Children’s School Online Education: Assessing Parental Satisfaction and Experiences in Supporting Children's Online Education in the Southern Province

Abstract

Online education activities, which came to the fore in Sri Lanka with the global pandemic of COVID-19, are now playing a significant role in the whole educational system. This study assessed parental satisfaction and experiences supporting children's online education in the Southern Province. This study used a case study approach to examine 300 parents in the Southern Province. The research involved self-reported questionnaires with three sections. The first section collected demographic information, the second assessed parental satisfaction with their online education support skills, and the third evaluated information literacy related to technology and online resources. Data analysis was performed using SPSS software, employing descriptive statistics to estimate parental digital skills and satisfaction and Chi-square tests to explore the relationship between parental satisfaction, gender, and education level. The study tested seven hypotheses, including the impact of various parental skills on overall satisfaction with their children's online education. The study found that parents generally feel delighted with their children's online educational activities. However, regarding parents' information literacy regarding children's online educational activities, the ability to locate is optimal, but evaluating and using effectively is insufficient. Parents' operational and communication skills were found to have a strong positive impact on their satisfaction with their level of ability to assist their children’s online education. The top three challenges that parents experience are: a lack of stable and high-speed internet coverage; obtaining technical support; and a language barrier. Parents' digital skills in online education activities improve children's ethical use of online education. Parents need to be aware of cybercrime and cybergaming to make ethical usage of online education a reality. As a result, it is a timely societal obligation to address the discovered gaps in parental digital literacy and information literacy and solve the stated challenges to keep children's online education activities on track.