist their children because they must work, parents' impatience in assisting their children while studying at home, parents' difficulties in operating gadgets, and obstacles related to the Internet service coverage.

Many researchers have also carried out research on parental guidance during the pandemic to review the direct involvement of parents in the online learning process. Novianti and Garzia (2020) conducted a study on “Parental Engagement in Children's Online Learning during COVID-19 Pandemic,” which discusses parental guidance during online learning. From this research, most parents were involved in children's online learning activities, although some parents still experienced problems and difficulties in managing time, paying attention, and explaining lessons to their children. Further research was conducted by Kusumaningrum et al. (2020) under “The Effect of Parental Partnership Patterns in the Perspective of Distance Learning on Student Independence during the COVID-19 Pandemic, Coastal and Mountain Areas, Malang Regency, Indonesia”. This study aims to determine the extent to which parental participation influenced the process of providing distant learning and developed students' independent attitudes in the coastal and mountainous areas of Malang Regency during the pandemic. The latest research on the role of parents was carried out by Lilawati (2020) in “The Role of Parents in Supporting Learning Activities at Home during the Pandemic”. The study aims to explain the role of parents in supporting early childhood learning activities with the Cendekia Surabaya RA team.

Previous studies have shown the importance of parental involvement in assisting the online learning process for children. However, these studies have not found an effective pattern to assist parents in the online learning process. In fact, at every level of education, there is a special guidance pattern to be done by parents. Hence, it is interesting to study more deeply how the role and position of parents should be in assisting children's learning processes during learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Parental guidance also impacts children's cognitive, emotional, and social development. In addition, the role of parents during online learning from home is the same as the role of teachers at school, such as providing motivation in everything, being happy friends for learning, helping in solving problems and difficulties faced by children while studying, and developing children's self-confidence. Consequently, mapping the parental guidance pattern during online learning is urgent to be researched.

Therefore, this study will discuss in detail and in-depth how effective parental guidance patterns are for online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Of course, it is necessary to classify children's education levels, starting from early childhood education, elementary education, junior secondary education, and senior secondary education. This classification is important as a reference for parents to determine attitudes and patterns of guidance to their children, especially in the online learning process during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The present study deployed the limitation to find its specification. It was only conducted in public schools in some cities in Indonesia. It aimed to obtain the data used as a benchmark of how online learning was carried out during the COVID-19 pandemic. Schools categorized as favorite schools and having good management are certainly more ready to face changes in learning system from face-to-face to online due to the COVID-19 pandemic (Sepriani et al., 2021). Besides, the study did not collect more random data to avoid more reduction in the data and find irrelevant data but more focus on the problems of the study. The limitation absolutely ease the researcher to map parenting patterns in each education stage.

The guidance pattern found in this study will be used as a reference by parents when accompanying their children in online learning. This guidance pattern can also be utilized as a reference by school principals and the Education Office to make policies during the online learning process. It is hoped that several policies will emerge that can facilitate the role of parents to provide a service and pattern of guidance, which can lead to a meaningful learning process for children. In addition, this pattern can also be used as a reference for other stakeholders, such as developing an online learning platform involving parents to support children's learning.

2. Research method

2.1. Research design

The research design was case study research in the field and literature studies. Field studies were conducted to obtain an overview of the studied research subjects, while literature studies were employed to find patterns. This field study research focused on the perceptions and patterns of parental guidance towards online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. The case study method in this research was because the case study method can be carried out in-depth and in detail so that researchers could get to know an individual (a person) or a small group of individuals. It is not wrong if research with this method is categorized as qualitative research with results in descriptive narrative research. In addition, the interesting thing about case studies is that the emphasis is on exploring and describing a phenomenon as the research object. Thus, it does not focus on causation, nor does it focus on the goal of discovering generalizable or predictable truths.

Meanwhile, the literature study was utilized to depict several previous studies relevant to the research subject, which could then be used as a basis and comparison for data analysis. By mixing case study research and literature studies, it is expected that a comprehensive finding would be obtained regarding the parental guidance pattern to children during online learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

2.2. Data collection

The data in this study is divided into two, i.e., data in the form of field analysis results and data obtained from literature studies from several articles. The field studies used in this study focused on highlighting parents' patterns, constraints, and responses regarding online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, the target sample was parents with children still attending school, from early childhood education to senior high school. These data were obtained by making a questionnaire, which was distributed to several parents in Indonesia using the google form. This data collection was carried out from June 2020 to May 2021.

The research sample obtained from this activity involved several teachers from both the early childhood education, elementary school, junior high school to senior high school levels. Teachers together with researchers conduct socialization regarding the research being carried out, namely analyzing patterns of parental assistance to student's learning processes during a pandemic. This is important so that in the process of collecting data or conducting surveys, the parents of the students as the research sample do not feel burdened or objected. In addition, the socialization at the beginning made the data obtained objective and there was no data manipulation.

For ethical approval in this study, the researcher submitted a research permit letter to the schools that were used as research samples. In addition, the researcher also submitted a letter of permission to the district and provincial education offices in order to notify regarding the research being conducted on mapping parental guidance pattern in children's learning process during the pandemic. Parents who were sampled and research data also filled out the consent form. This consent form is proof that parents are willing to be the research sample and fill out a questionnaire which distributed by the researcher through the teachers at their child's school.

On the other hand, the data obtained from the literature study were limited to articles published and indexed in the Scopus database from 2020-2021. The articles used were published in scientific journals and seminar proceedings indexed by Scopus. The keywords used in the search for article data included “parental guidance; online learning; parental perception of online learning; and the COVID-19 pandemic.”

2.3. Data analysis

Data analysis in this study employed a mixed method analysis. Mixed methods research is an approach to investigating behavioral, social, and health-related problems by collecting and analyzing rigorous quantitative and qualitative data in response to research questions and integrating or “mixing” the two forms of data in a particular research design to produce new and more complete insights or understandings than what might be obtained from quantitative or qualitative data alone. This procedure can be framed by theory and/or philosophy or worldview.

The research stages after data collection were classification and clustering. In clustering, the tabulation method was employed, classified into the Pendidikan Anak Usia Dini (Early Childhood Education); Learning in Sekolah Dasar (Elementary School); Learning in Sekolah Menengah Pertama (Junior High School); and Learning in Sekolah Menengah Atas (Senior High School). Then, an analysis was carried out using an interactive analysis method to map the patterns of parental guidance at each level of education.

Data from the literature study were also analyzed using VOSviewer analysis to obtain data accuracy and linkages between articles. The data from the field study using google form were then classified and analyzed using interactive analysis to find correlations and relationships between each respondent's answers.

3. Results and discussion

During the COVID-19 pandemic and the shift in the learning system from face-to-face to online, many obstacles and controversies were found in the community. Of course, it is one of the interesting topics to be used for research. In this case, researchers compiled several publications taken from the Google Scholar article search engine. The topic sought was parental guidance and online learning patterns during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the searches conducted by researchers, 100 articles with the theme of parental guidance patterns in online learning in the pandemic were retrieved. The period used was the publications from 2020 to 2021 with the assumption that the online learning topics collected were online learning topics during the COVID-19 pandemic, which began around the beginning of 2020. The 6071 articles were sorted by publication type: publications in scientific journals and proceedings.

These data showed that the articles published in scientific journals were mostly publications with the theme “parental guidance patterns in online learning during the pandemic.” It is because scientific activities such as national and international seminars were extremely limited during this pandemic as they could collect mass crowds. Most seminar participants also came from several regions, so it was feared that it would worsen the spread of the virus. In addition, with publication in scientific journals, the value or cum is higher than the publication in seminar proceedings (Gu and Blackmore, 2016). It is why academics researched the theme of “parental guidance patterns in online learning during the pandemic” in the form of scientific journal articles more than papers in seminar proceedings. Although there were also many publications (around 1700 articles), it was inversely proportional to the number of article citations. Regarding the number of citations, these articles fell into the very good citation category. The following is a table about the top ten most citations for articles with the theme of parental guidance patterns in online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. The type of publication which used in this research can be seen at Figure 1.

Figure 1.

Figure 1

Open in a new tab

Number and types of documents on “parental guidance patterns in online learning during the pandemic”.

From the titles listed in Table 1 above, the issues that many people referred to were related to online learning from the student's perspective, the role of parents, and some of the obstacles experienced in online learning during the pandemic. To see the linkages between the found documents, an analysis was carried out using the VOSviewer application. This application has advantages compared to others. It can identify combinations of noun phrases relevant to the mapped topic and has an integrated cluster system to see the linkages between documents (Waltman in Tupan et al., 2018). From this VOSviewer, the researchers got an overview of the relationship between documents seen from co-authorship (involvement in co-authoring) and co-occurrence (linkage of keywords in shared events). From the co-occurrence category (keyword linkages in the article), several large topics dominated, as shown in Figure 2 below.

Table 1.

Most citations on parental guidance patterns in online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.

No Author Title Year Type No. Citation
1 König J., Jäger-Biela D.J., Glutsch N. Adapting to online teaching during COVID-19 school closure: teacher education and teacher competence effects among early career teachers in Germany 2020 Article 298
2 Mailizar, Almanthari A., Maulina S., Bruce S. Secondary school mathematics teachers' views on e-learning implementation barriers during the COVID-19 pandemic: The case of Indonesia 2020 Article 196
3 Rasmitadila, Aliyyah R.R., Rachmadtullah R., Samsudin A., Syaodih E., Nurtanto M., Tambunan A.R.S., The perceptions of primary school teachers of online learning during the covid-19 pandemic period: A case study in Indonesia 2020 Article 188
4 Dong C., Cao S., Li H., “57135947200 Young children's online learning during COVID-19 pandemic: Chinese parents' beliefs and attitudes 2020 Article 161
5 Iglesias-Pradas S., Hernández-García Á., Chaparro-Peláez J., Prieto J.L., Emergency remote teaching and students' academic performance in higher education during the COVID-19 pandemic: A case stud] 2021 Article 126
6 Kim J., Learning and Teaching Online During Covid-19: Experiences of Student Teachers in an Early Childhood Education Practicum 2020 Article 123
7 López-Bueno R., López-Sánchez G.F., Casajús J.A., Calatayud J., Gil-Salmerón A., Grabovac I., Tully M.A., Smith L., Health-Related Behaviors Among School-Aged Children and Adolescents During the Spanish Covid-19 Confinement pandemic? The case of EFL learners 2020 Article 114
8 Putri R.S., Purwanto A., Pramono R., Asbari M., Wijayanti L.M., Hyun C.C. Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on online home learning: An explorative study of primary schools in Indonesia 2020 Article 82
9 Agarwal S., Kaushik J.S., Student's Perception of Online Learning during COVID Pandemic 2020 Article 82
10 Bubb S., Jones M.-A., Learning from the COVID-19 home-schooling experience: Listening to pupils, parents/carers and teachers 2020 Article 80
11 Almusharraf N.M., Khahro S.H., Students' Satisfaction with Online Learning Experiences during the COVID-19 Pandemic 2020 Article 76
12 Moser K.M., Wei T., Brenner D., Remote teaching during COVID-19: Implications from a national survey of language educators 2021 Article 73
13 Castelli, F.R., Sarvary, M.A. Why students do not turn on their video cameras during online classes and an equitable and inclusive plan to encourage them to do so 2021 Article 70
14 Chakraborty P., Mittal P., Gupta M.S., Yadav S., Arora A., Opinion of students on online education during the COVID-19 pandemic 2021 Article 66
15 Asanov I., Flores F., McKenzie D., Mensmann M., Schulte M., Remote-learning, time-use, and mental health of Ecuadorian high-school students during the COVID-19 quarantine 2021 Article 65
16 Khan M.A., Vivek, Nabi M.K., Khojah M., Tahir M., Students' perception towards e-learning during covid-19 pandemic in India: An empirical study 2021 Article 55
17 Zhao Y., Guo Y., Xiao Y., Zhu R., Sun W., Huang W., Liang D., Tang L., Zhang F., Zhu D., Wu J.-L., The effects of online homeschooling on children, parents, and teachers of grades 1–9 during the COVID-19 pandemic 2020 Article 53
18 Yates A., Starkey L., Egerton B., Flueggen F., High school students' experience of online learning during Covid-19: the influence of technology and pedagogy 2021 Article 51
19 Petillion R.J., McNeil W.S. Student experiences of emergency remote teaching: Impacts of instructor practice on student learning, engagement, and well-being 2020 Article 48
20 Mulyanti B., Purnama W., Pawinanto R.E. Distance learning in vocational high schools during the covid-19 pandemic in West Java province, Indonesia 2020 Article 40
Open in a new tab

Figure 2.

Figure 2

Open in a new tab

Co-occurrence of parental guidance patterns in online learning during the pandemic.

From this analysis, there are several data, namely Hosoda t and Gaol almost has collaboration with all authors. This is because Hosoda t and Gaol collaborated with an author who, when viewed, is also from the same country. So, the most collaborations come from the Chinese state. As for when analyzed with related to the country that produces the most articles and citations, it is found that the picture as follow.

It can be found 6 countries that have publications above 10 documents indexed by Scopus with the theme of online learning and parental guindance. Of the six countries, there are three clusters of interrelated countries. From this it can be seen that the United States country has almost all the relations with all clusters. It can be said that the impact and impact of the research produced by researchers from the United States and the United Kingdom countries is very large. It is proven that research from the two countries with the theme of online learning and the Covid-19 pandemic is cited and related to publications in various countries.

The analysis results utilizing the VOSviewer application above revealed that the topic of the pandemic was closely related to online learning. However, the topic of online learning was divided into two major topics, from the perspective of students and parental guidance to their children. Of these two topics, this study focused more on the pattern of parental guidance to children during the online learning process at home (Saddhono and Hartanto, 2021). Research trends on the patterns of parental guidance to children in online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic were then classified based on the level of children's education into four clusters: Early Childhood Education (Pendidikan Anak Usia Dini or PAUD), Elementary School (Sekolah Dasar or SD), Junior High School (Sekolah Menengah Pertama or SMP), and Senior High School (Sekolah Menengah Atas or SMA). The four clusters were used to determine the types of parental guidance patterns for their children according to age, emotional maturity level, difficulty level of subject matter, and level of children's independence. In this respect, it can be said that children aged 13 years and over are more independent than those under 12 who must receive intensive guidance and guidance from their parents (Fauziah et al., 2020; Peng et al., 2022). The classification of research topics on online learning and parental guidance can be seen in Figure 3 below.

Figure 3.

Figure 3

Open in a new tab

Countries that have publications with the most online learning themes.

Based on Figure 4, several facts, including research with the theme of parental guidance, tended to be mostly carried out at the early childhood education level at 33%, elementary school at 29%, junior high school at 21%, and senior high school at 17%. There were more studies on the importance of the guidance patterns of parents with children aged 4–6 and 7–12 years, given that at these ages, children still need supervision and direction from parents, especially with the current online learning system, making it impossible for children of this age to learn independently. It is as stated by Rousoulioti et al. (2022) that at this level, children really need parental guidance in carrying out learning. Even without parental guidance, children will not be able to learn well. It differs from secondary or higher education students who can learn independently, so parental guidance is not too urgent.

Figure 4.

Figure 4

Open in a new tab

Classification of parental guidance topics based on the education level.

Furthermore, several results and data were obtained about online learning after conducting interviews with several parents using google forms and the survey Monkey. According to a survey of parents, online learning in Indonesia utilized several official platforms, such as Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Google Meet, and others. Online learning also gave many advantages for teachers and students, such as being able to be carried out anywhere and anytime according to the agreement of both parties. However, several obstacles also accompanied the online learning process, such as difficult connections and limited access, either due to technicalities or tools and costs. The following is a classification of online learning platforms in Indonesia based on a survey conducted on the parents.

From the survey conducted, for the category of early childhood education and elementary school education, the dominant online learning platform and media used WhatsApp groups. In detail, it was found that around 98% of online learning at the early childhood education level used WhatsApp groups, and around 90% utilized it at the elementary education level. For junior high school and senior high school levels, the platforms and media used tended to be more varied. The use of WhatsApp groups was only about 30% at the junior high school level and 20% at the senior high school level. In addition, online learning at the junior high school level tended to use a lot of zoom meetings or other virtual conferences, such as google meet and WhatsApp video calls for the online learning process. For senior high school level, the platforms widely utilized were e-learning, such as Microsoft Team, Google Classroom, Edmodo, and Schoology.

Regarding online learning, there were several pros and cons from parents. The survey results uncovered some data and responses from parents regarding online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Data 1 is from Umi, a homemaker and trader. She said the online learning process was not effectively applied at the elementary school level.

[“It is less effective, in my opinion, because the child does not meet the teacher directly. Then, students also do not hear and get material explanations directly from the teacher.”]

For data 2, Atik, a female carrier, also disagreed with online learning. According to her, online learning would be difficult, especially for her, because her son was still in third grade.

[“I do not really agree. Because my son is still in grade 3, he cannot operate his cellphone to do assignments, so he must be accompanied continuously. In fact, I also have a baby, so it is a bit of a hassle.”]

Data 3 is from Mimin, a homemaker who also gave the same opinion. She complained about the lack of facilities.

[“Honestly, I am burdened. At home, there is only one smartphone, and it is also brought by his father to work. Thus, if there is an assignment, I have to wait for his father to come home. In fact, his father came home late at night, and the son was also already sleepy.”]

Data 4: Masliah, a trader, complained about online learning requiring extra costs and energy.

[“For me as a parent, online learning is a bit complicated, and the cost of internet quota increases even more. Also, this way of implementing online learning is not highly effective because it overwhelms us as parents in dealing with children who are difficult to manage in learning. Also, if the teacher gives an assignment during online learning, they are reluctant to do the task.”]

For data 5, Afita Sari, a farmer, complained about the assessment system and methods teachers use in online learning.

[“The assessment system used by the teacher during online learning, in my opinion, is less effective. When doing homework assignments given, according to the teacher, students must be in accordance with the way in the student's textbook, such as math assignments. Even if their answer is correct, the score will decrease if the way of doing it does not match the student's book. In my opinion, it is natural for this to happen because students do not see the teacher's explanation directly, only through instructions in the WhatsApp group.”]

The five data represent people's opinions against online learning. Problems such as the limited ability of parents to use gadgets, limited learning facilities, costs, and learning systems applied by teachers are some problems often found during online learning.

Apart from opinions against online learning, some parents were pro and supported the existence of this online learning system.

Data 6: Desi, a homemaker (38), gave a positive opinion regarding the online learning system.

[“Online learning is a suitable solution for now. By learning online at home, we as parents can also be closer and pay attention to the learning process of our children.”]

For data 7, Dewi Fatimah, who worked as a trader, stated that:

[“For me, it is okay for children to study at home because the situation is impossible to study at school with the coronavirus. I also have more time to increase closeness with my child if I personally teach and assist my child in learning during this online learning.”]

Data 8 is from Jannah, a farmer, who stated that she agreed with online learning and encouraged parents to find specific strategies to help their children learn online from home.

[“With online learning, parents must have their strategies in accompanying children during learning so that children do not feel bored, such as doing learning activities in the yard with their friends like teachers and students, if parents have much free time.”]

These data are sufficient to provide an overview of how the attitude of parents toward online learning. Some parents were positive about online learning since the situation and conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic did not allow face-to-face or offline learning.

Also, some differences in the guidance pattern at each level and treatments were tailored to the needs and policies of each education unit. After the grouping and classification based on the education level, the guidance pattern was found and applied to each level of education, as shown in the following table.

Table 2 shows that parents with children in early childhood education and elementary schools should provide extra guidance, from preparation, assisting the learning process, to reporting their learning outcomes to the teachers. It differed from the parental guidance pattern to their children who entered junior and senior high school levels, who tended to provide freedom and train them to be independent (Saddhono and Rohmadi, 2014).

Table 2.

Percentage of online learning platform usage.

Whatsapp Group Zoom Meeting Elearning
PAUD 98 2 0
SD 90 10 0
SMP 30 40 30
SMA 20 20 60
Open in a new tab

4. Discussion

From several literature studies and data analyses, it can be concluded that in the online learning process during the COVID-19 pandemic, parental guidance is highly needed to be analyzed in specific research. In online learning, parents play a role in guiding students' attitudes, skills, and academics (Ye et al., 2022). Parents also have a role as a teacher in school, such as providing motivation in all things, being happy friends for learning, helping in solving problems and difficulties faced by their children while learning, and developing children's self-confidence (Gusmaniarti and Suweleh, 2019; Lilawati, 2020). Some functions of parents for their children who are taking online learning include facilitators, motivators, supervisors, and guides in the learning process.

As facilitators, parents must be able to provide adequate learning facilities for their children, starting from children's learning media, gadgets, learning media, and supporting facilities, to infrastructure and create a conducive learning atmosphere for their children (Ouyang et al., 2020). Not only limited to certain levels of education, but parents must also be able to facilitate their children's learning needs, especially in the online learning system during the COVID-19 pandemic. Purnama et al. (2021) also said tha parents as motivators, have to provide support, encouragement, and motivation, both mentally and materially, to their children. The main key is the communication patterns between parents and teachers and between parents and children. In this case, building communication is essential for parents to understand the learning goals expected of their teachers and vice versa. Teachers also understand parents' expectations in assisting their children in studying at home (Nurpratiwiningsih et al., 2021; del Carmen Ramírez-Rueda et al., 2021). In addition, parents must be able to establish communication with their children to find out whether there are obstacles in the learning process and what material is not understood and must always encourage their children to stay enthusiastic in participating in online learning.

Furthermore, a supervisory function is, of course, needed during the online learning process. Parents must be able to control their children's learning time and playing time. Here, also defined by Lau and Lee (2021) as one of the weaknesses of online learning is the lack of parental supervision of children when participating in online learning, especially teenagers. Parents too busy with work often neglect their duty to supervise their children's learning process. The role of supervision indicates that in the family, parents are a subsystem related to the interaction of parents with children, in which they play a role in protecting, raising, and disciplining their children (Aliyyah et al., 2020: 97–98). Therefore, when the supervisory function is neglected, it will significantly affect their children's learning outcomes.

Parental guidance is also needed during their children's learning process. It is especially necessary when the child's age is still under 12 and 5 years. Parental guidance and assistance are required, considering that children at that age cannot do learning activities independently (Brown et al., 2020). It also aligns with the findings of Chusna and Utami (2020: 27) that parental guidance is demanded, specifically in delivering material, completing tasks, and helping with any difficulties. Not infrequently, many parents also complain that they do not understand the material for their children now. The material is more difficult than in the past when they went to school (Hasanudin et al., 2019; Lawrence and Fakuade, 2021).

From the description of the discussion and the results of the literature data analysis related to the pattern of parental guidance, parental guidance must adjust to the children's cognition level, age level, and education level. In early childhood education, children need an intensive pattern of guidance from their parents, from preparing media and learning devices such as laptops and supporting infrastructure teachers use to teach. Parents should also assist their children when they learn and actively communicate with them and their teachers in the learning process. According to Hafidz et al. (2020: 1187), parents must also be able to create a pleasant learning atmosphere to enable them to learn comfortably. Elementary education is not much different from early childhood education, in which parents are also required to be more intensive in assisting their children, especially when they are still in the lower grades of 1–3 of elementary school. The guidance pattern includes preparing learning facilities, conducting supervision and guidance during the learning process, and ensuring that children understand the material taught by the teacher. In addition, parents also must cross-check the tasks and questions given by the teacher, ensure their children have completed their tasks, and send reports to the teacher (Widyaningrum et al., 2020; Dar, 2021).

For the guidance pattern of junior and senior high school children, parents must be more democratic by training them to be independent (Ivanković and Igić, 2021). The guidance pattern provides facilities to support the learning process, such as ensuring Internet access, learning tools, and learning media preset by the school. However, for junior high school and senior high school students, parents must exercise extra supervision, especially in disciplining learning and playing time and always control their children's use of social media. It also said by Bokayev et al. (2021) because, in adolescence, children are prone to be negatively affected by the Internet and social media if there is no strict supervision. All of guidance patter in online learning based on education level can be seen at Table 3

Table 3.

Parental guidance patterns based on the education level.

No. Education Level Form of Parental Guidance
1 Early Childhood Education
  • a.

    Managing children's time to play and learn

  • b.

    Preparing learning media for children

  • c.

    Assisting children's learning process

  • d.

    Providing a learning stimulus to children

  • e.

    Building a conducive and interesting learning situation

  • f.

    Reporting children's learning outcomes to the teacher
2 Elementary School
  • a.

    Checking children's daily tasks

  • b.

    Checking completion of tasks

  • c.

    Checking children's understanding of the subject matter

  • d.

    Helping to explain the subject matter

  • e.

    Reporting children's learning activities to the teacher

  • f.

    Preparing learning facilities and media for children
3 Junior High School
  • a.

    Providing emotional and material support

  • b.

    Monitoring the children's use of social media

  • c.

    Discussing with the children
4 Senior High School
  • a.

    Providing material support

  • b.

    Providing space for children's learning
Open in a new tab

Although parents’ responses toward online learning are extremely various, this situation factually happens. Parents and teachers respond to the change in learning system to online learning as one of the innovations in education As parents, they should upgrade their knowledge and perception especially in technology (Xie, 2022). Along with the development of education and technology, parents should have their parenting pattern and control on the employment of technology in learning process of their children (Grobler, 2022; Rousoulioti et al., 2022).

Beside the role of parents, coordination between teachers and parents are required in supporting online learning process during the pandemic. Teachers should conduct a coordinations with parents regarding the media use in learning process (Rousoulioti et al., 2022; So et al., 2022). Still, this coordination needs to be specially paid attention by teachers and parents who have students and children in elementary schools since they need extra accompaniment in online learning process. Moreover, it is important to conduct further studies and discussions in accordance with the coordination between teachers and parents in supporting students' or children's learning process. Furthermore, the rapid development of technology should be accompanied with the development of teachers' and parents' knowledge and skill in implementing teaching and learning process.

5. Conclusion

All parties, parents and teachers must properly address online learning schemes in the COVID-19 pandemic. In this case, parental guidance is needed to ensure the maximum continuity of the online learning process. Parental guidance patterns must also be adapted to the needs of the children because parents serve as facilitators, motivators, supervisors, and guides in the learning process. For early childhood and elementary education, students require extra guidance patterns because the presence of a parent figure for them is needed in the online learning process. The role of parents as a guide and facilitators in the learning process is demanded that children carry out the online learning process optimally. At the junior and senior secondary education levels, parents are expected to be more democratic and give freedom to their children. However, the supervisory function must be tightened, considering that adolescents are vulnerable to the negative effects of Internet use. Furthermore, parental supervision patterns should also be adjusted to the needs and situations of each family, given the heterogeneity of economic aspects, types of parental work, Internet access, and fulfillment of learning infrastructure. Thus, excellent communication between teachers and parents is always expected to be carried out for an effective and efficient online learning process during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This study is probably used as a reference and basic by parents and teachers in giving guidance especially to their children and students during online learning. An appropriate guidance pattern absolutely becomes one of the keys of a successful learning process and result. Moreover, this study conveys and gives a picture of how to face online learning for children. Although it was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, it is possible that the online platforms and learning methods are still be employed by teacher after the pandemic. Regarding the rapid development of technology, platform, education and learning application, online learning is possibly still applied in some schools.

Consequently, the writers really hope to conduct a further study with different objects and approaches. A study on parents' guidance pattern, interaction with teachers, learning methods, and learning platform exactly becomes interesting to discusss. It intends to give insight and knowledge to parents and teachers on the importance of parents' guidance while their children are studying. It will bridge the gap between schools and parents that is all this time still not resolved regarding communication, coordination, and guidance of students’ learning process. Furthermore, this study and further study will increase the education quality and graduates in Indonesia.

Declarations

Authors contribution statement

Abd. Aziz: Conceived and designed the experiments; Performed the experiments; Analyzed and interpreted the data; Wrote the paper.

Kundharu Saddono: Conceived and designed the experiments; Performed the experiments; Contributed reagents, materials, analysis tools or data; Wrote the paper.

Bagus Wahyu Setyawan: Conceived and designed the experiments; Performed the experiments; Analyzed and interpreted the data; Contributed reagents, materials, analysis tools or data; Wrote the paper.

Funding statement

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Data availability statement

The authors are unable or have chosen not to specify which data has been used.

Declaration of interest’s statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Additional information

No additional information is available for this paper.

Acknowledgements

The authors give special thanks to the Blitar District Government, especially the Department of Education and Department of Religion Ministry, for supporting this research until this research has been done. Special gratitude is also for all boarding school administrators sampled in this study.

References

  1. Akbari E. Challenges and effectiveness of using the SHAD social network during COVID-19 according to teachers, parents and students. Electron. J. Learn. 2021;19(4):296–304. [Google Scholar]
  2. Aliyyah R.R., Rachmadtullah R., Samsudin A., Syaodih E., Nurtanto M., Tambunan A.R.S. The perceptions of primary school teachers of online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic period: a case study in Indonesia. J. Ethnic Cult. Stud. 2020;7(2):90–109. [Google Scholar]
  3. Bączek M., Zagańczyk-Bączek M., Szpringer M., Jaroszyński A., Wożakowska-Kapłon B. Students’ perception of online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic: a survey study of Polish medical students. Medicine. 2021;100(7) doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000024821. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Bokayev B., Torebekova Z., Davletbayeva Z., Zhakypova F. Distance learning in Kazakhstan: estimating parents’ satisfaction of educational quality during the coronavirus. Technol. Pedagog. Educ. 2021;30(1):27–39. [Google Scholar]
  5. Brown S.M., Doom J.R., Lechuga-Peña S., Watamura S.E., Koppels T. Stress and parenting during the global COVID-19 pandemic. Child Abuse Negl. 2020;110 doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2020.104699. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Chusna P.A., Utami A.D.M. Dampak pandemi COVID-19 terhadap peran orang tua dan guru dalam meningkatkan kualitas pembelajaran daring anak usia sekolah dasar. Premiere. J. Islamic Element. Educ. 2020;2(1):11–30. [Google Scholar]
  7. Dar W.A. Teaching–learning process in low-fee-private schools: perspectives of parents and school management. SN Social Sci. 2021;1(7):1–15. [Google Scholar]
  8. del Carmen Ramírez-Rueda M., Cózar-Gutiérrez R., Colmenero M.J.R., González-Calero J.A. Towards a coordinated vision of ICT in education: a comparative analysis of Preschool and Primary Education teachers’ and parents’ perceptions. Teach. Teach. Educ. 2021;100 [Google Scholar]
  9. Dong C., Cao S., Li H. Young children’s online learning during COVID-19 pandemic: Chinese parents’ beliefs and attitudes. Child. Youth Serv. Rev. 2020;118 doi: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105440. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Fahmalatif F., Purwanto A., Siswanto E., Ardiyanto J. Exploring barriers and solutions of online learning during the covid-19 pandemic by vocational school teachers. J. Ind. Eng. Manag. Res. 2021;2(2):53–63. [Google Scholar]
  11. Fauzi I., Khusuma I.H.S. Teachers’ elementary school in online learning of COVID-19 pandemic conditions. J. Iqra': Kajian Ilmu Pendidikan. 2020;5(1):58–70. [Google Scholar]
  12. Fauziah M., Marmoah S., Murwaningsih T., Saddhono K. The effect of thinking actively in a social context and creative problem solving learning models on divergent-thinking skills viewed from adversity quotient. Eur. J. Educ. Res. 2020;9(2):537–568. [Google Scholar]
  13. Febrianto P.T., Mas' udah S., Megasari L.A. Implementation of online learning during the covid-19 pandemic on madura island, Indonesia. Int. J. Learn., Teach. Educ. Res. 2020;19(8) [Google Scholar]
  14. Grobler A. Teachers’ experiences of parents' involvement in Foundation Phase learning during COVID-19. Perspect. Educ. 2022;40(2):17–31. [Google Scholar]
  15. Gu X., Blackmore K.L. Recent trends in academic journal growth. Scientometrics. 2016;108(2):693–716. [Google Scholar]
  16. Gusmaniarti G., Suweleh W. Analisis Perilaku home service orang tua terhadap Perkembangan kemandirian dan tanggung jawab anak. Aulad: J. Early Childhood. 2019;2(1):28–38. [Google Scholar]
  17. Hafidz A., Muzakki A., Anam S., Sholeh M. International Joint Conference on Arts and Humanities (IJCAH 2020) Atlantis Press; 2020. Parental engagement in children’s online learning during the covid-19 pandemic; pp. 1186–1192. [Google Scholar]
  18. Han C., Liu L., Chen S. Factors influencing parents’ intention on primary school students’ choices of online learning during and after the COVID-19 pandemic in China. Sustainability. 2022;14(14):8269. [Google Scholar]
  19. Hasanudin C., Fitrianingsih A., Saddhono K. How is the student's negotiation text in collaborative learning of flipped classroom and a CyberLink Power director media apps? Ing. Des. Syst. Inf. 2019;24(6) [Google Scholar]
  20. Ivanković I., Igić I. Attitudes of parents of primary school students of the City of Zagreb on the use of ICT in distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Metodicki Ogl.: časopis za filozofiju odgoja. 2021;28(1):39–62. [Google Scholar]
  21. Kanapathipillai K., Narayanan S. The relationship between online learning and student’s performance in the rural areas in Malaysia-the mediating role of Parent’s support. Eur. J. Educ. Stud. 2021;8(11) [Google Scholar]
  22. Kusumaningrum D.E., Budiarti E.M., Sumarsono R.B., Triwiyanto T. 1st International Conference on Information Technology and Education (ICITE 2020) Atlantis Press; 2020, December. The effect of parental partnership patterns in the perspective of distance learning on student independence during the covid-19 pandemic, coastal and Mountain Areas, Malang regency, Indonesia; pp. 32–37. [Google Scholar]
  23. Lau E.Y.H., Lee K. Parents’ views on young children’s distance learning and screen time during COVID-19 class suspension in Hong Kong. Early Educ. Dev. 2021;32(6):863–880. [Google Scholar]
  24. Lawrence K.C., Fakuade O.V. Parental involvement, learning participation and online learning commitment of adolescent learners during the COVID-19 lockdown. Res. Learn. Technol. 2021;29 [Google Scholar]
  25. Lestari F.A.P., Lestari I.D., Riko R. Semnas ristek (seminar nasional riset dan inovasi teknologi) Vol. 5. 2021. Pola Pendampingan orang tua dalam pembelajaran online anak di tengah pandemi Covid 19. No. 1. [Google Scholar]
  26. Lilawati A. Peran orang tua dalam mendukung kegiatan pembelajaran di Rumah pada masa pandemi. J. Obsesi: J. Pendidikan Anak Usia Dini. 2020;5(1):549–558. [Google Scholar]
  27. Martin F., Borup J. Online learner engagement: conceptual definitions, research themes, and supportive practices. Educ. Psychol. 2022:1–16. [Google Scholar]
  28. Novianti R., Garzia M. Parental engagement in children's online learning during COVID-19 pandemic. J. Teach. Learn. Element. Educ. (JTLEE) 2020;3(2):117–131. [Google Scholar]
  29. Nurpratiwiningsih L., Yuliyanti N., Kurniawan P.Y. Sosialisasi Pendampingan orang tua terhadap Proses belajar anak selama masa pandemi Covid 19. JAMU: J. Abdi Masyarakat UMUS. 2021;1(2) [Google Scholar]
  30. Ouyang F., Chang Y.H., Scharber C., Jiao P., Huang T. Examining the instructor-student collaborative partnership in an online learning community course. Instr. Sci. 2020:1–22. [Google Scholar]
  31. Peng X., Sun X., He Z. Influence mechanism of teacher support and parent support on the academic achievement of secondary vocational students. Front. Psychol. 2022;13 doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.863740. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  32. Purnama S., Ulfah M., Machali I., Wibowo A., Narmaditya B.S. Does digital literacy influence students’ online risk? Evidence from Covid-19. Heliyon. 2021;7(6) doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e07406. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  33. Putra R.S., Irwansyah I. Media komunikasi digital, efektif namun tidak efisien, studi media richness theory dalam pembelajaran jarak jauh berbasis teknologi di Masa pandemi. Global Komunika: J. Ilmu Sosial dan Ilmu Politik. 2020;1(2):1–13. [Google Scholar]
  34. Rousoulioti T., Tsagari D., Giannikas C.N. Interchange; 2022. Parents’ New Role and Needs during the COVID-19 Educational Emergency; pp. 1–27. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  35. Saddhono K., Hartanto W. A dialect geography in Yogyakarta-Surakarta isolect in Wedi District: an examination of permutation and phonological dialectometry as an endeavor to preserve Javanese language in Indonesia. Heliyon. 2021;7(7) doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e07660. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  36. Saddhono K., Rohmadi M. A sociolinguistics study on the use of the Javanese language in the learning process in primary schools in surakarta, central java, Indonesia. Int. Educ. Stud. 2014;7(6):25–30. [Google Scholar]
  37. Sepriani R., Delyana H., Hafizah H., Rusdinal R., Gistituati N. The role of parents to enlarge student’S interest in learning during the covid-19 pandemic: a case study in Indonesia. Eur. J. Educ. Stud. 2021;8(5) [Google Scholar]
  38. So H.J., Shin S., Xiong Y., Kim H. Parental involvement in digital home-based learning during COVID-19: an exploratory study with Korean parents. Educ. Psychol. 2022:1–21. [Google Scholar]
  39. Sun L., Tang Y., Zuo W. Coronavirus Pushes education online. Nat. Mater. 2020;19(6) doi: 10.1038/s41563-020-0678-8. 687–687. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  40. Tao J., Xu Y. Parental support for young learners’ online learning of English in a Chinese primary school. System. 2022;105 [Google Scholar]
  41. Tupan, Rahayu R.N., Rachmawati R., Rahayu E.S.R. Analisis bibliometrik Perkembangan Penelitian bidang ilmu instrumentasi. BACA: J. Dokumentasi Dan Inf. 2018;39(2):135–149. [Google Scholar]
  42. Utomo M.N.Y., Sudayanto M., Saddhono K. Tools and strategy for distance learning to respond COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia. Ing. Des. Syst. Inf. 2020;25(3):383–390. [Google Scholar]
  43. Wangdi T. Perception of parents and students on education in emergencies during the COVID-19 pandemic under thimphu dzongkhag 2020. Int. J. Human. Educ. Dev. (IJHED) 2022;4(1):27–38. [Google Scholar]
  44. Wardani A.A.K., Sayekti I.C. The role of parents in online learning assistance for elementary school students. Edukasi: J. Pendidikan Pengajaran. 2022:18–33. [Google Scholar]
  45. Widyaningrum H.K., Hasanudin C., Fitrianingsih A., Novianti D.E., Saddhono K., Supratmi N. The use of Edmodo apps in flipped classroom learning. How is the students' creative thinking ability? Ing. Syst. Inf. 2020;25(1):69–74. [Google Scholar]
  46. Xie Q. The role of parents in the school accountability system: insights from a Hong Kong case. Stud. Educ. Eval. 2022;72 [Google Scholar]
  47. Ye Y., Wang C., Zhu Q., He M., Havawala M., Bai X., Wang T. Parenting and teacher–student relationship as protective factors for Chinese adolescent adjustment during COVID-19. Sch. Psychol. Rev. 2022;51(2):187–205. [Google Scholar]
  48. Zhang T. Chinese parents’ perception of emergency remote K-12 teaching-learning in China during the COVID-19 pandemic. Asian J. Distance Educ. 2021;16(1):16. [Google Scholar]

Associated Data

This section collects any data citations, data availability statements, or supplementary materials included in this article.

Data Availability Statement

The authors are unable or have chosen not to specify which data has been used.

Articles from Heliyon are provided here courtesy of Elsevier

RESOURCES