Students' learning experiences during COVID-19 and familial SES

Abstract

This study investigates (a) how the pattern of parental home and school involvement varies according to familial socioeconomic status (SES) and (b) how this involvement in turn influences students’ online learning experiences and outcomes during the COVID-19 school suspension in Hong Kong. It examines survey data collected from 932 secondary school students and their parents during June-July 2020, when schools resumed briefly after their suspension since the end of January. Familial SES was measured by parental data on their educational attainment, experience of financial hardship due to COVID-19, whether parents had received financial subsidies, and the perceived adequacy of home digital resources for their children’s online learning at home during school suspension. Comprehensive parental involvement (home and school) data pertaining to two time frames—before and during school suspension—were collected. Students’ online learning experiences during the school suspension period were measured by their participation in different types of online lessons/activities and their selfreports on challenges experienced. Students’ outcomes included their acquisition of digital skills and self-regulation during school suspension as well as their self-reported anxiety after school resumption. The analysis shows that students’ learning experiences and outcomes, as well as the extent of parental involvement vary significantly with their familial SES, thereby underscoring the complexities in digital divide during the school suspension. It also highlights the need for comprehensive measures that include the provision of parental support to ensure the quality of students’ learning experiences and outcomes, particularly when online learning becomes the only means of educational provision.